Disability Shift

The initial design of the lift was to have it separate from the wheelchair. The wheelchair would have been portable through the use of four small wheels on the bottom of the lift. The user of the wheelchair would had rolled on top of the wheelchair through the use of a small ramp. Once the wheelchair was in position on top of the lift it would had proceeded to elevate ten to twelve inches in the air. The user would be able to control the lift with a wired remote. The wheelchair lift would had consist of two carjacks placed between two wood panels connected to the top and bottom of the carjacks. The wood panels would had also needed to be similar in size and length in order to assure balance. Also, the carjacks would need to be the same model. …show more content…
One major problem was the process of the user rolling on top of the ramp. Some users of wheelchairs may not have the capabilities necessary to roll up a steep incline. They could have required assistance to be place on top of the wheelchair and the requirement of assistance would completely go against the idea that the lift was made to improve the independence of those limited to the abilities of the wheelchair. Also, the portable lift would had been a hassle for one to carry around with them. The wheels of lift would had provided more ease but the constant pushing of the lift from one place to another would had been a noticeable inconvenience. Another obvious problem was that the wheels would act as quite a nuisance whenever the user would attempt to roll onto the lift. A lock would be needed to keep the lift in position every time the user required the use of the lift. Otherwise the lift roll away every time the user would try to position themselves on top of the lift. Finally, the positioning of the user while above the lift would have been extremely dangerous. The user could possibly roll off of the lift while it is in the process of elevating. Latches could potentially be used to lock the user in but they would need to be on both ends of the wheelchair or else the user could just roll back down the