Abstract: A wheelchair or a vehicle for sand or loose soil comprises one or more skids, each equipped with a spring-loaded roller or roller plate. Examples of the vehicle include a wheelchair and a planetary rover. Preferably, a beach, shower or pool wheelchair comprises two front skids in place of front wheels. The skids provide a resistance-free, broad footprint in the sand and a low-resistance narrow footprint when used on hard, e.g. boardwalk, surfaces. A wheelchair may further comprise a lightweight, easy to fold frame, which closes like a pair of eyeglasses. Still further, a wheelchair may provide a removable and reclining lounge chair seat to allow the user to exit the wheelchair to enter the water or sit and recline on the sand. In addition, dog bone or dumbbell shaped wheels provide the wheelchair strong, lightweight support and a wide footprint and can be equipped with grip notches for user self-propulsion.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 21, 2003
Date of Patent:
March 22, 2005
Assignee:
William Penn Charter School
Inventors:
Matthew Volk, Holly Alderman, Karl-Rainer Blumenthal, Benjamin Cooperman, Dana Henry, Lauren A. Herman, Vincent L. Johnson, Tara M. Miller, Peter W. O'Keefe, Daniel Orlowitz, John S. Peet, William E. Rouse, Victor W. Scarpato, Joshua Sperling, Jeffrey Suway, John Z. Zeglinski, Randy W. Granger