Patent ID: 8280561

Claim:
A powered wheel chair device, comprising: a motorized undercarriage; a support seat for supporting a wheelchair occupant at least one support arm located adjacent the seat, a controller mounted on the arm, the controller including a joystick unit within reach of the occupant, the joystick being in communication with the motorized undercarriage for driving the undercarriage, the joystick including a collar having a periphery with a number of abutment regions located therealong; obstacle detecting sensors peripherally positioned on the wheel chair; and a number of actuators mounted relative to the collar and movable between a storage position distal to a corresponding abutment region and a deployed position adjacent the corresponding abutment region, each actuator being deployed responsive to a corresponding obstacle detecting sensor positioned near a corresponding peripheral region of the wheel chair for inhibiting travel of the joystick in a direction of an obstacle sensed by the corresponding sensor.