Wheelchair exercise apparatus having independent drive rollers

Abstract

An exercise apparatus for users of wheelchairs which have a pair of side-by-side driving wheels includes a pair of rollers which support the wheelchair driving wheels. The rollers rotate independent of one another and each roller drives a separate flywheel which has a brake attached to it.

1 . An exercise apparatus for a wheelchair having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels, said apparatus comprising:
 (a) a platform having an upper surface configured to support said wheelchair;   (b) a pair of elongate rollers rotatably mounted on said platform said rollers configured to rotate independent of one another;   (c) said pair of rollers being located on said platform such that one of said driving wheels is supported above said platform by one of said rollers and the other of said driving wheels is supported above said platform by the other of said rollers when said wheelchair is on said platform;   (d) a first brake associated with one of said rollers and a second brake associated with the other of said rollers; wherein   (e) each of said first brake and said second brake is capable of applying a manually adjustable braking force to its respectively associated roller having a magnitude independent of that applied by the other one of said first brake and said second brake.   
     
     
         2 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 1  including a speedometer system which measures the rotational speed of each of said driving wheels. 
     
     
         3 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 2  wherein said speedometer system comprises:
 (a) a series of spaced apart lines located on each of said rollers parallel with a rotational axis of each of said rollers; 
 (b) a sensor which measures the time it takes for adjacent lines to pass said sensor; 
 (c) a control panel which converts said time to the rotational speed of the driving wheel engaged by each of said rollers; and 
 (d) a monitor which displays said rotational speed. 
 
     
     
         4 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 1  including a speedometer system which measures the speed at which the wheelchair would be traveling if located on the ground. 
     
     
         5 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 4  wherein said speedometer system comprises:
 (a) a series of spaced apart lines located on each of said rollers parallel with a rotational axis of each of said rollers; 
 (b) a sensor which measures the time it takes for adjacent lines to pass said sensor; 
 (c) a control system which converts said time to the speed that said wheelchair would be traveling if located on the ground; and 
 (d) a monitor which displays said speed. 
 
     
     
         6 . An exercise apparatus for a three-wheel wheelchair of the type having a pair of side-by-side driving wheels, and a single front wheel which is located forwardly of and laterally between said driving wheels, said exercise apparatus comprising:
 (a) a platform having an upper surface configured to support said three-wheel wheelchair;   (b) one or more rollers associated with said platform which support the driving wheels when said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform;   (c) a trough slidably mounted on said platform enabling a linear range of motion of said trough relative to said platform, and configured to receive said single wheel when said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform;   (d) a stop associated with said trough which said single wheel engages, said stop configured to slide said trough along said platform as said three-wheel wheelchair is wheeled onto said platform; and   (e) a latch manually accessible to a person sitting on said three-wheel wheelchair, and capable of selectively and releasably locking said trough in a fixed position along said linear range of motion, which can lock said trough to said platform when said driving wheels are supported by said rollers.   
     
     
         7 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 6  wherein said three-wheel wheelchair has a longitudinal frame which extends between said driving wheels and said front wheel, including a clamping mechanism associated with said platform which engages said longitudinal frame to hold said three-wheel wheelchair immovably on said platform. 
     
     
         8 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 6  including a track which is attached to said platform and slidably carries said trough. 
     
     
         9 . The exercise apparatus of  claim 8  wherein said latch locks said trough to said track.