Wheel chair with rotatable tray

A wheel chair with a rotating tray which may be rotated from a first position generally parallel to a back or rear support member. In an alternative position of the rotating tray, the tray is rotated from the first position generally parallel to the arm supports through ninety degrees into a vertical position whereby the user of the wheel chair is able to get up from and return to a bottom seat of the wheel chair.

This invention relates to a wheel chair that is provided with a rotatable 
tray and, more particularly, to such a combination wherein the tray may be 
rotated around the wheel chair to be disposed generally parallel to and 
behind the back or rear seat support for the wheel chair. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Heretofore, it has been known to use tray members attached to a wheel 
chair, usually to the arm supports, and then detach the tray when not in 
use. The principal uses of the tray itself is to provide a support for 
food trays, to provide a writing back up surface, or to provide a support 
for books, magazines or the like. 
The tray itself is in the way of the user once the foregoing uses have 
terminated and it is desired simply to move the user from one place to 
another. An additional shortcoming of presently used devices is that the 
tray becomes separated from the wheel chair so that it becomes necessary 
to remember where it has been stored and to retrieve it when a tray usage 
is desired. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the present invention, the foregoing imitations and 
shortcomings of the prior art are effectively overcome. In particular, the 
present invention provides a wheel chair and a rotatable tray which remain 
intact at all times. When the tray usage is completed, the tray is rotated 
through approximately 270 degrees and stored behind a back or rear seat 
support for the wheel chair. As an optional feature, the tray may be 
rotated separately from the previously described rotating means through 
approximately 90 degrees and re-locked in an up or vertical position which 
permits a user of the wheel chair to get up from and return to a bottom 
seat member. 
The inherent advantages and improvements of the present invention will 
become more evident upon reference to the following detailed description 
of the invention and by reference to the attached drawings wherein:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, there is shown a wheel chair indicated 
generally at 20. The wheel chair is provided with a frame structure 
indicated generally at 22. Other conventional features of wheel chair 20 
include front wheels 24 and larger wheel means 26 which are customarily 
provided with hand propelling means, not shown. 
The wheel chair further has a generally vertical rear or back seat member 
28 and a generally horizontal bottom seat member 30. Conventional arm 
supports, having generally horizontal top surfaces, 32 and rear push means 
34 are provided. 
The pivotal tray means of the present invention is shown generally at 36 
and has a planar surface 36a. The means for rotating the rotatable means 
for holding tray means 36 and rotating it in a horizontal plane is shown 
generally at 38 in FIGS. 1-5, 9 and 10. 
In FIG. 1, the solid depiction of the tray means 36 indicates the position 
of the tray means when it is in use. The tray means 36 is rotatable 
through approximately 90 degrees to the phantom position in FIG. 1. A 
means for moving the tray means 36 to this vertical position is described 
in greater detail in the description of FIG. 6 hereinafter. 
In FIG. 2, the solid line showing of pivotal tray means 36 indicates its 
position after it has been rotated from the solid line representation of 
FIG. 1 through 90 degrees. The manner of effecting this is more fully 
described hereinafter in connection with FIGS. 3-5. Tray means 36 is then 
lowered or rotated through approximately 90 degrees to the phantom 
position in FIG. 2 through the mechanism 52 of FIG. 6 and positioned as 
shown in FIG. 9. The mechanism of rotatable means 36 is then used to 
rotate tray means 36 through approximately 180 degrees so as to position 
tray means 36 behind the rear or back seat 28 in FIG. 10. 
The mechanism for rotating the tray means 36 in a generally horizontal 
plane will now be explained by reference to FIGS. 3-5. There is shown 
rotatable means indicated generally at 38. A rotatable hollow tube member 
40 has a horizontal portion 40a (see FIG. 9) suitably secured to tray 36, 
not shown. Tube member 40 has a vertical portion 40b secured to an inner, 
generally cup-shaped, vertical member 41 by means of pin member 42. The 
cup-shaped member 41 is provided with depending, locking tabs or ears 44 
which straddle a fixed bolt and nut assembly 46. The locking tabs or ears 
44 are cruciform in a bottom plan view so that the rotatable tubular 
member may be positioned in 90 degree increments after being lifted 
vertically in FIGS. 3 and 5 above bolt 46, rotated abut a vertical axis to 
the desired position and then lowered onto bolt 46 where it is in locked 
position. 
The mechanism for attaching the rotatable means to the wheel chair 20 
further includes a generally trapezoidal arm 48 and a bifurcated attaching 
member 50 which is suitably bolted to a downturned portion of one of the 
arm supports 32. Optionably, attaching member 50 could be attached to 
another portion of frame 22. 
One mechanism for permitting rotation of the tray with respect to rotatable 
tubular member 40 so as to reach the phantom positions depicted in FIG. 1 
and FIG. 2 is schematically illustrated in FIG. 6 and further shown in 
FIGS 8 and 9. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, tray 36 includes a depending 
U-shaped sleeve 37, which, as seen in FIG. 8 is positioned on horizontal 
portion 40a of tube member 40, FIG. 6 shows the rotator means generally by 
numeral 52. Depressible tab locking members 54 are diametrically opposed. 
Spring-like leg members 56 are secured to the locking tab members 54 and 
are squeezed or depressed by movement to the left in FIG. 6 of a 
reciprocable piston 58. Piston 58 is provided with camming surfaces 60 to 
engage the leg members 56 and a hollow portion to receive the depressed 
leg members. A bolt actuator 62 is threaded into reciprocal piston 58 as 
shown in FIG. 6 and a head 64 which may be easily grasped. 
In order to release the tray, piston 58 is moved to the left in FIG. 3 so 
as to engage and depress leg members 56 until depressible tab locking 
members 54 clear the tubular member and sleeve 37 and permit rotation of 
the horizontal portion 40a of tray with respect to tube 40, which thus 
provides a horizontal axis for rotation of tray 36, to reach either of the 
phantom positions for the tray 36 in FIGS. 1 and 2. The reciprocal piston 
58 is then moved to the right in FIG. 3 to reestablish a locked position 
by emergence of tab locking members in a new set of slits around the 
periphery of tube 40, not shown. 
The invention has been illustrated and described with respect to a 
preferred embodiment thereof, but various changes and modifications may be 
made therein without departing from the spirit of the claims which follow.