Physically disabled people, like the rest of the population, desire mobility and the ability to use mobility vehicles, such as passenger cars, vans, all terrain vehicles, mobility vehicles, buses, trucks, and boats, as well as specialized mobility devices. With the ability to drive a vehicle or other mode of transportation, the physically disabled person can experience a high degree of mobility and independence. Those physically disabled people who are able to operate wheelchairs usually have the ability to operate vehicles as well, but have great difficulty entering and exiting vehicles.
Moreover, it is also a known challenge for wheelchair users, mobility device users, and those that assist them, to lift their wheelchair and/or other mobility device from the ground up into a vehicle or other mode of transportation, or to negotiate level changes within an architectural structure, such as a building. As is known, a large amount of effort and/or mechanical assistance is required to assist or lift a person from ground level to a driving or riding position in a vehicle. This is true for a person that has some physical impairment that limits their ability to climb into a vehicle, such as for example, a person with a walker or a cane. This is equally true for those that are not physically able to climb into a vehicle, including those that require a wheelchair. Moreover, significant effort and/or mechanical assistance is also required to lift or lower a person of physical disability from one elevation to another within any architectural building.
Over the years, various mechanisms have been developed which allow the lifting of wheelchairs into a vehicle and their subsequent positioning within the vehicle. These existing mechanisms typically require motor-driven sources of power to lift or hoist the wheelchair from the ground and into the vehicle. Such mechanisms also typically require major modification to the vehicle such as the addition of expensive, bulky and heavy equipment, which takes up a significant amount of space. Furthermore, the loading and unloading of wheelchairs into and out of such modified vehicles by existing mechanisms is time consuming and often requires an operator, other than the handicapped individual, to operate the lifting mechanism. It is also a challenge for users of mobility devices to lift their chair or device from the ground up into the vehicle or other mode of transportation, or to negotiate level changes in a building.
Most current systems that provide assistance in elevating a person in a wheelchair to a driving or riding position, such as is required for entry into a vehicle, require that the wheelchair be positioned on a platform or similar structure for lifting. These platform type systems typically require a large amount of space and are therefore costly and disadvantageous. Moreover, because these types of devices do not typically securely engage the wheels, movements can cause the wheelchair to move causing a less secure situation for the user. Upon entry into the vehicle, the current securing systems utilize wheel or axle tie downs to secure the wheelchair with respect to the vehicle. For operation in an all terrain vehicle which causes significant movement of the vehicle in rough operation, this tie down does not allow as secure a seating situation as that experienced by non-disabled users in standard vehicle fixed seating.
Several current lifting systems are available that can transfer a person from a position on ground into a vehicle. These lifting systems include a lifting seat that is an integral part of the lifting system. These systems thus require the physical transfer of the person from their wheelchair or seating device into the lifting chair. Once the person is located in the lifting seat, the seat is lifted and rotated by the lifting system to a secure position within the transportation mode. These systems also require the step of storing the now unused wheelchair or seating device in the vehicle by an aiding attendant before vehicle operation, such that they can be used again by the person when unloaded from the lifting seat. This is thus not a system that can readily be used independently by the user.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a lift mechanism that is intended to engage and couple a wheelchair to allow easy securing and lifting of the wheelchair and/or other seating device while occupied. It would also be advantageous to provide a lift mechanism to could be readily employed into a variety of different modes of transportation for engagement with a universal coupling device.