The wheelchair incorporates a telescoping pivoting input lever. At its lower end, the lever carries a footrest for securement to the user's feet. At its upper end, the lever is connected to a horizontal shaft rotatably mounted to the wheelchair frame, at an elevation below the top surface of the seat. The user pivots his lower legs about the knee joints to produce an oscillating pivoting motion. A drive assembly, incorporating the shaft, engages the lever with a rear wheel of the wheelchair. The drive assembly functions to convert the oscillating pivoting motion to forward rotational motion and to transmit this motion to the wheel to drive it. The telescopic nature of the lever enables the user's knees to remain stationary. Means are provided to regulate the length of the lever so that the footrest supports the lower legs. Means are also provided for manually engaging or disengaging the drive assembly so that the user can put the wheels into free-wheeling mode, when desired. The assembly is intended to enable the user to exercise the leg muscles in the course of propelling the wheelchair.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
Priority is claimed from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/265,687 filed Jan. 31, 2001, entitled "SYSTEM FOR USING LEG MOVEMENTS TO PROPEL A WHEELCHAIR," which is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
A leg support accessory for a wheelchair including a leg rest wider than the wheelchair seat, a vertical support secured at an upper end to the leg rest and including in its lower end a downwardly open recess adapted to receive the foot rest supports, and first and second braces each fixed on one end to the vertical support and at the other end having an opening adapted to fixedly receive one of the arm support posts. When the accessory is used with the wheelchair, the braces receive arm support posts on opposite sides of the seat, and the foot rest supports in their raised position are received in the vertical support recess with the leg rest supported in a substantially horizontal orientation with lateral ends extending beyond the sides of the seat.
