The object of the present invention is the production of an elevator for wheelchairs which is designed so as to be installable as well in linear staircases as in winding staircases and which is equipped with a loading platform the design of which enables transportation of various types of wheelchairs

An other purpose of the invention is the production of an elevator for wheelchairs, the loading platform of which is suspended in such a way as to enable it to be elevated to the ceiling after it's usage, where the platform hangs in such a way as not to constitute a hindrance to other transportations in the staircase.

Elevator devices for wheelchairs intended for installation in staircases are previously known. They consist as a rule of a transport rail fixed to the wall of the stairwell and of a driving machinery placed inside the rail which carries a platform intended to be driven up and down the stairway along the said rail. The disadvantage of that design is among other things that it must be tailor-made specifically to accommodate to each and every staircase and furthermore it constitutes a permanent hindrance to other transports in the staircase.

In the German patent DE 34 25 998 a wheelchair elevator is described which consists of an along a transport rail extending and by a driving machinery driven carrying device in which four carrying chains are suspended. Each one of said chains is at its lower end fashioned with a loop on which the wheelchair is meant to be fastened by hooking. In order to achieve a safe fastening by hooking on the chains the wheelchair must however be specially equipped wherefore the German wheelchair elevator can't be used for transport of wheelchairs lacking this supplementary equipment. The fixing of this equipment onto the chair entails problems in concurring with the strict security regulations.

The Swedish patent 450 890 is aimed at an elevator for the conveying of goods and if it is shall be used for transportation of a wheelchair the latter must be specially equipped for accommodation to the to the carrying device of the elevator.

The American patent 2,164, 128 is aimed at an elevator device by means of which a working platform can be elevated and moved to different heights in order to facilitate

the execution of various types of work for example photographing an object from different angles. The American elevator device is however not suited to be used for the transport of a wheelchair in for instance a staircase.

The problem which is at the origin of the present invention and which it aims to solve consists in partly achieving an elevator that can be used in staircases for transport of wheelchairs of arbitrary designs without accommodation of these to the elevating device of the elevator, and partly in complying with security regulations in force on transportation of those bound to wheelchairs by means of a wheelchair elevator of said type and also to by a simple manipulation to enable after it's usage the lifting device of the elevator to be elevated up and away from the stairs so as to avoid it's being a hindrance to other transports utilizing the staircase

For the solution of the above mentioned problems the present invention purports to a wheelchair elevator consisting of a transport rail fixed to the ceiling of the staircase or onto brackets on the wall of the staircase, a driving and lifting machinery fixed onto a with wheels equipped wagon intended to run along the transport rail and a raisable and lowerable load platform suspended in straps or wire on the wagon

The loading platform is designed so that the wheelchair bound individual sitting in his wheelchair of arbitrary design can roll onto the platform and there operate autonomously the elevator for transport to the desired staircase landing. The loading platform is equipped with security devices to prevent the wheelchair during transport from rolling forwards or backwards. These security devices start to function as soon as the lifting wires or straps are tightened in conjunction with the lifting of the loading platform.

After the usage of the loading platform it shall according to the invention with a single manipulation be able to be elevated up from the stairs. This is achieved through the fact that the wires or straps to which the platform is suspended are running on break reels mounted in bearings in a with flexible arms designed yoke which is fixed underneath the wagon. The invention will in the following be more thoroughly described in connection with the adjoined drawings, which show an embodiment of the invention. Fig 1 shows schematically a wheelchair elevator in accordance with the invention installed in a staircase consisting of an along a rail drivable wagon in which a loading platform is suspended, Fig 2 shows a section through the wagon with it's

driving machinery perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wagon, Fig 3 A and B show the suspension device for the loading platform of the elevator at positions of different heights, Fig 4 shows the wagon as seen from above and Fig 5 shows a locking device for the lift engine to prevent for instance in case of an engine failure that the loadmg platform should fall down

As is apparent from the in Fig 1 shown example of an embodiment the wheelchair elevator is installed in a staircase. It consists of a with driving and lifting machinery equipped wagon 1 , to which a loading platform 2 is suspended in four carrying wires or straps 3. The wagon runs along an onto the staircase ceiling or staircase wall brackets fixed rail 4. The wheelchair bound person can autonomously by means of a "here-power-switch" maneuver the wheelchair elevator to the desired staircase landing. Sitting in the personal wheelchair the person thereafter rolls out onto the platform 2 and presses on an on the platform extant power switch for descent The platform is then automatically lifted up a distance from the stairs so that the platform shall have a free path in relation to the stairs before the descent is initiated.

The loading platform 2 is designed as an open box with two fixed side gables and with the two gables 5 in the direction of motion foldable by means of hinges 6. The carrying straps 3 are fastened onto the corners of the platform in such a way that when the former are loose the loading platform 2 rests on a staircase landing and the gables 5 are folded down so that the wheelchair easily can be rolled out onto the platform. When the straps are stretched which goes to say when the platform is in the process of being lifted the gables 5 are angled up where by the wheelchair is prevented during the transport from rolling off the platform.

The straps 3 are at their upper ends fastened in pairs to one side each of the wagon 1 unto a yoke consisting of a middle part 7 and two on the middle part mounted in bearings flexible arms 8. The straps 3 are fastened into a drum 9 fixed onto a driving shaft of an onto the wagon 1 fixed lift engine 10. The middle part 7 of the yoke consists of two plates which are pivotably mounted in bearings about said driving shaft on each side of the drum 9. Each one of the straps 3 being on each side of the drum 9 is drawn from the drum across two in and between the middle part 7 two plates break reels 1 1 mounted in bearings and across an in the arm 8 far end break reel 12 mounted in bearings. At its lower end each strap 3 is fastened to a corner 13 of the loading platform 2.

After the wheelchair elevator having been used and the wheelchair bound person having reached the desired staircase landing and rolled off the platform the wheelchair bound person now presses on an on the wall extant power switch, whereby the lift engine 10 is activated and the loading platform is elevated up to the ceiling above the staircase.

Through the straps 3 running on in flexible arms mounted in bearings break reels the loading platform 2 can be elevated up towards the wagon by means of only the drum 9. And to after that angle up the arms 8 so that the loading platform can be lifted all the way up under the wagon and thus completely hide the latter each one of the straps 3 is at it's lower end equipped with a stop 14.

The wagon 1 is intended to run along the rail 4 which in the shown embodiment consists of a U-profile with edges bent inwards 1 5. The wagon 1 is held up by two in bogie mounted in bearings support wheels 16 and stabilised sideways by an onto the support wheels driving engine 17 fixed and with a claw shaped outer end equipped steering arm 18. The claw shaped end holds on to the upper of the rail's 4 inwards bent edges 15 and is intended to slide along the same. The bogie is pivotably mounted in bearings onto the driving engine's 17 driving shaft and the driving engine is fixed onto the wagon's chassis consisting of a cross bar 19 inside of which the common axis for both of the strap drums 9 is mounted in bearings. The wagon is driven along the rail 4 by the driving engine 17 in cooperation with a chain or a cogged rod.

To comply with the rigorous security regulations in force regarding elevator devices of the kind in question the driving engine 1 7 is equipped with a locking device in order to in the event of an engine failure prevent that the loading platform with the wheelchair bound person should fall down. On the bottom side of the rail and along it's entire stretch is fixed an on both sides cogged rod 20. Underneath and in cooperation with this cogged rod is a shuttle like looking mechanism consisting of a rod 21 slidably mounted in bearings in on the bar 19 devised sliding 22. the rod 21 is equipped with two block heads 23 which are installed so as to cooperate with the cogged rod 20 on each side of the latter. During the rotation of the engine driving shaft the rod 21 is brought to on each rotation to shift backwards and forwards across the direction of movement of the wagon by means of an on the rod 21 fixed arm 24 which slides into a curved track in an on the driving engine shaft steadily fixed drum 25.

When the driving engine shaft rotates the arm 24 follows the track in the drum 25 and gives the rod 21 and thereby the block heads a forwards and backwards returning movement. The curvature of the track is in this respect so chosen and the cogs on the cogged rod 20 so distributed that a block head 23 always is positioned right between two cogs for each semi rotation of the driving engine shaft. This has as a consequence that if an engine failure should occur or if the wagon's 1 driving mechanism should release it's grip on the chain or cogged rod the wagon would fall along the rail at the most a distance corresponding to half a turn of the driving engine shaft.

In order to prevent that the loading platform should come into an uncontrolled swinging the middle parts 7 of the yoke are equipped with an onto the bar 19 fixed friction breaking device 26.