Wheel chair abstract
A pair of variably adjustable lower body supports such as footnests
or legrests are adapted to be mounted on a wheel chair. Each support
is mounted on one of two tubular receptacles on the front of the
frame of the wheel chair. The support includes four elongated structural
members and a planar footplate. Each of the structural members are
sequentially linked together by a releasable rotary connection.
The releasable rotary is formed by a splined shaft attached to one
structural member and a splined sleeve attached to the next structural
member. A releasable fastening device is used to hold the splined
sleeve onto the splined shaft so that the sleeve can be selectively
rotated relative to the shaft angular of the support and footplate
relative to the wheel chair frame.
Wheel chair claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An adjustable lower body support for a wheelchair having a frame
including a seat and a plurality of wheels operatively attached
to the frame, said support mountable on a receptacle on the frame,
comprising:
a first elongated member mountable on the receptacle and having
a longitudinal axis;
a second elongated member having a longitudinal axis substantially
orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of said first elongated member
and a transverse axis orthogonal to its longitudinal axis, an adjustable
releasable connector securing said second member to said first member
for adjustments of said second member about the longitudinal axis
of said first member;
a third elongated member having a longitudinal axis substantially
orthogonal to the transverse axis of said second member and a transverse
axis orthogonal to its longitudinal axis, an adjustable releasable
connector securing said third member to said second member for adjustment
of said third member about the transverse axis of said second member;
a fourth elongated member having a longitudinal axis substantially
orthogonal to the transverse axis of said third member, an adjustable
releasable connector securing said fourth member to said third member
for adjustment of said fourth member about the transverse axis of
said third member; and
a substantially planar footplate operatively attached to said fourth
member.
2. An adjustable support as defined in claim 1 wherein said substantially
planar footplate has a first axis substantially parallel to the
longitudinal axis of said fourth member, and a releasable adjustable
connector securing said footplate to said fourth member for adjustment
about the longitudinal axis of said fourth member.
3. An adjustable support as defined in claim 2 further comprising
a stop attached to said fourth member for engagement by said footplate
for limiting the pivotal movement of said footplate about the longitudinal
axis of said fourth member.
4. An adjustable support as defined in claim 1 wherein said first,
second and third releasable connections are variably adjustable
to predetermined, fixed, angular orientations about the longitudinal
rotational axis of said each connection.
5. An adjustable support as defined in claim 4 wherein said first,
second and third releasable connections each comprise:
a splined shaft on one member;
a splined sleeve on another member; and
a fastener operatively connecting said splined sleeve to said splined
shaft at a selected angular orientation.
6. An adjustable lower body support for a wheelchair having a frame
including a seat and a plurality of wheels operatively attached
to the frame, said support mountable on a receptacle on the frame
and comprising:
multiple structural members connected together by a plurality of
releasable rotary connectors each adjustable about a rotational
axis to place the members in varied angular orientations relative
to each other, each said rotary connector comprising:
a splined shaft oriented along a rotational axis;
a splined sleeve oriented on said rotational axis of said shaft;
and
a fastener operatively securing said splined sleeve to said splined
shaft at selected angular orientations, and wherein the rotational
axes of at least two connectors are parallel and the rotational
axes of at least two connectors are not parallel to each other.
7. An adjustment support as defined in claim 6 wherein at least
three of the rotational axes of said rotary connectors are not parallel
to each other.
8. An adjustment support as defined in claim 6 including five said
structural members.
Wheel chair description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to lower body supports
such as footrests and legrests for wheel chairs and, more particularly,
to a new and improved footrest/legrest including components for
facilitating adjustments about a multitude of axes to desirably
position the footrest/legrest to accommodate multiple deformities
and for specific lower extremity needs.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Wheel chairs commonly include a frame to which four wheels, a seat
bottom, a seat back, arm rests and push handles are attached. The
four wheels typically include two large rear drive wheels and two
smaller front idler wheels. On the front of the frame, below the
seat bottom, there is typically a pair of hangers, receivers, or
receptacles for attaching a pair of lower body supports thereto.
A typical hanger includes a pair of hooks from which a footrest/legrest
can be hung.
The simplest arrangement of a footrest may include a rod with a
footplate attached to the rod. In addition, the connection between
the rod and the footplate may be such that the footplate may freely
pivot from a fixed generally horizontal position to a substantially
vertical position to allow the occupant to easily enter and exit
the chair or to allow the chair to collapse into a more convenient
size or shape for transport. The simplest arrangement of a legrest
may include a rod extending horizontally out from the wheelchair
with a calf support attached to the rod.
For a variety of reasons, it may be desirable to adjust and fix
the footrest/legrest, and thus the occupant's leg and foot, in various
positions relative to the wheel chair. In the past, this has been
accomplished to some degree with rotary connections by providing
some adjustment of the footrest/legrest about an axis corresponding
to the pivotal axis of the occupant's knee. Some adjustment of the
footplate has also been provided about an axis corresponding to
the pivotal axis of the occupant's ankle.
However, there are several shortcomings to these prior art approaches.
First of all, the footplate has typically been connected to the
main rod via a horizontal rod and a band clamp around the horizontal
rod which relied upon frictional force to retain the footplate in
position relative to the horizontal rod. As will be appreciated,
pressure from the weight of the leg and foot placed at either end
of the footplate causes a great amount of rotational force due to
the leverage involved and thereby allows the clamp to easily slip,
allowing the footplate to rotate out of the desired position.
A second shortcoming in the prior art involves the rotary connection
allowing for adjustment about the knee axis. This knee axis adjustment
has typically been accomplished by an unreliable rotary connector
between structural members of the footrest/legrest. The connector
included a pair of opposed faces having serrations therein. These
two face-serrations were held against each other by a fastening
bolt. The drawback with face-serration connectors is that rotational
forces, such as those caused by the weight of the leg, tend to cause
the connector to loosen. Once loosened partially, the continued
application of force will effect further rapid loosening.
A third shortcoming of the prior art is the inability to achieve
a large variety of footrest/legrest orientations relative to the
wheel chair which is desirable to accommodate different deformities
and to achieve varied positioning of the legrest for specific purposes.
It is against this background and to overcome the shortcomings
of the prior art that the present invention has been developed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The adjustable lower body support of the present invention is adapted
to be mounted on a frame of a wheel chair which also includes a
seat and supporting wheels. The support has a plurality of structural
members including four elongated members and a planar footplate.
The structural members are operatively linked together by releasable
connections which are each variably adjustable to place each of
the elongated members and the footplate in various angular orientations
relative to each other member.
Another feature of the adjustable support of the present invention
is a rotary connection for use between the elongated members and
the footplate and which includes a splined shaft oriented along
a rotational axis of the rotary connection and defined by one of
the structural members of the support, a splined sleeve also oriented
along the rotational axis and defined by another of the structural
members, and a fastening member for operatively connecting the splined
sleeve to the splined shaft at selected angular orientations. By
providing such a rotary connection, the support is adjustable to
a variety of orientations in a convenient fashion. Furthermore,
the support is held in position in a reliable fashion due to the
positive interconnection of the splined shaft and splined sleeve.
Yet another feature of the adjustable support of the present invention
includes a rotary connection between each succeeding structural
member such that the support is adjustable about at least two rotational
axes which are not parallel to each other. By providing adjustment
about at least these two non-parallel axes, a great deal of positional
orientations are available for the support. Other aspects, features
and details of the present invention can be more completely understood
by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred
embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings, and from the
appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a wheel chair including a pair of
the variable adjustable lower body supports of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a first embodiment of the variably
adjustable support of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a side view of the first embodiment of the variably adjustable
support of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a section taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 3
FIG. 6 is a section taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 7 is a section taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a section taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 3.
FIG. 9 is a section taken along line 9--9 of FIG. 4.
FIG. 10 is a section taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 7.
FIG. 11 is a fragmented isometric view of a portion of a second
embodiment of the variably adjustable support of the present invention.
FIG. 12 is an exploded isometric view of the first embodiment of
the variably adjustable support of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is an exploded isometric view of the second embodiment
of the variably adjustable support of the present invention shown
in FIG. 11.
FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the first embodiment of the variably
adjustable support of the present invention showing the rotational
axes of each of the rotary connections.
FIG. 15 is an isometric view of a portion of a third embodiment
showing a legrest trough for employing the present invention as
a legrest.
FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the legrest trough of FIG. 15 installed
on an upper footrest weldment.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The variably adjustable lower body support of the present invention
is adapted to be mounted on a wheel chair 16. As shown in FIG. 1,
a right-footed footrest 18 and a left-footed footrest 20 are provided
to correspond with the occupant's two feet. Since the two footrests
are mirror images of each other, only the left-footed footrest is
described further herein.
The wheel chair 16 includes a frame 22 to which a seat bottom 24
and seat back 26 are mounted, as shown in FIG. 1. The wheel chair
is supported by a pair of rear, manually-driven wheels 28 and a
pair of front idler wheels 30. Alternatively, in the case of a powered
wheelchair, these wheels may be driven by a motor (not shown). For
convenience and comfort, the wheel chair is also provided with a
pair of push handles 32 attached to the frame adjacent to the seat
back and a pair of arm rests 34 on the frame disposed on either
side of the seat bottom. On the front of the frame located below
the front edge of the seat bottom are a pair of open-topped, vertically-extending
hollow, cylindrical, tubular receptacles 36 for receiving the footrest
20. The receptacles each have a longitudinal vertical notch 38 (FIG.
14) formed at the top side thereof. To accommodate other wheelchairs
with differently-shaped receptacles, an adapter (not shown) can
be used.
The footrest 20 includes first, second, third, and fourth elongated
structural members 40, 42, 44 and 46 respectively, as shown in FIGS.
2, 3 and 12. These four members are linked together sequentially
by first, second, and third releasable rotary connections or connectors
48, 50 and 52 respectively. A fifth member, a planar footplate 54,
is connected to the fourth member by a fourth releasable rotary
connection or connector 56.
The first elongated member 40, best seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 12,
is a relatively short, cylindrical member, or footrest post, having
an upper sleeve bushing 60 located thereon and a lower bushing 62
located on a lower end 64 thereof, as shown in FIG. 12. The bushings
60 and 62 may be composed of Delrin, an acetyl polymer. The footrest
post has a radial hole 66 therein into which a locating pin 68 is
fixably placed. The locating pin protrudes from the footrest post
and operates to pivotally and releasably fix the footrest post within
the hollow receptacle 36 when positioned within the longitudinal
notch 38 in the receptacle. The upper end 70 (FIG. 12) of the footrest
post defines a splined shaft 72 having a multitude of longitudinally-extending,
parallel, raised ridges or serrations about the outer circumference
thereof, as shown in FIG. 4. Located longitudinally adjacent to
the splined shaft is a coaxial circumferential shoulder 74 having
a greater diameter than the splined shaft (FIG. 12).
The upper and lower bushings 60 and 62 are frictionally fit onto
the post 40. The lower end 64 of the post 40 includes a relatively
small diameter cylindrical neck 76 which has an outer diameter nearly
equal to the internal diameter of the lower bushing. Located vertically
above the neck on the post is a cylindrical first region 78 having
an outer diameter significantly greater than that of the neck. Located
vertically above the first region on the post but below the radial
hole 66 is a cylindrical second region 80 having an outer diameter
slightly larger than that of the first region and nearly equal to
the internal diameter of the upper sleeve bushing 60. Thus, when
mounting the upper bushing on the post 40, it is slid upwardly over
the neck and first region and frictionally seated on the second
region. Similarly, the lower bushing is slid upwardly onto the neck
and frictionally seated on the post.
The second elongated member 42, or upper adjustable arm weldment
as shown in FIG. 12, is horizontally oriented and has a body in
the form of a generally flat bar 82 having a splined sleeve 84 at
a first end (FIG. 4) and a splined shaft 86 at a second end. The
splined sleeve includes a substantially circular opening through
the weldment having a multitude of parallel, raised ridges or serrations
along the inner surface of the opening. The splined sleeve of the
upper adjustable arm weldment is sized to snugly fit over the splined
shaft 72 of the footrest post 40. The serrations of the splined
sleeve are thus located between the serrations of the splined shaft
and the fit is sufficiently snug so that the splined sleeve cannot
be rotated relative to the splined shaft. The splined shaft 86 protrudes
transversely from the bar (FIGS. 4, 9 and 12). A central axis 88
of the splined shaft at the second end of the bar is orthogonal
to a central axis 90 of the splined sleeve at the first end of the
weldment (FIG. 4 and 14). The splined shaft of the weldment is similar
in shape to the splined shaft of the footrest post, having a multitude
of serrations about the outer surface thereof. The term orthogonal
is used in this application to describe the relationship between
two perpendicular lines lying in the same plane as well as the relationship
between two lines lying in different planes where, when viewed along
a third line which passes through and is perpendicular to each,
the two lines appear to be perpendicular to each other.
The third elongated structural member 44, shown in FIG. 12, includes
an upper and a lower footrest weldment 92 and 94 respectively which
are held in place in a longitudinally adjustable manner by an internally
located bolt 96 and tube wedge 98. The upper footrest weldment is
a hollow, cylindrical tube having a transversely-opening splined
sleeve 100 at an upper closed end thereof (FIGS. 4, 9 and 12). The
splined sleeve is similar in shape to the splined sleeve 84 on the
upper adjustable arm weldment 42, having a multitude of serrations
along its inner surface. The splined sleeve is sized to fit snugly
on the splined shaft 86 of the upper adjustable arm weldment 82
so as to prevent rotation of the sleeve 100 relative to the shaft
86 (FIGS. 4 and 9). A second or lower end of the upper footrest
weldment is open, allowing access to the interior of the hollow
upper footrest weldment (FIGS. 3, 6 and 12). Located on the outer
surface of the upper footrest weldment are two external, axially
spaced, radially protruding buttons 102 which can be used in a conventional
manner to attach other pieces of hardware such as calf supports
to the footrest, as described below.
The lower footrest weldment 94 is a hollow, cylindrical tube having
an outside diameter which is slightly smaller than the inside diameter
of the upper footrest weldment 92 (FIG. 6) so as to be telescopically
receivable therein. The upper end and lower end of the lower footrest
weldment are both open to allow access to the interior thereof.
An upper edge 104 of the lower footrest weldment is cut at an oblique
angle to the longitudinal axis for a purpose which will become more
clear hereafter.
The tube wedge 98 is also a hollow tubular member sized to slidably
fit within the upper footrest weldment 92. It has its lower edge
106 cut at an oblique angle to its longitudinal axis similar to
that of the angle on the upper edge 104 of the lower footrest weldment
94 and its upper edge 108 cut at a right angle to its longitudinal
axis. The two oblique edges are adapted to mate with each other.
The tube wedge has an internally threaded inner bore 110 (FIG. 12)
which is adapted to threadedly receive the externally threaded bolt
96 after the bolt is passed through the open lower end of the lower
footrest weldment (FIG. 12). A split lock washer 112 and a flanged
washer 114 are placed over the bolt before insertion into the lower
footrest weldment and tube wedge.
Due to the reaction along the oblique faces of the tube wedge and
lower footrest weldment as the bolt is screwed into the tube wedge,
the tube wedge and the lower footrest weldment are axially drawn
toward each other thereby camming each slightly laterally away from
the longitudinal axis of the upper footrest weldment to bring portions
of the external surfaces of the tube wedge and lower footrest weldment
into frictional contact with the inner surface of the upper footrest
weldment (FIG. 6). In this manner, the relative axial positions
of the upper and lower footrest weldments can be positively adjusted.
The lower end of the lower footrest weldment has a radially or
transversely directed splined shaft 116 shaped similarly to the
splined shaft 86 of the upper adjustable arm weldment 42 having
a multitude of serrations about the outer surface thereof (FIGS.
7 and 12). The splined shaft 116 has a central axis 118 orthogonal
to the longitudinal axis of the lower footrest weldment (FIGS. 7,
12 and 14). The central axis of the splined shaft 116 is parallel
with the central axis 88 of the splined sleeve 100 at the upper
end of the upper footrest weldment 92 (FIGS. 12 and 14).
The fourth elongated member 46, or lower adjustable arm weldment,
is an integral combination of a generally cylindrical elongated
hollow tube 120 and a generally flat arm 122, as shown in FIGS.
7 and 12. The flat arm has a splined sleeve 124 defining a horizontal
opening at a first end and a weld connection 126 to the cylindrical
tube 120 at a second end (FIG. 7). The splined sleeve is similar
in shape to the splined sleeve 84 on the first end of the upper
adjustable arm weldment 42, having a multitude of serrations along
its inner surface. The splined sleeve is sized to fit snugly on
the splined shaft 116 of the lower footrest weldment 94 so as to
prevent rotation of the sleeve 124 relative to the shaft 116 (FIGS.
7 and 10). A horizontally-opening threaded hole 128 is also provided
through the arm 122 near its second end for a purpose to be described
later. Near the end of the cylindrical tube 120 which is welded
to the arm 122, a sleeve having a splined outer surface is welded
onto the external surface of the tube so as to define a splined
shaft 130 (FIGS. 7 and 12). The splined shaft is shaped and sized
similarly to the previously described splined shafts 72, 86 and
116, having a multitude of serrations on the outer surface thereof.
The second open end of the cylindrical tube 120 has an internally-threaded
nut 132 (FIG. 7) welded therein for a purpose that will become more
clear later.
The planar footplate 54 has a lateral extension flange 134 along
a side edge thereof for attachment of a pivot block 136 (FIG. 12).
The pivot block is attached to the footplate by four bolts 138 with
each passing upwardly through one of four openings 140 in the flange
to align with corresponding openings (not shown) in the bottom face
of the pivot block. The pivot block has a longitudinal, internal
bore 142 therethrough which is parallel with the planar face of
the footplate and receives a bushing 144 at a first end. An adjustable
mechanical stop 146 is attached to the footplate and the opposite
end of the pivot block. The stop has an opening therein having a
splined sleeve 148 shaped similarly to the previously described
splined sleeves 84, 100 and 124, having a multitude of serrations
along its inner surface. The stop is mounted on the footplate by
two of the previously described bolts 138 which attach the footplate
to the pivot block. The pivot block is slid onto the cylindrical
tube 120 of the lower adjustable arm weldment 146 so that the splined
sleeve of the stop 146 engages the splined shaft 130 on the cylindrical
tube and the bushing 144 rotatably supports the cylindrical tube.
The splined sleeve of the stop is sized to fit snugly over and mate
with the splined shaft on the cylindrical tube. Thus, pivotal movement
of the footplate is dependent on pivotal movement of the mechanical
stop which is controlled by the splined connection of the tube 120
with the mechanical stop. The pivot block and splined sleeve 148
of the mechanical stop are held in place on the splined shaft of
the lower adjustable arm weldment by a screw 150 and retaining cap
152, with the screw being axially inserted through the bushing 144
into the threaded weld nut 132 in the open second end of the cylindrical
tube 120.
The first releasable connection 48, including the splined shaft
72 of the footrest post 40 and the splined sleeve 84 of the upper
adjustable arm weldment 42, is held together by a screw 154 and
retaining cap 156 as shown in FIG. 12. By loosening the screw, the
splined sleeve can be slid axially along its central axis 90 off
the splined shaft and placed into a new rotational location on the
splined shaft thus allowing for adjustment about a longitudinal
axis coaxial with the central axis 90 of the footrest post. This
first rotational axis is defined as the rotational hanger interface
axis.
The second releasable connection 50 including the splined shaft
86 of the upper adjustable arm weldment 42 and the splined sleeve
100 of the upper footrest weldment 92 is similarly releasably held
in place by a screw 158 and a retaining cap 160. By loosening this
screw and repositioning the splined sleeve of the upper footrest
weldment, the upper footrest weldment can be adjusted to various
rotational orientations relative to the central axis 88 of the splined
shaft of the upper adjustable arm weldment. These rotational orientations
are about a second axis, or knee axis. The knee axis is orthogonal
to the rotational hanger interface axis 90.
The third releasable connection 52 including the splined shaft
116 of the lower footrest weldment 94 and the splined sleeve 124
of the lower adjustable arm weldment 46 is releasably held in place
by a screw 162 and retaining cap 164 in a similar fashion. The lower
adjustable arm weldment can be placed in various rotational orientations
relative to the lower footrest weldment by loosening the screw 162
and repositioning the splined sleeve of the lower adjustable arm
weldment relative to the central axis 118 of the splined shaft of
the lower footrest weldment. This adjustment is about a third axis,
referred to as the ankle axis. The ankle axis is parallel to the
knee axis 88 and orthogonal to the rotational hanger interface axis
90.
The splined sleeve 148 of the adjustable mechanical stop 146 and
the splined shaft 130 of the lower adjustable arm weldment 46 together
define the fourth releasable connection 56 which provides for adjustment
about a fourth axis 166, referred to as the foot axis, as shown
in FIG. 14.
A second embodiment of the footplate mounting is shown in FIGS.
11 and 13 with like parts having been given like reference numerals
with a prime suffix. This embodiment allows a footplate 54' to pivot
freely about a longitudinal axis 166' of a lower adjustable arm
weldment 167. In this embodiment, the lower adjustable arm weldment
includes a flat arm 122' attached to a cylindrical tube 120'. In
this embodiment, the cylindrical tube does not have a sleeve slidably
inserted and welded thereon to form the splined shaft 130, nor does
this embodiment have the internally-threaded weld nut 132. Rather,
this embodiment has a fixed mechanical stop 168 attached to the
flat arm 122' of the lower adjustable arm weldment by a screw 170
passed through an opening in the fixed mechanical stop and threadedly
inserted into an internally-threaded opening 128' in the flat arm.
A pivot block 136' and the footplate 54' are not attached to the
previously-described adjustable mechanical stop 146 having the splined
sleeve 148 defined therein, but instead the pivot block is provided
with a first bushing 144' and a second bushing 172 inserted in opposite
ends of a longitudinal bore 142'.
The pivot block 136' can then be slid onto the cylindrical tube
120' of the lower adjustable arm weldment 167 to pivotally support
the cylindrical tube in the bushings 144' and 172. The pivot block
and attached footplate 54' are held on the cylindrical tube by a
retainer plug 174 inserted through the first bushing 144' and frictionally
held within the open end of the cylindrical tube of the lower adjustable
arm weldment. The pivotal movement of the footplate and pivot block
about the lower adjustable arm weldment is limited only by the fixed
mechanical stop 168 attached to the lower adjustable arm weldment.
Accordingly, the footplate can be freely pivoted from a vertical
position (not shown) in one direction toward a substantially horizontal
position, at which point the pivotal movement is halted by the stop
so as to hold the footplate in the preferred horizontal position
as shown in FIG. 11. Similarly, pivotal movement in the opposite
direction is limited by the stop so that the footplate cannot pivot
in that direction past the vertical position.
As can be appreciated, and as is partially shown in FIG. 14, adjustment
about these multiple parallel and non-parallel axes 88, 90, 118
and 166 provides for a great latitude of footplate positioning relative
to the wheel chair 16. Because of this, the footrest 20 can more
easily and conveniently accommodate occupants having a variety of
needs. Furthermore, the nature of the splined shaft/splined sleeve
releasable connectors 48, 50, 52 and 56 provides a reliable connection
that can withstand the reasonably expected forces on the connections
so as to maintain the desired position.
The footrest described above may be modified to have any combination
of the above described components as more or less adjustability
may be desirable. For example, the rotary connection 50 about axis
88 (FIG. 2) may be eliminated in specific applications where it
is not necessary and it is desirable to provide a lower cost footrest.
The above description has been provided for a footrest 20 to mount
on a hollow tubular receptacle 36. However, there currently exists
wheel chairs which have hangers, receivers or receptacles (none
of which are shown) which have a different shape than this hollow
tubular receptacle. Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide
adapters (not shown) in a conventional manner so that the above
described variably adjustable footrests 18 and 20 of the present
invention can interact with and be mounted on wheel chairs having
these various hangers, receivers and receptacles.
The above described footrest can be modified as shown in FIGS.
15 and 16 to provide a calf support. The modification includes a
trough 182 and a metal bracket 184. The trough includes a baseplate
186 to which a u-shaped foam pad 188 is attached. The bracket defines
a circular opening therein to mate with either of the two external,
axially spaced, radially protruding buttons 102 on the upper footrest
weldment 92 for attachment of the trough. The footplate 54 described
above may or may not be used with this legrest.
A presently preferred embodiment of the present invention has been
described above with a degree of specificity. It should be understood,
however, that this degree of specificity is directed toward the
preferred embodiment. The invention itself, however, is defined
by the scope of the appended claims. |