Restraining device for wheelchairs and the like

Claim 1

A restraining device kit for installation on an existing wheelchair having side support members serving as arm rests, said kit comprising: a. a pair of elongated flat bracket members, each having a series of spaced holes therein, b. attachment means for securing said bracket members to the respective side support members in substantially parallel spaced relation to each other so that corresponding holes in the two bracket members are in lateral registry, c. a restraining rod member conforming closely in diameter to the diameter of the holes in said bracket members and having a length greater than the distance between the bracket members as attached to the side support members, said rod member having a resilient protective covering of substantial radial thickness extending along the length thereof and terminating short of the ends of the rod member, said rod member being installable selectively in different corresponding sets of laterally registering holes in the said bracket members by longitudinal movement of the rod member successively in opposite directions to first insert one end through a hole in the bracket member on one side support member and then to insert the opposite end through the corresponding hole in the bracket member on the other side support member, and d. means removably securable to the ends of said rod member after installation in the holes in said bracket members, to prevent longitudinal dislodgement of the said rod member from the bracket members.