CURB CLIMBING WHEELCHAIR DEVELOPMENT

SIDEWALK RAMPS, ADOPTED FOR THE SAFETY AND CONVENIENCE OF WHEELCHAIR BOUND CITIZENS, HAVE EXHIBITED A NUMBER OF SHORTCOMINGS. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HAVE BEEN SPENT, AND WILLCONTINUE TO BE SPENT, FOR THE CONVERSION OF CURBS INTO RAMPSA LESS THAN SATISFACTORY SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM. A MORE FEASIBLE APPROACH TO ALTERING THE MILLIONS OF CURBS IS THE ADDITION OF CURB CLIMBING CAPABILITIES TO THE FIFTY THOUSANDWHEELCHAIRS PRESENTLY IN THIS COUNTRY. A CURB CLIMBING WHEELCHAIR DESIGN AS PROPOSED HEREIN IS INTENDED MAINLY FOR MANUALLY-POWERED WHEELCHAIRS, ALTHOUGH THE CONCEPTS APPLY TO PROPELLED WHEELCHAIRS AS WELL. EVEN SMALL RIDGES ARE DIFFICULT TO NEGOTIATE WITH A WHEELCHAIR, SO THE DESIGN WILL MINIMIZE THE FORCE EXERTED BY THE RIDER WITH A CONSTANT CENTER-OF-GRAVITY APPROACH. THOUSANDS OF WHEELCHAIRS ARE IN USE WITHOUT CURB CLIMBING ABILITIES. A RETROFIT PACKAGE TO MODIFY THESE WHEELCHAIRS WILL BE INVESTIGATED FOR TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY. A CURB CLIMBING WHEELCHAIR WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF HANDICAPPED MOBILITY IN URBAN AREAS, AND WILL ELIMINATE THE NEED FOR SIDEWALK RAMPS, WHICH OFTEN CONSTITUTE A HAZARD TO PEDESTRIANS. THE CURB CLIMBING DEVICE WILL BE PRESENTED TO WHEELCHAIR MANUFACTURERS AND HOSPITALS, ESPECIALLY VETERANS HOSPITALS, WHERE THE NEED FOR CURB CLIMBING CHAIRS IS THE GREATEST.