Patent Publication Number: US-2022211561-A1

Title: Wheelchair bumper wings

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to accessories for wheelchairs, and more particularly to a wheelchair bumper wing. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A wheelchair is a wheeled mobility device in which a user sits. A wheelchair is an important tool to enable some mobility and independence for individuals that have trouble walking or are unable to walk at all. A wheelchair can be propelled manually (by turning the wheels by hand), or by a third party may pushing the wheelchair, or via various automated systems. 
     Wheelchairs come in variations allowing either manual propulsion by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand, or electric propulsion by motors. There are often handles behind the seat to allow for individuals not sitting in the chair to push the wheelchair. Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, or disability. 
     A basic manual wheelchair incorporates a seat, footrests and four wheels. The wheels may be of various sizes. For example, in some embodiments, there may be two caster wheels at the front, and two large wheels at the back. The two larger wheels in the back usually have hand rims, which are metal or plastic circles approximately two centimeters in thickness. 
     Electric wheelchairs are propelled by a motor and battery. They can be quite complex, and may involve computerized components. They may be operated with a joystick or push buttons. Electric wheelchairs need strong frames to support the motor and battery so they are very heavy and also quite expensive as compared with most manual wheelchairs. As wheelchairs are essential for those with mobility issues, it is desirable to have improvements in wheelchairs. 
     SUMMARY 
     Disclosed embodiments provide a wheelchair bumper wing. The wheelchair bumper wing may be installed on a manual or electric wheelchair. In embodiments, two wheelchair bumper wings are used, with one wheelchair bumper wing installed on each side of the wheelchair. The wheelchair bumper wings serve to protect the wheels and other components of the wheelchair. In particular, when navigating narrow areas such as doorways, it is possible for a wheelchair wheel to collide with an obstruction, such as a pole or wall, which can potentially cause damage to the wheelchair and/or cause injury to the person sitting in the chair. Some wheelchairs can be quite expensive. The wheelchair bumper wings of disclosed embodiments can help to protect wheels, axles, motors, and other components of a wheelchair in the event of side contact with a structure such as a pole, wall, door jam, or other object. Disclosed embodiments can be used with conventional manual wheelchairs and/or motorized wheelchairs. 
     In some embodiments, there is provided a wheelchair bumper wing comprising: an elongated member, wherein the elongated member comprises: a front section; a middle section; a rear section; and at least one wheelchair mount; wherein the middle section flares at a flare angle with respect to a longitudinal tangent line. 
     In some embodiments, there is provided a wheelchair, comprising: a first wheelchair bumper wing affixed to a first side of the wheelchair; a second wheelchair bumper wing affixed to a second side of the wheelchair; wherein the first wheelchair bumper wing and the second wheelchair bumper wing each comprise: an elongated member, wherein the elongated member comprises: a front section; a middle section; a rear section; and at least one wheelchair mount; wherein the middle section flares at a flare angle with respect to a longitudinal tangent line. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate several embodiments of the present teachings and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present teachings. 
       The drawings are not necessarily to scale. The drawings are merely representations, not necessarily intended to portray specific parameters of the invention. The drawings are intended to depict only example embodiments of the invention, and therefore should not be considered as limiting in scope. In the drawings, like numbering may represent like elements. Furthermore, certain elements in some of the figures may be omitted, or illustrated not-to-scale, for illustrative clarity. 
         FIG. 1A  shows an example of a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 1B  shows a top-down front perspective view of a wheelchair bumper wing in accordance with disclosed embodiments (uninstalled from a wheelchair). 
         FIG. 1C  shows a bottom-up back perspective view of the wheelchair bumper wing of  FIG. 1B  in accordance with embodiments. 
         FIG. 1D  shows a top-down view of the wheelchair bumper wing in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  shows another example of a wheelchair bumper wing in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  shows another example of wheelchair bumper wing in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  shows a person in a wheelchair that has bumper wings installed in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 5A  shows an exemplary front mount point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 5B  shows a partial perspective view of the bumper wing of  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6  shows an exemplary rear mount point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 7A  shows an exemplary rear mount point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 7B  shows the wheelchair bumper wing of  FIG. 7A  in a spring-compressed configuration. 
         FIG. 8  shows a front view of an exemplary front attachment point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 9  shows an exemplary rear attachment point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. 
         FIG. 10A  is a side perspective view of a transport wheelchair utilizing embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10B  is a front view of the wheelchair of  FIG. 9A . 
         FIG. 10C  is a rear view of the wheelchair of  FIG. 9A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Disclosed embodiments provide a wheelchair bumper wing (or “wing”). The wheelchair bumper wing may be installed on a manual or electric wheelchair. In embodiments, two wheelchair bumper wings are used, with one wheelchair bumper wing installed on each side of the wheelchair. The wheelchair bumper wings serve to protect the wheels, hand rims, and other components of the wheelchair. In particular, when navigating narrow areas such as doorways, it is possible for a wheelchair wheel to collide with an obstruction, such as a pole or wall, which can potentially cause damage to the wheelchair, and worse, hurt the user&#39;s hand, which may be wedged between the hand rim and the obstruction on a manually-operated wheelchair. Some wheelchairs can be quite expensive. The cost of an electric wheelchair can typically range anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000. The wheelchair bumper wings of disclosed embodiments can help to protect wheels, hand rims, axels, motors, and other components of a wheelchair, as well as the user, in the event of side contact with a structure such as a pole, wall, door jam, or other object. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “some embodiments”, or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” “in some embodiments”, and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
     Moreover, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined (“mixed and matched”) in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope and purpose of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of this disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, the use of the terms “a”, “an”, etc., do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items. The term “set” is intended to mean a quantity of at least one. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising”, or “includes” and/or “including”, or “has” and/or “having”, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, and/or elements. For the purposes of disclosure, the word, “substantially” is defined as “for the most part”. It means “to a great extent,” but having some room for some minor variation. 
       FIG. 1A  shows an example of a wheelchair bumper wing  200  installed on a wheelchair  102  in accordance with disclosed embodiments. The wheelchair  102  comprises a seat  131 , back  133 , a first footrest  135  and a second footrest  137 . The wheelchair bumper wing  200  may include a front attachment point  206 . The front attachment point  206  may be secured to the front strut  104  of wheelchair  102 . In a typical wheelchair, the widest portion of the wheelchair is the region with rear wheel  112  and hand rim  114 . The wheelchair bumper wing  200  is flared such that it is disposed along the outside of hand rim  114 . Some embodiments may further include a rear attachment point  210 , which may be used to affix the wheelchair bumper wing  200  to the frame of the wheelchair in the rear. In embodiments, the attachment points  206  and  210  of the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be holes formed within the wheelchair bumper wing to allow fasteners such as bolts, screws, or pins to engage with corresponding fixtures on the wheelchair frame  101 . The wheelchair frame includes the rigid, non-rotating portions of the wheelchair  102 , and is typically fabricated from a metal such as steel, aluminum, or other suitable alloy. The wheelchair bumper wing  200  serves to protect the side of the wheelchair  102  from damage, as well as prevent injury to a person sitting in the wheelchair, due to collision with an obstacle such as a wall or post. In this example, wheelchair  102  further includes another wheelchair bumper wing  100  that is similar to wheelchair bumper wing  200 , mounted on the other side of the wheelchair  102 . 
       FIG. 1B  shows a top-down front perspective view of a wheelchair bumper wing  200  (uninstalled from wheelchair) in accordance with disclosed embodiments.  FIG. 1C  shows a bottom-up back perspective view of the wheelchair bumper wing  200  in accordance with embodiments. Wheelchair bumper wing  200  has a front attachment point  206  and a rear attachment point  210 . In some embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be mounted at the front area of the wheelchair frame, in the region where a footrest is typically affixed. 
     In embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of metal. In embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of steel, aluminum, or other suitable alloy. In other embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of plastic. In some embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of fiberglass. In some embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of polycarbonate. In some embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of composite. Lighter-weight materials, such as polycarbonate and fiberglass, provide protection of the wheelchair components such as wheels, handle rims, and axles, without adding excessive weight to the wheelchair. In some embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing  200  may be comprised of a flexible material to help absorb shock. Examples of such flexible materials can include fiberglass, plastic, or other suitable materials. These are examples, but any suitable material is included within the scope of the invention. 
       FIG. 1D  shows a top-down view of wheelchair bumper wing  200  in accordance with disclosed embodiments. Wheelchair bumper wing  200  comprises a front section  232 , a middle section  234 , and a rear section  238 . The front section  232  is affixed to a wheelchair near the front of the wheelchair. The front section longitudinal tangent line  251  is parallel to the longitudinal axis E of the wheelchair bumper wing, and tangential to the wheelchair bumper wing within the front section  232 . 
     The middle section  234  is flared to accommodate the larger rear wheels and hand rims of a wheelchair. The middle section tangent line  253  is tangential to the wheelchair bumper wing within the middle section  234 . An angle A is formed between the front section tangent line  251 , and the middle section tangent line  253 . Angle A is referred to as the “flare angle” of the wheelchair bumper wing. In embodiments, the flare angle has a value ranging from 130 degrees to 170 degrees. In some embodiments, the flare angle has a value ranging from 145 degrees to 160 degrees. The flare angle should be smooth and not actuate, so as to avoid weak points. The flare angle allows the wheelchair bumper wing to reduce the shock felt by a user of the wheelchair when it contacts an object such as a post or wall, by distributing forces in the X and Y direction, thus protecting the wheelchair from damage, as well as minimizing discomfort to the wheelchair user in the event of a collision with an object, such as post  247  (not part of embodiments, but instead the environment shown), when a wheelchair on which the wheelchair bumper wing  200  is mounted, is moving forward in direction F, with respect to the post  247 . Thus, embodiments can include a wheelchair bumper wing comprising an elongated member, wherein the elongated member comprises a front section, a middle section, a rear section, an attachment point disposed on the front section to mount to a front portion of a wheelchair, wherein the middle section flares at an angle with respect to a longitudinal tangent line. The middle section flares at the flare angle A. 
     As shown, in some embodiments, the edges and sides of the bumper wing are substantially smooth without sharp edges or protrusions, such that the bumper wing does not damage any property it might bump into. This will also prevent a user from hurting himself/herself in case he/she touches it. 
       FIG. 2  shows a top-down front perspective view of a wheelchair bumper wing  250  in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. The wheelchair bumper wing  250  is similar to bumper wing  200  of  FIGS. 1A-1D , with the main difference being that there is two front attachment points  206 ,  208  for wheelchair bumper wing  250  and no rear attachment points. Two attachments at the front of the wheelchair bumper wing  250  strengthens its hold to the wheelchair, and eliminates the need for a rear attachment point. Thus, embodiments can utilize a front-only connection, to accommodate the physical differences of various wheelchair types. Also, in the event that there is no suitable mounting location at the rear of a particular wheelchair, the wheelchair bumper wing  250  may be used with front-only mounting (attachment points  206  and  208  only). 
       FIG. 3  shows a front top-down perspective view of a wheelchair bumper wing  260  in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. The wheelchair bumper wing  260  is similar to bumper wing  200  of  FIGS. 1A-1D , with the main difference being that there is two front attachment points  206 ,  208  for wheelchair bumper wing  260 , as well as a rear attachment point  210 . 
     In embodiments, the attachment points,  206 ,  208 , and  210 , or others may be a hole or opening in the bumper wing, such that a fastener like a screw or other suitable piece may attach the bumper wing through the attachment point to the wheelchair. 
     In embodiments that utilize wheelchair bumper wing  260 , the wheelchair bumper wing  260  may be affixed to a wheelchair utilizing first front attachment point  206  and rear attachment point  210 . Alternatively, the wheelchair bumper wing  260  may be affixed to a wheelchair utilizing first front attachment point  206 , second front attachment point  208 , and rear attachment point  210 . Alternatively, the wheelchair bumper wing  260  may be affixed to a wheelchair utilizing first front attachment point  206  and second front attachment point  208 , and not be connected at the rear (i.e. rear attachment point  210  is not used). 
       FIG. 4  shows a top-down view of a person in a wheelchair that has bumper wings installed in accordance with disclosed embodiments. Wheelchair  350  has a first wheelchair bumper wing  372  installed on a first side of wheelchair  350 , and a second wheelchair bumper wing  374  installed on a second side of wheelchair  350 . Front strut  356  is part of the frame of wheelchair  350  that secures footrest  360 . Front strut  358  is part of the frame of wheelchair  350  that secures footrest  362 . The wheelchair bumper wing  372  is affixed to the front strut  356 . The wheelchair bumper wing  374  is affixed to the front strut  358 . The wheelchair bumpers wings are attached via fasteners  380   a ,  380   b ,  380   c , and  380   d . The fasteners are shown with heads extending outward. This is just such that they can be clearly seen in the drawings. Although fasteners may extend outwards as shown here, in implementations fasteners with flat heads may be used, such as the flat screw head visible in  FIG. 5B . This would allow the fastener to be substantially flush with the outside of the bumper wing. 
     At the rear of the wheelchair  350 , wheelchair bumper wing  372  is affixed to rear frame member  352 . Similarly, at the rear of the wheelchair  350 , wheelchair bumper wing  374  is affixed to rear frame member  354 . The wheelchair bumper wings  372  and  374  serve to protect the wheelchair and its user from collision with obstacles. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the wheelchair  350  is traveling forward in a direction indicated by arrow T, and is set to collide with post  347 . Wheelchair bumper wing  374  serves to absorb force from the impending collision with the post  347  in the environment, thereby protecting the wheelchair  350 . In particular, since wheels are often the outermost parts of the wheelchair as it travels in a forward direction, the wheelchair bumper wings of disclosed embodiments can help prevent damage to wheels, tires, hand rims, spokes, connected components such as axles, as well as the user&#39;s hands on the hand rims. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , a user  371  is using their hands  373  and  375  to propel the wheelchair  350  using hand rims  377  and  379 , respectively. With disclosed embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wings  372  and  374  provide protection for the hands  373  and  375  of the user  371  in the event of a collision with an object. Such a collision may occur, for example, when misjudging the location or size of a doorway opening, or operating in an unfamiliar or crowded environment. 
       FIG. 5A  shows an exemplary front mount point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with disclosed embodiments.  FIG. 5B  shows a partial perspective view of the bumper wing of  FIG. 5A  with fastener visible. In this embodiment, wheelchair bumper wing  400  is affixed to front strut  404 . A collar bracket  408  is affixed to the front strut  404 . A mount plate  410  is affixed to the collar bracket  408 . The wheelchair bumper wing  400  is affixed to the mount plate  410  with one or more fasteners  409 , such as screws, pins, bolts, or the like. In some embodiments, washers, gaskets, and/or rubber blocks may be disposed in between the wheelchair bumper wing  400  and the mount plate  410 . In some embodiments, the fastener may have a flat head as shown at  409 , such that the fastener head is flush with the bumper wing. 
       FIG. 6  shows an exemplary rear mount point for wheelchair bumper wing  400  installed on a wheelchair in accordance with disclosed embodiments. Wheelchair bumper wing  400  is mounted at the rear to the rear frame member  452 . The wheelchair bumper wing  400  is affixed to the rear frame member  452 , which has at least one attachment point to accept one or more fasteners  419 , such as screws, pins, bolts, or the like. In some embodiments, a rubber block  424  is disposed in between the wheelchair bumper wing  400  and the rear frame member  452 . Rear frame member  452  is disposed above rear wheel  420  and is attached to the frame of a wheelchair. Rear wheel  420  may be an anti-tip caster, or a wheel of a motorized wheelchair. There are various types of wheelchairs to accommodate different users. Some wheelchairs may be fully motorized without hand rims. Disclosed embodiments can be used with both conventional “manual” wheelchairs, as well as motorized wheelchairs. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  show an exemplary rear mount point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. Wheelchair bumper wing  600  comprises rear spring-loaded mount  631 . In the top-down view of  FIG. 7A , the arrangement is similar to that shown in  FIG. 6  in that there is a rear frame member  652  that is disposed above rear wheel  620  and secures to the frame of a wheelchair. The wheelchair bumper wing  600  is affixed to the rear frame member  652  with spring-loaded rear mount  631 . In embodiments, the spring-loaded mount  631  comprises a telescopic coupling  627  that is disposed between springs  625  and  626 . The springs  625  and  626  serve to absorb force due to a collision between the wheelchair bumper wing  600  and another object. The springs can each be a resilient helical metal coil that can be pressed or pulled, but return to its former shape when released. 
       FIG. 7B  shows the wheelchair bumper wing  600  in a spring-compressed configuration, in which the springs  625  and  626  are compressed, and the telescoping coupling  627  is collapsed compared with the configuration of  FIG. 7A . The deflection, indicated by C, also reduces the total width of the wheelchair when equipped with wheelchair bumper wing  600 . In some embodiments, the deflection C can range from 10 millimeters to 30 millimeters. In some embodiments, the deflection C can range from 5 millimeters to 20 millimeters. In some embodiments, the deflection C can range from 15 millimeters to 25 millimeters. When a wheelchair is equipped with two such wheelchair bumper wings (one on each side such as illustrated in  FIG. 4 ), then the total width reduction is defined as twice the deflection (2×C). As an example, in a configuration with dual wheelchair bumper wings (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 4 ), if the deflection C is 15 millimeters, then the total width reduction is 30 millimeters. In addition to serving to absorb shock from impact to objects, the deflection of the wheelchair bumper wings of this embodiment can allow a wheelchair to “squeeze” through some narrow openings that would not be possible with a rigid embodiment. 
       FIG. 8  shows a front view of an exemplary front attachment point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments. In this embodiment, wheelchair bumper wing  700  has a hook  714  disposed thereon. The front strut  704  has a ring  716  affixed to the front strut  704  and oriented such that it can be coupled to the hook  714  by traversing the hook  714  through the ring  716 . 
       FIG. 9  shows an exemplary rear attachment point for a wheelchair bumper wing installed on a wheelchair in accordance with additional disclosed embodiments.  FIG. 9  shows a top-down view of a hook and ring arrangement similar to what is shown in  FIG. 8 , as applied to the rear of the wheelchair bumper wing  700 . At the rear of wheelchair bumper wing  700 , a hook  744  (similar to hook  714  of  FIG. 7 ) is engaged with ring  746  (similar to ring  716  of  FIG. 7 ). Ring  746  is affixed to rear frame member  752  which is disposed above rear wheel  720  and secures to the frame of a wheelchair. 
     The embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  and  FIG. 9  can be quickly removed and/or installed. The hook and ring arrangement described allows the wheelchair bumper wing  700  to be quickly removed for traversing a narrow doorway, or folding the wheelchair for storage or transport. The wheelchair bumper wing  700  can then be quickly reinstalled simply by placing the hooks  714 ,  744  through the respective rings  716 ,  746 . In this way, the user gets the safety and protection of the wheelchair bumper wings, with the convenience of easy removal when desired. Thus, in embodiments, the wheelchair bumper wing can comprise a front hook and a rear hook, wherein the front hook is configured and disposed to engage a front ring; and wherein the rear hook is configured and disposed to engage a rear ring. Embodiments can include a wheelchair, wherein the wheelchair includes a first wheelchair bumper wing and a second wheelchair bumper wing, wherein each bumper wing comprises a front hook, a rear hook, and wherein the front hook is configured and disposed to engage a corresponding front ring affixed to the wheelchair; and wherein the rear hook is configured and disposed to engage a corresponding rear ring affixed to the wheelchair. 
       FIGS. 10A-10C  show views of a transport wheelchair utilizing embodiments of the present invention.  FIG. 10A  shows a side perspective view.  FIG. 10B  shows a front view.  FIG. 10C  shows a rear view. Transport wheelchairs or companion chairs are companion wheelchairs where the purpose is for a companion to push the user. Thus, wheelchairs of this variety typically do not have the large rear wheels or hand rims as shown in the wheelchair of  FIG. 1A . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 10A-10C , wheelchair  902  comprises a seat portion  928 , back portion  930 , and may optionally include a headrest  936 , footrest  938 , and a leg support section  926 . The configuration of the wheelchair to include or not include various components such as headrests or leg support sections may depend on the preferences and/or physical condition of the user being transported in the wheelchair  902 . The wheelchair  902  includes front wheels, indicated generally as  924 , and rear wheels, indicated generally as  918 . The user may rest their arms on armrests  920  and  921  during use. Wheelchair  902  comprises a first wheelchair bumper wing  912  and a second wheelchair bumper wing  913 . First wheelchair bumper wing  912  is affixed to the rear of the wheelchair via rear frame member  916 . Second wheelchair bumper wing  913  is affixed to the rear of the wheelchair via rear frame member  917 . As can be seen in  FIG. 10A , wheelchair bumper wing  912  is affixed to the front of the wheelchair via front mount  922  ( FIG. 5A  shows details), and wheelchair bumper wing  913  is affixed in a similar manner on the other side of the wheelchair. The wheelchair bumper wing  913  is affixed in the rear similarly to as shown in  FIG. 6 . The wheelchair bumper wing  912  is attached via fasteners  982 ,  990 . The wheelchair bumper wing  913  is attached via fastener  980  and another not shown. 
     The wheelchair bumper wings  912  and  913  serve to provide protection of the rear wheels  918  from impact due to collision with nearby objects. Additionally, the wheelchair bumper wings  912  and  913  serve to provide protection of the arms of the user of the wheelchair as their arms rest on the armrests  920  and  921 . Since the wheelchair bumper wings  912  and  913  extend outward from the wheelchair beyond the rear wheels  918  and armrests  920  and  921 , a nearby object such as a wall or post comes in contact with the wheelchair bumper wings before the object can strike the rear wheels and/or armrests of the wheelchair. In this way, the wheelchair and its user are protected from collisions with such objects, thereby improving safety and comfort of the user. Thus, embodiments include two front wheels and two rear wheels, where each wheelchair bumper wing extends outside of a rear wheel, such that each wheelchair bumper wing serves to provide collision protection for its corresponding rear wheel. 
     In some embodiments, there is provided a system comprising a wheelchair (electric or non-electric) and at least one wheelchair bumper wing. In some embodiments, the system includes two bumper wings. In some embodiments, the bumper wings are removable from the wheelchair. In some embodiments, the bumper wings are non-removable from the wheelchair. 
     As can now be appreciated, disclosed embodiments provide a wheelchair bumper wing that improves safety and comfort of the user, as well as protects sensitive components of the wheelchair such as rims, tires, axles, drivetrains, handles, and/or other components. Disclosed embodiments can be used with conventional manual wheelchairs and/or motorized wheelchairs. Thus, disclosed embodiments offer significant improvements to many varieties of wheelchair, and improve the user-experience and safety of the users of the wheelchairs. 
     While the invention has been particularly shown and described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will be appreciated that variations and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art. The embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented in association with the formation and/or processing of structures illustrated and described herein as well as in association with other structures not illustrated. Moreover, in particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described components (assemblies, devices, circuits, etc.), the terms used to describe such components are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any component which performs the specified function of the described component (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated exemplary embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one of several embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more features of the other embodiments as may be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application. Therefore, it is to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the true spirit of the invention.