Therapy steering wheel for wheelchair

An automobile steering assembly to be mounted on a wheelchair for therapeutic purposes. The steering wheel is rotatably mounted on a plate attached to the horizontal center section of a tubular frame which fits onto the frame of the wheelchair. The steering wheel is positioned so that it is presented to the person seated in the wheelchair in the same position that the steering wheel of an automobile is presented to the seated driver of the automobile so that the person in the wheelchair can grasp the steering wheel as though he or she were the driver of an automobile. The steering wheel is mounted so it can be rotated or turned about its central axis similarly to the turning of an automobile steering wheel. However, unlike an automobile steering wheel, the therapy steering wheel includes manually adjustable means for varying the amount of force required to turn the therapy steering wheel.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Our invention relates to a therapeutic device for persons usually confined 
to a wheelchair especially children and adults suffering from some form of 
mental illness. 
Many persons who are voluntarily or involuntarily confined to a wheelchair 
during their waking hours desire or will be benefitted by something to do 
with their hands. many wheelchair patients will derive benefits both 
physically and mentally from being kept busy and having had extensive 
movement of their hands and arms on a daily basis. 
Accordingly, we have invented a therapy steering wheel assembly to be 
mounted on a wheelchair for rherapeutic purposes. The therapy steering 
wheel is made to resemble the wheel of an automobile and is rotatable on a 
plate attached to the horizontal center section of a tubular frame which 
fits onto the front frame of a wheelchair. 
The therapy steering wheel is positioned so that it is presented to the 
person in the wheelchair in the same position that the steering wheel of 
an automobile is presented to the seated driver of the automobile. Thus 
the person seated in the wheelchair can grasp the therapy steering wheel 
as though he or she were the driver of an autombile. However, unlike an 
automobile steering wheel, our steering wheel assembly includes a manually 
adjustable means for varying the amount of force required to turn the 
wheel. 
The exact shape and dimensions of the frame used to attach the steering 
wheel onto the front of the wheelchair may be varied depending upon the 
construction of the wheelchair. The important thing is to have the therapy 
steering wheel presented to the patient seated in the chair, whether he or 
she may be a child or an adult, similarly to the way an autombile steering 
wheel is presented to the driver of the automobile. 
We have found that a tubular frame is readily adaptable to different 
wheelchairs and different sized occupants of the wheelchair, especially 
when the tubular frame is made of chrome plated or stainless steel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A conventional tubular-framed wheelchair 10 onto which is mounted our 
therapy steering wheel assembly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the appended 
drawings. 
Wheelchair 10 includes a tubular frame, a seat and back, a pair of large 
back wheels, a pair of small front wheels, a foot rest, and a pair of hand 
grips, all as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 but not numbered since they form no 
part of our invention. Wheelchair 10 also includes a pair of similar front 
vertical tubular members 10a and 10b best shown in FIG. 2 to which are 
attached our therapy steering wheel assembly. 
The assembly includes a tubular frame 11 having horizontal center section 
11a, a pair of intermediate angled sections 11b and 11c, and a pair of 
similar vertical end sections 11d and 11e best shown in FIG. 3 of the 
drawings. A retaining plate 20 is welded to the bottom edge of horizontal 
center section 11a of the tubular frame. 
A cylindrical hole is drilled through retaining plate 20 and a hollow 
cylinder 19 having the same internal diameter as the hole in plate 20 is 
aligned with the hole and welded to the back side of the plate to form a 
cylindrical passageway for mounting onto plate 20 the steering wheel 12 
and the mechanism for adjusting the force required to turn the steering 
wheel. 
Steering wheel 12 is sized and designed to resemble a conventional 
automobile steering wheel with spokes 12a and 12b connected to an axially 
centered mounting hub 12c as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. 
Steering wheel 12 is mounted onto retaining plate 20 by a cylindrical shaft 
22 sized to fit within the passageway in cylinder 19. Shaft 22 has one end 
threaded and a cap-shaped knob 23 mounted on the other end of shaft. A 
spacer ring 24 encircles the shaft and rests against the back side of knob 
23. Friction clutch plate 25 lies next to spacer ring 24. The steering 
wheel is next placed upon shaft 22 with its hub 12c against clutch plate 
25. A second friction clutch plate 27 is then placed on shaft 22 next to 
the hub of the steering wheel, followed by a second spacer member 29 and 
finally a belleville spring 30. 
The threaded end of shaft 22 together with its shaft-encircling spacer ring 
24, clutch plate 25, steering wheel 12, second clutch plate 27, second 
spacer ring 29 and belleville spring 30 is inserted into and through the 
passageway in cylinder 19, and a pair of nuts 32 and 34 is then threaded 
onto the end of shaft 22 which projects from cylinder 19. 
With the steering wheel 12 thus mounted on plate 20, the wheel is free to 
turn or rotate about its axis on shaft 22. Manually turning of knob 23 
clockwise tends to cause belleville spring 30 to flex and increase the 
friction between clutch plates 25 and 27 and the opposite faces of 
steering wheel hub 12c. Thus manual turning of knob 23 clockwise or 
counterclockwise will permit the therapist or other person to adjust the 
tension on the hub of the steering wheel so as to change the force 
required by the patient in the wheelchair to turn the steering wheel. 
The entire steering wheel is mounted onto the wheelchair 10 by a pair of 
clamping brackets 22 best shown in FIG. 3. Brackets 22 are clamped onto 
wheelchair front vertical tubular frame members 10a and 10b by screws 17. 
Then ends 11d and 11e of assembly 11 are inserted into brackets 22 as 
shown in FIG. 3. By suitable positioning of brackets 22 on wheelchair 
frame members 10a and 10b and on frame members 11d and 11e, steering wheel 
12 can be positioned in front of the patient sitting in wheelchair 10 
similarly to the position of an automobile steering wheel in relation to 
the seated driver of the automobile. 
The therapist or person in charge of the patient in the wheelchair can then 
adjust the amount of force required to turn steering wheel 12 by turning 
knob 23. 
While we have illustrated our therapy steering wheel assembly, various 
modifications and rearrangements will be apparent to those skilled in the 
art without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. The 
scope of our invention is limited only by the following claims.