Invalid lift

An invalid lift assembly installed in a vehicle such as a van or the like. It is specially adapted to permit a non-invalid person to use the door opening even when it is stored. The lift assembly comprises a platform which is made of a frame supporting two independent sections displaceable in between a coplanar position and a transverse position. The platform is rotatable in between an upstanding stored position inside the vehicle and an outside intermediate position level and parallel with the vehicle floor and moveable from that position to the ground and inversely. A pair of armatures swingable in parallel paths on each side of the platform connect the platform to the vehicle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a lift assembly for aiding wheel-chair 
patients to get into and out of a van or the like. 
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR ART 
A lift assembly of this type comprises a platform laterally supported by an 
armature and carried from a vertical stored position inside the vehicle to 
a horizontal position exteriorly of the vehicle level with the vehicle 
floor and to a ground position. 
The user wheels himself onto the platform and actuates means to displace 
the platform from the vehicle level to the ground or inversely. 
This type of known lift assembly (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,965 dated May 28, 
1972 to Clever Industries) is stored in the vehicle but uses a relatively 
large percentage of the floor area and, moreover, the platform 4, when in 
stored position, obstructs the door opening, thus preventing a non-invalid 
person to use it. Also, the hydraulic systems used to raise or lower the 
platform are generally bulky and complex. 
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is therefore a first object of the invention to provide a lift assembly 
mounted in a vehicle and foldable into a compact position within the 
latter. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a lift assembly arranged to 
leave a passage to a non-invalid person through the door opening when 
folded within the vehicle. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a lift assembly operable by 
only one power actuator actuating both supporting armatures; such an 
arrangement reduces the cost and overall dimensions of the assembly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In accordance with the invention, the lift assembly is stored in the 
vehicle just inwardly of the door opening of a vehicle, such as a van or 
the like. 
The lift assembly is arranged to be foldable in a compact position to leave 
the maximum room inside the vehicle and the platform is rotatable to open 
a passage through the door opening for a non-invalid person. 
The lift assembly comprises a platform which is made of a frame supporting 
two independent sections displaceable between a coplanar position and a 
transverse position. The platform is rotatable between an upstanding 
stored position inside the vehicle and an outside intermediate position 
level and parallel with the vehicle floor and moveable from that position 
to the ground and inversely. A pair of armatures, swingable in parallel 
paths on each side of the platform connect the platform to the vehicle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
With reference to the drawings, the lift assembly is secured at the doorway 
of a vehicle, such as a van or the like, and comprises an anchoring plate 
3 secured to the vehicle floor C and partially engaging in the cavity 
forming the floor board cavity 4, a transverse shaft 6 having a length 
comparable to the length of the anchoring plate 3, is rotatably supported 
in front of the latter alongside the section engaging in the floorboard 
cavity 4 by means of three brackets 7, 8, 9, (FIGS. 1, 2) respectively 
positioned at each extremities of the bar 6 and at an intermediate 
position near the double acting hydraulic cylinder 11 which is connected 
to the transverse shaft 6 by means of two parallel radial arms 10 secured 
to shaft 6. 
The radial arms 10 are pivotally connected to the hydraulic cylinder piston 
rod 2 at a first extremity and welded to the transverse shaft 6 at the 
other extremity. 
The hydraulic cylinder 11 is pivotally supported at its upper extremity by 
two bracket plates 12 upstanding from and secured to anchoring plate 3. In 
the present embodiment, the hydraulic cylinder 11 is located on the left 
side of the lift assembly and is used in conjunction with a fluid pump and 
tank (not shown) which can be installed anywhere in the vehicle. 
A platform 13 is pivotally connected to the vehicle 1 by a pair of spaced 
armatures 14 and 15 which are identical and each pivotally mounted to the 
anchoring plate 3 through armature brackets 16. Each of said armatures 
defines with bracket 16 a deformable parallelogram. Each armature is 
formed of two parallel links 17 and 18 and of a vertical link 19. The 
parallel links 17 and 18 are pivotally secured at one extremity to the 
armature bracket 16 and to the vertical link 19 at the other extremity. 
The lower parallel links 18 on both armatures 14 and 15 are connected to 
the transverse shaft 6 by means of an articulated linkage 20 (FIGS. 1 and 
5) to displace the platform 13 under the action of the hydraulic cylinder 
11. 
Because of the use of a transverse shaft 6, only one hydraulic cylinder is 
needed to operate the lift assembly; it is an advantage of the invention 
to use one cylinder because of the reduction in cost and size of the 
assembly. 
The platform 13 comprises a flat and rigid surface made of two separate 
sections 21 and 22 (FIGS. 6 and 8) having a combined area sufficient to 
support a wheel chair A (FIGS. 1, 5) and a frame section 23 supporting the 
two sections 21 and 22. The frame section 23 comprises a transverse member 
43 mounted in rotative relationship by pivot pins 31 in between the lower 
extremities of the vertical links 19 (FIGS. 7, 8), and two parallel 
longitudinally extending members 41 and 42 extending transversely from the 
extremities of the member 43. 
The platform 13 is normally in a plane parallel to the ground when the lift 
assembly is in use but for storage it is raised to a vertical position to 
reduce the storage size and it is shifted within the vehicle 1 to allow 
closing of the vehicle door B (see FIG. 3). In conventional lifts, the 
door opening is blocked by the raised platform while in the present 
invention the platform comprises two sections 21 and 22 separable in the 
middle to leave a passage through the door for a non-invalid person; it is 
therefore another advantage of the present invention. 
The frame 23 is moveable in between a vertical plane and a horizontal plane 
by means of a pair of articulated linkages 24 having each two links 25, 26 
(see FIGS. 1, 5 and 7) pivotally secured together and installed in between 
the vertical links 19 and the parallel members 41 and 42 on each side of 
the lift assembly. 
The upper members 25 are ended by a curved section 27. When the platform 
13, during its upward movement, has reached its intermediate position 
level with the vehicle floor C, the curved sections 27 abut on a short rod 
28 located on the underside of the lower parallel links 18 causing the 
rotation of the members 25 around the axis 29 and the displacement of the 
lower links 26 which pull on the frame sections 23 to pivot the platform 
13 upwardly. 
The platform sections 21 and 22 are each formed of a rectangular frame 44 
which supports a rigid mesh 45. The frames 44 are pivoted to the parallel 
member 41 or 42 at 50 and to the transverse member 43 at 51 (see FIG. 8). 
The frames 44, when coplanar, are also supported by the member 43 by means 
of a plate 52 secured to each frame 44 and abutting on the top surface of 
the member 43. 
The parallel members 41 and 42 are respectively supported by a pair of tie 
rods 46 to maintain the platform in a horizontal position. 
The tie rods 46 are also respectively forcing the platform sections 21 and 
22 from a position where they lie in the same plane to a transverse 
position as seen in FIG. 7. The tie rods 46 each comprise a first rod 47, 
a second rod 48 and a socket and ball joint 30 securing the first and the 
second rod together in order to allow an angular movement and a rotation 
of the second rod 48. The ball and socket joint 30 rotates about the axis 
of the first rod 47. 
The first rod 47 is pivotally connected to the vertical link 19 for 
movement only in a plane parallel to the plane joining the two vertical 
links 19 and the second rod 48 is secured to the rectangular frame 44 and 
extends underneath and is normal to member 41, the tie rods 46 force the 
platform sections 21 and 22 to a transverse position when the lift 
assembly is moving for storage and the platform 13 is pivoting to an 
upstanding position; because the tie rods 46 are not flexible, the 
platform sections 21 and 22 have to pivot. 
It is an advantage of the invention because it will be possible for a 
non-invalid person to use the door opening when the lift assembly is in 
its stored position. 
Barriers are installed around the platform 13 as a security measure to 
prevent the user from falling (see FIGS. 1, 5, 8, 9 and 10). 
Lateral barriers 36 upwardly extend from and are fixed to the parallel 
members 41 and 42 and front barriers 32 are pivotally secured to the front 
edge of the frames 44 and each comprises a protection plate 33, a pair of 
guiding plates 49 pivotally secured at 49' on either sides of the frame 44 
and supporting the plate 33. A rod 34 having its extremities slidably 
secured in slots 53 of the guide plates 49, forms a loop pivotally 
supported by the frame 44. A striking plate 35 is fixed to the center of 
the loop formed by rod 34. 
Each protection plate 33 is biased to an upward position by means of a 
tension spring 54 which is secured at its ends to the frame 44 and to a 
small pin 55 transversely mounted on the rod 34. 
When protection plate 33 is in upward position, striking plate 35 protrudes 
from the underside of frame 44 as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10. When 
the platform 13 is lowered to ground level, striking plate 35 abuts the 
ground and pivots protection plate 33 to lowered ground engaging position, 
shown in full lines in FIGS. 9 and 10, to permit passage of the wheel 
chair A. 
A ramp 39 (see FIGS. 1 and 5) is used to bridge the gap between the 
platform 13 and the vehicle floor C when the platform 13 is horizontal and 
level with the vehicle floor and is also used as a barrier when the lift 
assembly is moving from the intermediate position level with the vehicle 
floor C to the ground or inversely. 
The ramp 39 is pivotally secured at 39' to the transverse member 43 and 
extends inside the vehicle a sufficient distance to allow the platform 13 
to be lowered to the ground level with the ramp 39 still resting on the 
door opening sill or floor board cavity 4 so that it will slide back 
inside the vehicle when the platform 13 is raised. 
When the lift assembly is moved out from its stored position, means are 
needed to help the frame section 23 rotate from an upstanding position to 
a horizontal position. 
These means are installed on the armature 15 (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 4) and 
comprise a tension spring 37 secured at one extremity to a support 38 
extending from the curved section 27 of the upper link 25 and at the other 
extremity to a hook 56 secured to the lower section of the vertical member 
19. 
The spring 37 forces the articulated linkage 24 to rotate the platform 13 
downwardly. 
In a preferred embodiment, a control box 40 is secured to an arm 40' (see 
FIGS. 1 and 3), which is pivotally secured to one of the two vertical 
links 19 being moveable between operative and stored position. Box 40 
carries control buttons electrically connected to an electrical circuit 
for the control of a hydraulic circuit (not shown), including a hydraulic 
pump and the hydraulic cylinder 11. Control box 40 permits the user to 
operate the lift assembly alone. 
As shown in FIG. 3, when the lift assembly is in stored position, it 
completely clears the conventional sliding door B of the vehicle.