Loading and storing a wheelchair in the car can be an arduous and complicated task for many people. The weight and dimensions of this accessory, together with the possible physical limitations of those who handle it, make this process especially demanding, especially when it is an operation that is performed frequently.
To help those who find themselves in this situation, the automotive auxiliary industry offers innovative and specialized solutions that seek to improve the autonomy and comfort of these people. These solutions range from automatic wheelchair lifting systems to electric folding mechanisms, providing disabled drivers with adaptive tools that facilitate entry and exit from the car, as well as storage during the journey.
All these products that are marketed to load the wheelchair in the vehicle are duly approved by the Ministry of Industry to ensure compliance with strict safety and reliability standards, as is the case with all other accessories, such as, for example, the child retention.
We are going to review below which are these permitted systems that are duly detailed on the Imserso website (Institute for Seniors and Social Services), dependent on the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030.
To place the wheelchair between the two rows of seats, there is a system that consists of a robotic arm that comes out of the sliding rear door of the vehicle when it is fully opened. It must be taken into account that placing the wheelchair in this place reduces the number of useful seats in the car.
A transfer crane is responsible for storing the wheelchair in the back of the vehicle. Raising and lowering the folded wheelchair is motorized and is performed using a handheld device. The rest of the operations (folding the chair, attaching it to the lifting element, and pushing it into the vehicle or removing it) are carried out manually.
This system loads and unloads a folding wheelchair into the trunk, using a robotic arm, with several joints that automatically deploy from the trunk and travels around the exterior contour of the vehicle until reaching the driving seat position. The operation is carried out by means of a device installed in the vehicle that also opens the trunk automatically.
This system is specially designed to load large wheelchairs without folding or disassembling. The motorization extracts or retracts the trunk platform and once on the road, the chair is anchored or unanchored to the platform.
They allow the folding wheelchair to be stored on the roof of the vehicle, inside a luggage container. When the chair is to be picked up, the container is opened, the structure comes out and is placed parallel to the side of the vehicle. The motorized pulley lowers a swing-type system, which will hook the wheelchair through the seat.
Next, the chair is automatically raised, while the structure lies down to its original position, making the chair rest laterally on it as it is lodged in the container, which is closed.
This solution is applicable for wheelchair models that, as part of an intelligent system in the vehicle, allows it to be loaded and unloaded in the trunk completely autonomously. It uses technology that is easily managed through a mobile application.
This type of solution does not require any type of installation in the vehicle. As it is a portable aid, independent of the vehicle, it is necessary to store the wheelchair manually.
