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It is uncertain as to what can be considered the first wheelchair, or who invented it. However, its origins date back to ancient times. The earliest records of a wheeled transportation device were found on a stone slate in China and a child’s bed depicted in a frieze on a Greek vase, both dating between the 6th and 5th century BCE.

 

The first records of wheeled seats being used for transporting disabled people date to three centuries later in China; the Chinese used early wheelbarrows to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 CE, when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.

 

Kink Phillip II of Spain

The first known wheelchair purposefully designed for disability and mobility was called an “invalid’s chair”. It was invented in 1595 specifically for King Phillip II of Spain. The chair had small wheels attached to the end of a chair’s legs and it included a platform for Phillip’s legs and an adjustable backrest. It could not be self-propelled but most likely the King always had servants transporting him around.

 

First Self-Propelling Chair

In 1655, Stephan Farffler, a 22 year old paraplegic watchmaker, built the world’s first self-propelling chair on a three-wheel chassis using a system of cranks and cogwheels.However, the device had an appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design included hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.

The Bath Wheelchair

In 1783, John Dawson of Bath, England, invented a wheelchair named after the town of Bath.
Dawson designed a chair with two large wheels and one small one. The Bath wheelchair outsold all other wheelchairs throughout the early part of the 19th century.

 

Late 1800’s

However, the Bath wheelchair was not that comfortable and during the last half of the 19th century many improvements were made to wheelchairs. An 1869 patent for a wheelchair showed the first model with rear push wheels and small front casters. Between, 1867 to 1875, inventors added new hollow rubber wheels similar to those used on bicycles on metal rims. In 1881, the pushrims for added self-propulsion were invented.

The Folding Wheelchair

In 1932, engineer, Harry Jennings, built the first folding, tubular steel wheelchair. That was the earliest wheelchair similar to what is in modern use today.

That wheelchair was built for a paraplegic friend of Jennings called Herbert Everest. Together they founded Everest & Jennings, a company that monopolized the wheelchair market for many years. An antitrust suit was actually brought against Everest & Jennings by the Department of Justice, who charged the company with rigging wheelchair prices.
The case was finally settled out of court.

 

The First Electric Wheelchair

The first wheelchairs were self-powered, and worked by a patient turning the wheels of their chair manually. Of course, if a patient was unable to do this, another person would have to push the wheelchair and patient from behind. A motorized or power wheelchair is one where a small motor drives the wheels to revolve. Attempts to invent a motorized wheelchair were made as far back as 1916, however, no successful commercial production occurred at that time.

The first electric-powered wheelchair was invented by Canadian inventor, George Klein and his team of engineers while working for the National Research Council of Canada in a program to assist the injured veterans returning after World War II. George Klein also invented the microsurgical staple gun.
Everest & Jennings, the same company whose founders created the folding wheelchair were the first to manufacture the electric wheelchair on a mass scale beginning in 1956.

 

Mind Control

John Donoghue and Braingate invented a new wheelchair technology intended for a patient with very limited mobility, who otherwise would have issues using a wheelchair by themselves.
The BrainGate device is implanted into the patient’s brain and hooked to a computer to which the patient can send mental commands that results in any machine including wheelchairs doing what they want it to. The new technology is called BCI or brain-computer interface.

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Do you have a stairlift? Whether it is a straight stairlift or a curved stairlift. Have you ever wondered how the stairlift came about?

Here is some history facts about the stairlift

King Henry VII – The “Stairthrone”

Most people believe that the first stairlift was invented in the 1920’s by C.C. Crispen. However, TV historian Doctor David Starkey has in 2009, found evidence in a list of the possessions of King Henry VIII that attributes the first stairlift invented to the monarch. The 30 stone king, injured through jousting, used a chair that was hauled up and down the stairs on a block and tackle system by servants at the ancient Whitehall Palace in London. It is described in royal records as “a chair…that goeth up and down” (wiki)

 

Late 1800s

Frederick Muffett of Royal Tunbridge Wells, invented and patented the “An Invalid Chair with Tramway for use on Staircases”. However, there seems to be no evidence that his plans moved from design to a workable lift.(wiki)

 

C.C. Crispen – The Inclin-ator

In the 1920s, C.C. Crispen, a Pennsylvania entrepreneur, created a way to enable his ailing friend to travel from floor to floor. Crispen’s idea was to design a seat that could climb stairs. A self-taught engineer, he built the first prototype of the inclining chair. He called it the Inclin-ator.

The modern stairlift can be traced back to self-taught mechanical engineer and entrepreneur C.C. Crispen. In 1923, Crispen got the idea for a climbing seat which was capable of travelling between floors when visiting a neighbour who was confined to an upstairs bed for medical recovery.
Within a few days, Crispen’s idea had transformed from a mere concept to the beginnings of a US Patent. His engineering experience allowing him to develop a folding wooden chair with a footrest, which used a motor wired into the house’s standard electrics to travel up and down on a steel rail on rollers. He named it the Inclin-ator, conveying the idea of an elevator which worked on an incline.

The Inclinator Company Of America

In 1924, Crispen was invited to display his Inclin-ator in the Philadelphia Electric Company’s showroom, which led to his simple idea to help a neighbour being developed into The Inclinator Company of America. Shortly after this, the ingenious invention caught the attention of Westinghouse Electric, who had one installed at their Electric Home on Atlantic City’s boardwalk. The popularity of the Inclin-ator led to the invention of the first residential elevator, named the Elevette, which gave an alternative to the Inclin-ator for homes with winding staircases and could be custom-made to fit the available space or made large enough to fit a wheelchair inside if required.

During this period, the Inclin-ator was frequently used by those suffering from polio, which can cause muscle weakness and paralysis, although Crispen’s inventions also caught the eye of a few famous names, who had them installed in their homes. These included, among others, inventor Thomas Edison, business magnate John D. Rockerfeller, automotive founders Henry Ford and Walter Chrysler, and entertainer Groucho Marx.
The business is still owned by the Crispen and Krum families, with Paul Krum having joined Inclinator in 1929 and succeeding C.C. Crispen as president.

 

 

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