The history and development of the wheelchair

The History and Development of the Wheelchair

Inquiry Questions?What is a wheelchair?Who uses wheelchairs?Is a wheelchair a machine?When were wheelchairs invented and by

whom?Which came first the bike or the wheelchair?Are there different kinds of wheelchairs?What are wheelchairs used for other than

transport?What is the latest in wheelchair innovation?

Definition of a wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels,

designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing. Wheelchairs are used by people for whom walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, or disability.

Who uses wheelchairs?Elderly people who have weakened muscles

or injuries.People who are born with disabilities.Adults and children who are dealing with

injuries or illnesses.

Which simple machines can you find on wheelchairs?

What kind of machine are wheelchairs?Most wheelchairs are complex machines that

involve several simple machines.It involves a wheel and an axel, screws,

levers, and sometimes pulleys.Simple machines are useful because they can

make a physical job easier by changing the magnitude or the direction of the force exerted to do work.

The wheelchair uses several simple machines to make the job of moving a persons body easier.

When were the first parts of a wheelchair invented?

The chair- originally built by ancient Egyptians. It was only used for the elite.

The wheel- was invented near 4000 B.C. The original wheeled vehicles looked like

carts and were pulled by animals.

When did the wheel and the chair come together?

Three centuries later in China; the Chinese used their invented wheelbarrow to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 C.E. when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.[

When did wheeled seats begin being used for transporting the disabled?

Guess which came first?

The “Bath” ChairDeveloped in Bath, England.Invented by John Dawson in 1783It had 2 large rear wheels and one small front wheel.

The Bicycle

1790, de Sirvac introduced the “swiftwalker”, a wooden bicycle propelled by the user by pushing feet to the ground.

In 1865 cranks and pedals were added and it was re-named the “boneshaker”Like the wheelchair, the bikeis also propelled by user.

First Portable WheelchairsHarry Jennings and his disabled friend Herbert

Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, collapsible wheelchair in 1933.

The two saw the business potential of the invention and went on to become the first mass-manufacturers of wheelchairs: Everest and Jennings. Their "x-brace“ design is still in common use.

Power ChairsAn electric-powered wheelchair is a wheelchair that is moved via the means of an electric motor and navigational controls, usually a small joystick mounted on the armrest, rather than manual power.

Wheelchair SportsWere originally introduced as a form of

therapy in a Rehab hospital in England.

All Terrain WheelchairsAll-terrain wheelchairs allow users to enter the water and provide a better mobility on beach sand and on uneven terrain, and even snow. The common adaptation among

the different designs is that they have extra-wide wheels or tires, to increase stability on uneven or unsteady terrain. The wide tires on snow wheelchairs, for example, spread the

weight of the chair user and the chair over a wider surface, similar to how snowshoes perform the same purpose for someone on foot, allowing the person to travel on top of the snow rather than sinking.

Latest invention: Smart ChairsA smart wheelchair is any motorized platform with

a chair designed to assist a user with a physical disability where an artificial control system replaces user control.

Its purpose is to reduce or eliminate the user's task of driving a motorized wheelchair. Usually, a smart wheelchair is controlled by a computer, has a suite of sensors and applies techniques in mobile robotics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYIq59yGGwc

Inquiry Questions?

Thank You!Tonight tell a family member one fun fact

about wheelchairs .