Sunrise Medical Hhg, Inc.

Sunrise Medical Gmbh

Belltech, Inc.

Robert A Taylor

Paul Christian Dickie

William G Robinson

James C Thorpe

The present invention is an after-market vehicle-lowering steering knuckle (drop spindle) designed for use with a large-bore &ldquo;live&rdquo; wheel hub to lower a vehicle chassis. This is accomplished through the inversion and modification of the upper and lower ball joints as compared to a factory steering knuckle, and a modification of the bolt assembly for attaching the wheel hub assembly to the spindle. The present invention allows the factory-supplied upper and lower control arms to be used, providing a considerable cost savings to the end user. The drop spindle design described herein may also be used to lower four-wheel drive trucks.

Vehicle-lowering steering knuckle for &ldquo;live&rdquo; wheel hub

A wheelchair suspension system includes suspension members that interact to cause a positive movement of the suspension members to urge the drive wheels into contact with the ground. The resilient suspension system comprises a drive wheel suspension member for supporting a drive wheel and a front wheel suspension member for supporting a front wheel. The drive wheel suspension member and the front wheel suspension member are each adapted to be movably attached to the wheelchair frame. Each suspension member cooperates with a resilient element to resist movement of the suspension members relative to the frame. The suspension members are adapted to cooperate with each other in response to movement of the suspension members relative to the frame to urge the drive wheel into contact with the ground.

Suspension system for a wheelchair

A wheelchair suspension system has a resilient front suspension members and resilient drive wheel suspension members. The resilient front suspension members are attached to the front end of the wheelchair base frame assembly. The resilient drive wheel suspension members are attached to opposite sides of the base frame assembly in a spaced apart relation relative to the resilient front suspension members. Each one of the resilient front suspension members supports a front wheel and each one of the resilient drive wheel suspension members supports a drive wheel.

Drive wheel axle assemblies (34, 34A) and caster wheel assemblies (94, 252) are mounted to a wheelchair frame (4, 222). One axle assembly (34) includes an axle adjustment tube (40) secured to the frame and an axle housing (56), defining an axle bore (58), toollessly mounted to the axle adjustment tube at any of several rotary orientations to determine the camber of the drive wheel (36) mounted to the axle assembly. The front to rear position of the axle housing can also be adjusted in a toolless manner using a quick release pin (66). The height of the front end (10) of the frame is changed, to ensure that the caster wheel pivot axis (96) remains vertical, without tools by mounting a caster wheel (98) at various vertical positions within a caster spool housing (100) without exposing the user to oil and grease on the spindle (120) and bearings (121). Another axle assembly (34A) permits the height of the drive wheels (254) to be changed without the used tools. The seat back angle can also be changed without tools by a user while sitting in the wheelchair.

Wheelchair

An adjustable seat back assembly for a wheelchair of the type having a frame with an upwardly extending rear frame portion and an adjustable angle seat support which includes a pivotable front end and a rear end which is secured to said rear frame portion at any of a plurality of different positions. A seat back support is mounted to pivot on the seat support from adjacent its rear end. A link connects the seat support to a slider on the rear frame portion to maintain the position of the slider relative to the seat back support pivot as the seat angle is adjusted. A releasable seat back angle adjuster secures the seat back support to the slider at any of a plurality of positions. When the seat back angle adjuster is released, the seat back support may be folded down towards said seat support.

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Fresno, CA, United States of America

Robert A Taylor