Powered platform lift system for persons in wheelchairs

Claim 1

A wheelchair lifting system comprising: a housing including means for supporting wheelchairs therein; guide means for the lifting system, said guide means including two pairs of tracks mounted in and secured to the housing, each pair of said tracks including a horizontal track and an arcuate track curving downwardly, each of said arcuate tracks being positioned above the horizontal track of its respective pair; a support linkage for the lifting system mounted on the tracks of the guide means, the said linkage including two pairs of opposed, horizontally, spaced apart generally right-angle-shaped support arms and a linking bar disposed parallel to and extending between each pair of arms, said support arms defining upper and lower extremities and a knee at the location of the right angle; a wheelchair platform mounted on and pivotally secured between the respective pairs of linking bars and support arms at the upper extremities thereof; a roller attached to the exterior side of the knee and the lower extremities of each of the support arms, said rollers on said extremities being mounted on the horizontal tracks of the guide means and said rollers on said knees being mounted on the arcuate tracks of the guide means; chocking means located on the wheelchair platform for bracing the wheels of a wheelchair placed on said platform; and drive means for extending and retracting the support linkage and the platform relative to said housing whereby said platform moves in an outward and downward motion during extension and in the reverse of said motion during retraction.