Claims
- 1. An apparatus for assisting a wheelchair challenged person into an aircraft having a passenger cabin and a hatchway providing an entrance into the cabin, the hatchway being secured by a door that includes, on the aircraft interior side thereof, deployable cabin stairs leading to and from the cabin when the door is opened, in which, the person is seated in an aircraft aisle chair having a seat and a foot support, in which chair the person is seated and assisted by personnel who direct the chair into the passenger cabin, said chair having support structure at each opposite side thereof, comprising
- a pair of separate spaced-apart longitudinally extended pathways disposed to traverse the cabin stairs, each pathway having a width sufficient to accommodate the support structure on one side of the chair, and a length sufficient to traverse the cabin stairs, the space between the pathways being sufficient in width such that each pathway is disposed to receive a side of the support structure of a corresponding side of the chair;
- at least one of said pathways being secured to a support adjacent the cabin stairs such that the pathway may be securely disposed thereto;
- the other of said pathways being securely disposed to traverse said cabin stairs, parallel to and spaced apart from the one of said pathways, such that the one and the other pathways each traverse the cabin stairs, and are each capable of receiving one side support of the chair, in the course of transport of the chair with a person seated therein, with respect to the cabin stairs, and the space between the spaced apart pathways is an opening which provides access to the cabin stairs for the personnel who direct the chair.
- 2. An accessibility means for achieving the assisted embarking and disembarking of a passenger seated in an aircraft aisle chair and the passage of personnel assisting the passenger in the chair, into and from an aircraft cabin having a seat for the passenger, the cabin being elevated with respect to a ground level and having an entrance through a hatchway, including:
- cabin stairs comprising a single flight stairway having a width essentially corresponding to the width of the hatchway, said stairs leading to and from the cabin hatchway;
- a pair of spaced-apart extended pathways, each pathway being longitudinally disposed to traverse the front edges of the cabin stairs along a length of the stairway and adapted in width to accommodate one side each of each side of the chair,
- said pathways being parallel to and separated from each other a sufficient lateral distance such that each pathway is capable of separately receiving a side of the aisle chair on each opposite side of the chair, the separation distance between the pathways forming an opening permitting access to a footpath in the cabin stairs for personnel assisting the passenger, said pathways being secured to a support adjacent the cabin stairs.
- 3. The device of claim 1 or claim 2 in which a lower side of the chair includes a wheel engageable with a respective pathway on a corresponding side of the stairway.
- 4. The device of claim 3 having a mechanism allowing only unidirectional rotation of the wheel.
- 5. The device of claim 4 in which the mechanism is a ratchet.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2 in which the stairway is a portable stairway brought to an open aircraft cabin hatchway.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which a pathway includes a stop mechanism, preventing downward movement of the chair, at the lower section thereof.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which at least one of the pathways includes an upwardly extending lip on at least one side edge thereof.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7 in which the stop includes an upwardly extending extension of the lower end of the pathway.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which at least one of the pathways is hingingly secured to a support on a side edge of the cabin stairs.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the pathways are formed from longitudinally telescoping sections that traverse the front edges of the stairs.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the pathways are provided in a fixed assembly adapted to be stored at one or more of the aircraft and an airport gate.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the aisle chair and the pathways are each adapted to a predetermined size and maintained as a unit.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the aisle chair includes side wheels and the pathways include an upper slip resistant surface for engagement with the wheels of the aisle chair.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1 or claim 2 in which the pathways include a fitment for securing the pathways adjacent the cabin stairs.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 07/826,838, filed on Jan. 27, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,818, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
US Referenced Citations (9)
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
826838 |
Jan 1992 |
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