Patent Publication Number: US-7222921-B2

Title: Wheelchair with foot rest

Description:
BACKGROUND 
   Footrests that retract out of position when not in use are commonly found on collapsible or “folding” wheelchairs. The benefits of these retractable footrests are two fold. First, once it is retracts, this type of footrest facilitates the folding of the wheelchair into a smaller overall size. Secondly, the footrest can be retracted away from its normal position, supporting the weight of the users feet, so that the user may put their feet directly on the floor beneath the footrest. This aids the users in transferring into and out of the wheelchair. Some wheelchairs that have a rigid frame which does not collapse into a smaller size can also benefit from the addition of a swing away footrest. Since these rigid frames do not collapse, that particular benefit of the retractable footrest is not utilized, but the improvement in transferring into and out of the wheelchair are every but as necessary in a rigid frame wheelchair as they are in a collapsible wheelchair. Some types of rigid wheelchair designs rely upon the footrest as a structural member of the overall wheelchair frame and therefore the integrity of the frame would be compromised by a retractable footrest design similar to those found on collapsible wheelchairs. Some retractable footrest designs may attempt to provide some structural rigidity by interlocking in some way when they are functioning as a footrest, but this rigidity is lost when they are retracted for a user transferring in or out of the chair, a point at which it is arguable that the rigidity of the chair is most critical. This design addresses that particular issue by providing a retractable footrest that maintains a structurally rigid cross member regardless of the orientation of the footrest itself. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   A wheelchair according to the present invention has a frame which comprises a right fore member and a left fore member, and a footrest between them. The footrest comprises a right supporting arm extending rearwardly from the right fore member, a left supporting arm extending rearwardly from the left fore member, and a panel upon which may rest a users feet and which pivotably attaches to the right supporting arm at a rearward portion thereof and pivotably attaches to the left supporting arm at a rearward portion thereof. The panel is pivotable upwardly and rearwardly from a first position in which it is generally horizontally oriented for supporting the user&#39;s feet to a second position behind the user&#39;s feet whereby to allow the user to stand unencumbered by the panel. 
   Preferably, a biasing member between the panel and at least one of the left supporting arm and the right supporting arm biases the panel upwards to an intermediate orientation between the generally horizontal orientation and the generally vertical orientation whereby to allow the user to more easily reach the panel to move it into the generally vertical orientation. Preferably this comprises a first biasing member between the panel and the left supporting arm and a second biasing member between the panel and the right supporting arm. In one aspect of the invention, the first biasing member and second biasing members comprise springs. 
   In one aspect of the invention, the right supporting arm attaches to the right fore member via a right mounting tube telescopically connected to the right fore member and attached to the right supporting arm and wherein the left supporting arm attaches to the left fore member via a left mounting tube telescopically connected to the left fore member and attached to the left supporting arm. 
   Preferably, a pivotable and lockable attachment between the right supporting arm and the right mounting tube and also between the left supporting arm and the left mounting tube allows adjustment of the orientation of the panel with respect to horizontal. 
   Preferably, the panel rests upon the left supporting arm and upon the right supporting arm in the first position. 
   Preferably, the panel provides structural support between the left fore member and the right fore member in both its first position and its second position. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a wheelchair according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  a rear, perspective view of a footrest according to the invention for the wheelchair of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a front, perspective view of the footrest of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a side perspective view of the footrest of  FIG. 2  shown in its raised position; and 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of the footrest of  FIG. 2 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates in gross a wheelchair  10  which comprises a seat  12 , a backrest  14  and a pair of driving wheels  16 . A frame  18  rigidly ties together the seat  12 , backrest  14  and driving wheels  16 . The frame  18  carries a left fore member  20  and right fore member  22  which are open and tubular and which receive a left mounting tube  24  and right mounting tube  26  to mount a retractable footrest  28  to the chair  10 . Additional frame elements  19  extend down from the seat  12  to join the fore members  20  and  22 . These frame elements  19  provide added rigidity and support, and also carry front supporting wheels  21 . 
   The unique footrest  28  is particularly suitable for employment in self propelled wheelchairs such as described in the Ulrich et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,962, incorporated herein by reference. It adds rigidity adjacent the front wheels  21  and thus has utility for other wheelchair designs, especially those comprising a rigid, non-collapsing frame, such as the frame  18 . 
   Turning also now to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the footrest  28  comprises a generally horizontal left supporting arm  30  and generally horizontal right supporting arm  32 . These connect to the respective mounting tubes  24  and  26 . A footrest plate or panel  34  attaches by means of hinges  36  to the supporting arms  30  and  32  at their rearward ends  31 . Springs  38  (see also  FIG. 5 ) in the hinges  36  bias the panel  34  slightly upwardly so that a user may either grasp it and move it up and back with a hand or kick it back with a foot after removing their feet from the panel  34 . When their feet are resting upon the panel  34  the weight of their feet holds the panel  34  down and resting upon the supporting arms  30  and  32 . 
   The panel  34  itself provides lateral rigidity to the wheelchair  10  and because the supporting arms  30  and  32  extend rearwardly from the fore members  20  and  22 , and because the hinges  36  are located at the rearward portion  31  of the supporting arms  30  and  32 , the panel  34  can swing upwardly and rearwardly to a position (illustrated in  FIG. 4 ) out of the way of where a user&#39;s feet need to be positioned to stand up comfortably from the wheelchair  10 . 
   As most easily seen in  FIG. 5 , yet with reference to the preceding figures, the mounting tubes  24  and  26  have a scale  50  thereon for assisting their positioning within the fore members  20  and  22 . They may be clamped therein with a compression clamp, with a bolt passing through the fore member  20  and mounting tube  24  or other suitable connection. The mounting tubes carry supporting arm brackets  52  at their lowest extent. The supporting arms  30  and  32  attach to the supporting arm brackets  52  via bolts  54 . A rear bolt hole  56  in each supporting arm  30  and  32  allows a degree of up and down pivotal adjustment of the supporting arms  30  and  32  with respect to the mounting tubes  24  and  26 . Rubber or other cushioning inserts  58  inserted into an upper surface of the supporting arms  30  and  32  adjacent the supporting arms  30  and  32  provide a surface upon which the footrest plate  34  can rest. 
   Mounting brackets  60  mount to the footrest plate  34  on its bottom surface at the rear. The mounting brackets  60  pivotably attach to the rear ends  31  of the supporting arms  30  and  32  and thereby allow the footrest plate  34  to pivot from a first position as seen in  FIG. 1  where it is resting upon the supporting arms  30  and  32  in a generally horizontal orientation (although the tilt with respect to horizontal can be adjusted for user comfort) for supporting a user&#39;s feet, into a second position as seen in  FIG. 4  where the footrest plate  34  is pivoted upwardly and rearwardly behind a user&#39;s feet to allow the user to place their feet onto the ground and rise up out of the wheelchair  10  more easily. 
   Springs  38  within holes  62  bear against bolts  64  which bias the footrest plate  34  to rotate upwardly slightly toward the upright position. In one aspect of the invention the resting position of the footrest plate  34  (without the weight of a user&#39;s legs thereon) is approximately intermediate the downward and upwards positions, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . From this position a user can use his or her legs to kick the footrest plate  34  into the upright position or simply reach down with one hand to pull the footrest plate  34  into the upright position. 
   It will be understood by those of skill in the art that numerous and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the forms of the present invention are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.