Patent US4376611A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4376611A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Car top carrier for wheelchair
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1981-06-04
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Granted: 1983-03-15
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Expires: 2001-06-04
Abstract
Abstract A car top wheelchair carrier includes a carrier case mounted on the top of a car and open to one side of the car. A moving platform inside of the case is movable between a loaded position entirely within the case and an unloading position where an outer edge portion of it is downwardly hinged at an acute angle to overhang the side of the car. A wheelchair cage is provided for encompassing a folded wheelchair to be stored, and the cage includes a rectangular angle iron back frame member. A top edge of this back frame member is connected by a pair of cables to a pair of winches mounted with respect to the moving platform. The wheelchair cage, whether it encompasses and retains a wheelchair or not, is lifted up onto the platform by the winch means and the platform is then moved to its retracted position inside of the case. A door, hinged to the carrier case roof can be opened to let the wheelchair cage and wheelchair be raised and lowered into the carrier and can be closed when the wheelchair cage is stored or stowed.
Inventors
- 👤 Bruce H. Koop
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 18:27
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R9/00; B60R9/04; B60R9/042; B60R9/0426; A; A61; A61G; A61G3/00; A61G3/02; A61G3/0209; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S414/00; Y10S414/134
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
270 words
A car top wheelchair carrier for storing a wheelchair on top of a car and for raising and lowering the chair to and from the car top, said carrier including: a carrier case mounted on a car top and open to one side of the car, said carrier case including a floor, a side wall extending upwardly from the floor at a side opposite the open side, and a roof; a moving platform movably mounted with respect to the carrier case floor to be movable between a loaded position entirely within the case and an unloading position extending partially outside of the open side of the case; means for moving the platform between said loaded and unloading positions; a wheelchair cage adapted to temporarily encompass and retain a wheelchair; winch means mounted inside of the case; cable means extending between said winch means and said wheelchair cage; said winch means being operable when said platform is in its unloading position to permit the cable means to unwind from the winch means to allow said wheelchair cage to move from retracted position on said platform to unloaded position adjacent the ground and to wind the cable means onto the winch means to move the cage from unloaded position to retracted position; and the moving platform having a downwardly hinged outer edge portion adjacent the open side of said case, said hinged portion being so contructed and restricted as to fold downwardly to no more than an acute angle to the horizontal as said platform moves toward its unloading position and to fold up flat as it moves toward its loaded position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
270 words
A car top wheelchair carrier for storing a wheelchair on top of a car and for raising and lowering the chair to and from the car top, said carrier including: a carrier case mounted on a car top and open to one side of the car, said carrier case including a floor, a side wall extending upwardly from the floor at a side opposite the open side, and a roof; a moving platform movably mounted with respect to the carrier case floor to be movable between a loaded position entirely within the case and an unloading position extending partially outside of the open side of the case; means for moving the platform between said loaded and unloading positions; a wheelchair cage adapted to temporarily encompass and retain a wheelchair; winch means mounted inside of the case; cable means extending between said winch means and said wheelchair cage; said winch means being operable when said platform is in its unloading position to permit the cable means to unwind from the winch means to allow said wheelchair cage to move from retracted position on said platform to unloaded position adjacent the ground and to wind the cable means onto the winch means to move the cage from unloaded position to retracted position; and the moving platform having a downwardly hinged outer edge portion adjacent the open side of said case, said hinged portion being so contructed and restricted as to fold downwardly to no more than an acute angle to the horizontal as said platform moves toward its unloading position and to fold up flat as it moves toward its loaded position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
131 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 1 wherein: said hinged outer edge portion of said platform includes at least one platform panel hinged to the remainder of said platform along a line normal to the direction of movement of said platform with respect to said carrier case floor, said platform being provided with means to limit the maximum angle of downward movement of said panel with respect to the horizontal; said wheelchair cage being partially bounded by structural members on its side adjacent the carrier case when in the cage-unloaded position which define a plane surface adapted to ride over an outermost edge of said platform panel portion when said moving platform is in its unloading position in the process of moving between said cage unloaded position and said cage retracted position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
71 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 2 wherein: said outermost edge of said panel portion of said platform is provided with roller means in position to contact said plane surface-defining members of said cage to assist in movement of said cage over said panel portion of said platform in movement between said cage unloded and said cage retracted position and of movement of said cage from its retracted to its unloaded position.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
65 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 3 wherein: said hinged outer edge portion of said platform includes at least two platform panels each hinged along a line normal to the direction of movement of said platform with respect to said carrier case floor, said platform being provided with means to limit the maximum angle of downward movement of the outermost panel with respect to the horizontal.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
107 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 3 wherein: the relationship of the hinged downwardly movable panel portion of said platform to the rest of the platform and the relationship of the wheelchair cage when in its retracted position to said platform is such that the center of gravity of said cage lies outwardly from the non-hinged panel portion of the platform to the end that the cage will be carried by gravity from its retracted toward its unloaded position as said platform moves from its loaded toward its unloaded position and as said winch means is operable to permit said cable means to unwind from said winch means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
115 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 1 wherein: said carrier case is provided with a second side wall pivotably mounted with respect to said roof in position to be movable between a closed position in contacting relationship with said floor and said roof to close said otherwise open side of said case and an open position in clearing relation to said open side of said case and in non-interfering relationship with respect to the movement of said wheelchair cage into and out of said carrier case; and means for moving said second side wall between its open and closed positions when said platform is in its loaded position and said cage is in its retracted position.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
162 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 2 wherein: said wheelchair cage includes: a rigid rectangular back frame member situated on its side adjacent the carrier case when in the cage-unloaded position and situated adjacent the carrier cage floor when in the cage-retracted position, a front hood member extending away from and pivotably connected to an upper portion of said back frame member, a locking linkage assembly operative between said front hood member and said back frame member to move said members relative to each other to move the wheelchair cage between an encompassing and retaining condition and a releasing condition, and engaging arms extending from said back frame member toward said front hood member and from said front hood member toward said back frame member in position to engage a folded wheelchair when the cage is in its encompassing and retaining condition and to be movable to position to be clear of said wheelchair when the wheelchair cage is in its releasing condition.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
56 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 7 wherein: means is provided to continually bias said front hood member and said back frame member to tend to move from said retaining condition toward said releasing condition; and means is provided for connecting said cable means to said wheelchair cage at the upper edge of said back frame member.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
107 words
The wheelchair carrier of claim 8 wherein: said cable means includes two cables with open loops at the outer ends thereof; and said means to connect said cable means to said wheelchair cage includes two pairs of parallel spaced-apart wheelchair lifting ears extending integrally upwardly from opposite ends to said back frame member, each of said ears having a pintle receiving opening therethrough in alignment with the pintle-receiving openings of the other three ears, and a pintle passing through each of the open cable loops and all of the wheelchair lifting ears, each of the cable loops being positioned between one of said pairs of lifting ears.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
151 words
A wheelchair cage adapted selectively to either encompass and retain a folded wheelchair or to release a formerly retained wheelchair, said wheelchair cage including: a rigid rectangular upright back frame member; a front hood member extending away from and pivotably connected to an upper portion of said back frame member; a locking linkage assembly operative between said front hood member and said back frame member to move said members relative to each other to move the wheelchair cage between an encompassing and retaining condition and a releasing condition; and engaging arms extending from said back frame member toward said front hood member and from said front hood member toward said back frame member in position to engage a folded wheelchair when the cage is in its encompassing and retaining condition and to be movable to position to be clear of said wheelchair when the wheelchair cage is in its releasing condition.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
151 words
A wheelchair cage adapted selectively to either encompass and retain a folded wheelchair or to release a formerly retained wheelchair, said wheelchair cage including: a rigid rectangular upright back frame member; a front hood member extending away from and pivotably connected to an upper portion of said back frame member; a locking linkage assembly operative between said front hood member and said back frame member to move said members relative to each other to move the wheelchair cage between an encompassing and retaining condition and a releasing condition; and engaging arms extending from said back frame member toward said front hood member and from said front hood member toward said back frame member in position to engage a folded wheelchair when the cage is in its encompassing and retaining condition and to be movable to position to be clear of said wheelchair when the wheelchair cage is in its releasing condition.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
The wheelchair cage of claim 10 wherein: means is provided to continually bias said front hood member and said back frame member to tend to move from said retaining condition toward said releasing condition.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1986-03-14 | 1986-09-13 | 1987-03-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1990-03-14 | 1990-09-13 | 1991-03-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1994-03-14 | 1994-09-13 | 1995-03-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |