Patent ID: 8167317

Claim:
An attachment for a manual wheelchair which has first and second front caster wheels and a pair of main side wheels rearward of said first and second front caster wheels, the attachment adapted to assist the wheelchair as the wheelchair descends from an upper surface to a lower surface, the attachment comprising: a damping unit adapted to mount on a wheelchair frame, said damping unit including a differential movement component; a rail adapted to mount on the wheelchair frame and adapted to slide along the wheelchair frame; wherein a first end of the rail is connected to the damping unit and a second end of the rail is connected to said first front caster wheel on the wheelchair; and a piston rod connected to the differential movement component of the damping unit and effective to eject the rail and said first front caster wheel from a first position to a second position such that the first front caster wheel engages the lower surface independent of said second front caster wheel when a latch adapted to maintain said rail in said first position is automatically released.