Convertible carriage

Claim 2

A convertible carriage comprising: a superstructure including seat means for carrying a person to be transported; a plurality of wheel means; wheel support means, movably interconnected with said superstructure, for rollably supporting said wheel means to transport said superstructure when said wheel support means and said wheel means are in an extended position below said superstructure; said wheel support means including a plurality of leg members, one for separately supporting each said wheel means, arranged in a front set and a back set each of said leg members having separate pivotal interconnections with said superstructure; means, operatively connected to said wheel support means, for relocating said wheel means concurrently between said extended position and a retracted position in said superstructure by driving said front set in the fore and upward direction during retraction and said back set in the aft and upward direction, said means for relocating including: first drive means for moving one of said front and back sets between said extended and said retracted positions, said first drive means including a drive member to which force is directly applied by an operator of the carriage; and second drive means for interconnecting the remaining set and said first drive means to drive that other set between said extended and said retracted positions; means for locking said leg members in said extended positions to extend outwardly and downwardly from said pivotal interconnections.

Claim 3

The carriage of claim 1 in which said first and second drive means respectively include first and second pulley means, each said pulley means being operatively connected to at least one leg member, and said second drive means further includes cable means interconnecting said first and second pulley means to drive said pulley means and their corresponding leg members concurrently.

Claim 4

The carriage of claim 1 in which said means for locking includes a locking mechanism for releasably locking said first drive means to secure said leg members in said extended position.

Claim 5

The carriage of claim 3 in which said locking mechanism has a single element to which force is applied by an operator of said carriage to disengage said first drive means and said locking mechanism from each other.

Claim 6

The carriage of claim 1 in which said superstructure includes means for receiving said wheel means in said retracted position.

Claim 7

The carriage of claim 5 in which said means for receiving includes, on each side of said superstructure, a cavity formed by opposing walls.

Claim 8

The carriage of claim 6 in which said means for receiving further includes a pan between each set of opposing walls, and said means for relocating moves said wheel means to rest above and over said pans in said retracted position.

Claim 9

The carriage of claim 1 in which said means for relocating arcuately moves each said wheel means in a substantially vertical plane.

Claim 10

The carriage of claim 1 in which said seat means includes a rigid back rest member.

Claim 11

The carriage of claim 9 in which said back rest member is adjustably pivotable relative to the remainder of said superstructure.

Claim 12

The convertible carriage of claim 1 in which said drive member is connected between the leg members of said back set and is directly actuatable by the foot of the operator.

Claim 13

A convertible carriage comprising: a superstructure including seat means for carrying a person to be transported; a plurality of wheel means; wheel support means, movably interconnected with said superstructure, for rollably supporting said wheel means to transport said superstructure when said wheel support means and said wheel means are in an extended position below said superstructure; said wheel support means including a plurality of leg members, one for separately supporting each said wheel means, arranged in a front set and a back set each of said leg members having separate pivotal interconnections with said superstructure; means, operatively connected to said wheel support means, for relocating said wheel means concurrently between said extended position and a retracted position in said superstructure by driving said front set in the fore and upward direction during retraction and said back set in the aft and upward direction, said means for relocating including: first drive means for moving said back set between said extended and said retracted positions, said first drive means including a drive member to which force is directly applied by the foot of an operator of the carriage to lift said back set into said retracted position; and second drive means for interconnecting said front set and said first drive means to drive said front set between said extended and said retracted positions; and a locking mechanism for engaging said means for relocating, said locking mechanism actuatable by the foot of the operator to disengage said wheel means from said extended position said locking mechanism locking said leg members in said extended positions to extend outwardly and downwardly form said pivotal interconnections.

Claim 14

A convertible carriage comprising: a superstructure including seat means for carrying a person to be transported; a plurality of wheel means; wheel support means, movably interconnected with said superstructure, for rollably supporting said wheel means to transport said superstructure when said wheel support means and said wheel means are in an extended position below said superstructure; said wheel support means including a plurality of leg members, one for separately supporting each said wheel means, arranged in a front set and a back set each of said leg members having separate pivotal interconnections with said superstructure; means, operatively connected to said wheel support means, for relocating said wheel means concurrently between said extended position and a retracted position in said superstructure by driving said front set in the fore and upward direction during retraction and said back set in the aft and upward direction, said means for relocating including: first drive means for moving said back set between said extended and said retracted positions, said first drive means including a drive member to which force is directly applied by the foot of an operator of the carriage to lift said back set into said retracted position; and second drive means for interconnecting said front set and said first drive means to drive said front set between said extended and said retracted positions; and a locking mechanism for engaging said means for relocating, said locking mechanism actuatable by the foot of the operator to disengage said wheel means from said extended position said locking mechanism locking said leg members in said extended positions to extend outwardly and downwardly form said pivotal interconnections.

Claim 15

The carriage of claim 12 in which said first and second drive means respectively include first and second pulley means, each said pulley means being operatively connected to at least one leg member, and said second drive means further includes cable means interconnecting said first and second pulley means to drive said pulley means and their corresponding leg members concurrently.