Category: Walking Aids

The History of Riser Recliners

Have you ever wondered where the Riser Recliner chair came from?

Rise and recliner chairs have actually been in existence for over 150 years and have now become one of the most popular living room ideas to help older people remain independent.

How They Began

 

The history of chairs stretches back as far as to Ancient Egypt, with ornate chairs found in tombs and depicted in drawings. Chairs only became a common feature in the 16th century, but even then recliner chairs were still a number of years away.

The first ever recliner chair can be credited to the French, who developed a . The original reclining chair was a fantastic idea for those who wanted their furniture to have a number of uses; the camp cot could function as a chair, bed and even a chaise longue. It was comfortable, portable and durable, consisting of a steel frame and padded cushions and armrests. Whilst not owned by the famous Napoleon Bonaparte, the first ever recliner chair was owned by his nephew, Napoleon III.

 

The Morris Chair

 

The British were also experimenting with living room ideas. The Morris chair emerged in the 1860s, which had a hinged back that allowed the reclining chair to be adjusted. The Morris chair was hugely popular; songs were even written about it, including the 1919 hit ‘You’d Be Surprised’ by Irving Berlin.

 

The recliner chair really began to become more advanced in America. A patent on a wooden recliner chair was granted to Edward M. Knabush and his cousin Edwin J. Shoemaker in 1928, which resembles the design of the recliner chairs we see in homes today. The American cousins used orange crates to design a chair that they thought would help people to relax, the prototype being a slatted folding chair that could be used for sitting up or reclining backwards. Unlike the modern rise and recline chairs of today, the chair reclined when the user leant backwards.

 

 

The cousins then hired an upholsterer to add stuffing and upholster the chair, which they then named the ‘La-Z-Boy’. Built-in footrests were added a number of years later, pioneered by Barcaloungers, whose reclining chairs came with footrests in the 1940s.

The recliner chair was developed further and propelled into the spotlight in the 1960s by Daniel F. Caldemeyer, a furniture maker who had spent some time in the U.S. Air Force. Whilst footrests could be found on other chairs, it was Caldemeyer who developed the classic foot-lift rest. He designed the ‘rocket recliner’, which was reportedly based on the science of kinetics, and the chair gained popularity amongst homeowners across America and even caught the eye of NASA as a great living room idea.

Caldemeyer’s military experience won him approval from NASA, which led to the space agency using his design to make seats for the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo projects. The popularity of his rise and recline chairs did not stop there; the Secret Service reportedly bought 50 chairs for President Lyndon Baines Johnson for Christmas, with one currently on display in the Smithsonian.

 

Modern Riser Recliners

Since then, modern recliner chairs have become more luxurious, offering those with mobility difficulties a living room idea that is as supportive as it is comfortable. Today’s riser recliner chairs are powered by electricity and have a battery back-up so that it can be used if there is a power cut, and dual motors allow users to operate the headrest and footrest of the chair independently from each other. This allows the user to sit, recline or lie down in a much more comfortable fashion than with the original French camp cot.

 

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Power Mobility scooters require routine upkeep to remain in good working condition. Some general tips on how to clean, inspect and maintain a motorized scooter are provided here.

Important: Before performing any maintenance work on your scooter, be sure to turn the power off and make certain you have disconnected the charger’s power cord.

While these maintenance and power scooter cleaning tips may apply to various models, the features on your particular mobility product may vary. It is always advised to follow the manufacturer’s product manual instructions.

 

How To Dust & Clean Your Mobility Scooter

Dusting and cleaning will keep your scooter looking good and running efficiently.

• Dust all exposed parts, using a soft, smooth, dry cloth.
• Clean with a cloth dampened with liquid detergent or glass cleaner.
• Wipe down the scooter seat with soft disinfectant wipes.
• Avoid getting electrical components wet. Gently dust instead.
• Do not spray water or liquid cleaners directly onto the scooter.
• Do not use wax, oil or harsh cleansers.
• When done, wipe the mobility scooter gently until it’s dry.
• Drape a scooter cover over your vehicle to protect against dust build-up.

 

How to Inspect and Maintain Your Power Scooter

In between professional inspections, give your scooter regular check-ups.

• Check tire treads daily for wear. Replace thinning tires.
• Check the upholstery for areas that may irritate your skin.
• Check the battery power. If the gauge is in RED, re-charge or replace batteries.
• Adjust moveable parts (steering tiller, wheels, swivel seat, levers, mirror, etc) to ensure consistent functioning.

 

Brakes

 

Most electric mobility scooters come equipped with an inertia system of braking so they will come naturally to a halt when you ease off on the power.
Before you set off on a journey you do however still need to test that they are working. The first thing you need to check is that your scooter isn’t set to freewheel. On most scooters there is a lever around the rear wheel which sets the scooter into freewheel mode. Freewheel mode allows you to move the scooter around easily without power but also means that the scooter won’t be able to stop. As a safety feature most scooters won’t actually let you start when freewheel mode is engaged but it’s worth checking anyway. Once you’ve made sure the scooter is properly set up try your scooter out to make sure it is stopping correctly before setting out on your journey.

 

The Seat

 

Most electric mobility scooters on the market will come with some form of detachable seat. Obviously for safety purposes you don’t want the seat to come loose while you are riding it so before setting off we recommend that you give it a firm waggle every time you use it to make sure that it’s properly attached before you take it out and about.

 

Read the manual

 

It seems like an easy step that doesn’t deserve to be in a list of maintenance instructions, but you might be surprised at how much you can learn if you take the time to read the manual that came along with your scooter. The proper maintenance schedule is usually spelled out clearly in the manual, and taking the manufacturer’s advice can save you a great deal of time.

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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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