Easily adjustable wheelchair anti-tippers
by rlievesley, 05 January 10
Hello, I've not used this site before, so I hope it's the right place...
I'm looking at designing some wheelchair anti-tippers, probably for attendant-controlled manual wheelchairs. The idea would be that the anti-tippers could be easily disengaged e.g. for going up a kerb, and then come back into place again for normal use.
Would this be a useful idea? If so, any advice on how it would be good to use it? What would be a good way to control the anti-tipper. E.g. hold a button with thumb as going up/down the kerb, or rest foot on anti-tippers.
Is it best that the anti-tipper falls back to the engaged position by itself after you've gone up the kerb (which would probably mean keeping a button pressed down somewhere all the time you're climbing the kerb), or would it be easier to engage/disengage the anti-tipper before/after each kerb-climb (which means it could accidentally be left disengaged afterwards).
Would this idea be useful for self-propelled wheelchairs?
Any thoughts happily received!
Thanks
Rob
Share:
Comment
Hello Rob Interesting idea - can I ask what made you think of it? Do you or someone you know have a need for this? Most attendant controlled wheelchairs that I know don't use anti-tippers - the attendant is in control of the wheelchair so can control any tipping/righting of the chair manually so they wouldn't be needed. Also these wheelchairs tend to be quite stable with a fairly low centre of gravity. I am not sure whether self-propellers might find it useful to be able to engage/disengage during use. Very active users will be experienced and confident enough not to need them and will remove their anti-tippers altogether. Less confident or active users would probably want the anti-tippers on - particularly when going up kerbs as this is the time they are most unstable and most likely to tip backwards. If anything users might raise the anti-tippers to not be so close to the ground. This type of user would also probably avoid going up kerbs and may do only a limited amount of self-propelling outdoors as well. It also occurs to me that if you're using two hands to self-propel it would be difficult to simultaneously hold down a button... I'm not a wheelchair user myself - my thoughts come from having worked in a wheelchair service for a short time, so wheelchair users may disagree with me! All the best Lucy
Comment
I would like to have a tipper adjuster that the carer could operate easily. My daughter self propels a lot but tires, or there is an obstacle that she needs the anti tips raised for & us to assist. She is visually impaired too so needs the anti tips all of the time as her confidence in new environments is low. If you are helping someone to grow in confidence and independance then easier carer operated anti tips are a helpful idea. Try talking to the Association of Wheelchair Children as we did a lot of training with them and it was anti tips up, anti tips down all the time and there is a range of confience & ability levels that they cater for.
Comment
I posted this up on my Facebook profile and got a couple of replies you might be interested in. From Kathryn: You might want to contact Nomad? http://designmanagementeurope.com/site/index.php?page=61 From Shahin: I might be way off the mark hear, but aren't these on the market already? Anti-tippers are available but not sure how easy to engage/disengage they are? Otherwise I'm thinking something along the lines of a spring loaded bike stand or door stop that can be flipped into action when needed.
Comment
Could this be an approach? http://www.techforltc.org/ltc.cfm?pageid=157&product=500&careissue=1. It's designed to brake the wheels when you're out of the chair, but I can imagine a variation that automatically 'bites' the wheels if you tip back too far (without stopping you pulling backwards to right yourself). Not sure if that would have the desired effect though!
Comment
Hi, Thank you for all the responses, The reason I am interested in this is that I’m training in biomedical engineering. I spent a placement in a wheelchair service, where my boss said it is something he would like to see. I am now on a product design placement, and trying to work out if there would be enough demand for it if it was designed. Your replies have all helped me in this. Lucy / Dalekdoctor: The wheelchair service I was at put anti-tippers on a few different types of wheelchairs. It sounds from your replies though, that they may be most useful on chairs that are designed so they can be self-propelled, but are sometimes attendant controlled. It also sounds like the anti-tippers shouldn’t be totally disengaged for going up the kerb, but instead have 2 levels; one that prevents you tipping on flat ground, and one that prevents you tipping when climbing a kerb. Dalekdoctor, I’m pleased to hear you think it would be useful. I will definitely contact the Association of Wheelchair Children as you suggest, to find out feedback from them. Dominic: As far as I know, the anti-tippers that exist tend to be quite awkward, and all require you to remember / bother to put the anti-tipper back once you’ve gone up the kerb. The idea would be to design something that is simple to use, and goes back to the engaged position by itself when you have finished climbing the kerb. If there is something that already does this, please let me know… Eddd: I like the idea of stopping the wheels, I hadn’t thought of this at all as a method. To be honest, it’s probably a bit complicated, and I’ll try something a bit simpler and cheaper, but thanks for the idea! Thanks again for all your help, Cheers Rob