Patent ID: 8622412

Claim:
A wheelchair, comprising: a frame supported on wheels, the frame having a back and a front; a removable seat supported by the frame; a receptacle supported by the frame under the removable seat; a lifting tower supported by the frame and a sling carried by the lifting tower; the sling being operable by the lifting tower through a lifting range to move between positions in which a person carried in the sling is raised above the removable seat so that the removable seat may be removed and a person carried in the sling is lowered to be supported over the receptacle; the lifting tower including a slide mechanism that extends upward above the frame of the wheelchair from the back of the frame and that includes lever arms that pivot on the part that extends upward above the frame, with forward portions of the lever arms extending over the removable seat, and the sling being suspended from the forward portions of the lever arms; the lifting tower including a driving component that is separated from the slide mechanism; and the forward portion of the lever arm that forms part of the slide mechanism comprising paired precision extrusions topped by deployable hooks for supporting the sling.