LIFT MECHANISM FOR WHEELCHAIRS IN VEHICLES

摘要

This disclosure provides a system that combines together a wheelchair ramp and lift. The system starts inside the vehicle interior so that the ramp, when deployed, only protrudes several inches from the edge of the vehicle rather than several feet. This increases flexibility in the entry and egress of a wheelchair to and from a vehicle.

主权项

1. A vehicle having a wheelchair ramp and lift system, the vehicle comprising:
a vehicle body including a vehicle floor and a vehicle cabin accessible by an opening; a ramp extension movable between a stowed position in which the ramp extension is positioned within the vehicle cabin and an extended position in which the ramp extension extends out of the vehicle cabin through the opening; a ramp/lift assembly adjacent the opening in the vehicle cabin, wherein the ramp/lift assembly includes a ramp surface movable between a ramped position in which the ramp surface defines an inclined plane between the vehicle floor and the ramp extension and a non-ramped position in which the ramp surface is substantially flush with the vehicle floor; and a lift actuator configured to move the ramp/lift assembly between the ramped position and the non-ramped position, wherein the lift actuator has a lifting capacity configured to move the ramp surface to the non-ramped position under a weight of a wheelchair and wheelchair user.