The
wheelchair has been a great invention for disabled people. It makes them self-dependent
without putting any efforts. One of the major disadvantages with wheelchairs
which had been there for many years was that of stairs. It was a problem that
how disabled people will climb up or down the stairs with a wheelchair. With
modern advancement in technology, this problem has been solved in a very
innovative way of using wheelchair lifts. This has given a true sense of independence
to disabled people.
State of the art Wheelchair Lift
A
state of the art wheelchair lift is an electrically powered machine which is
designed to raise the wheelchair and the person sitting on it from the ground
level to overcome any vertical barrier. There is a plate-shaped platform which
can touch the ground level and also gets elevated at a certain distance from
the ground level. This lift works in both the directions upwards and downwards.
Apart from stairs in buildings, wheelchair lifts are widely used in buses and
other vehicles which create problems for a person using a wheelchair.
Working of Wheelchair Lifts
Whenever
someone has to use the state of
the art wheelchair lift, they first make the platform touch the ground by
pressing a button and then move their wheelchair on the platform. After that, there
is another button which lifts the platform a little above the ground level and
the lift starts moving upwards or downwards to move both the wheelchair and the
person sitting on it in that direction. Like a normal lift, wheelchair lifts
also have a weight limit above which they don’t function. Sometimes there is a
guard or mechanic standing near the lift which presses the button to avoid any
kind of inconvenience.
Types of Wheelchair Lifts
There
are two types of wheelchair lifts. The first one is vertical wheelchair lift
and the other one is called inclined wheelchair lift.
- Vertical
Wheelchair Lift
They
have a platform like structure in which the wheelchair arrives and after that,
they move straight up or down to take the person in that direction. They are
also sometimes called porch lifts.
- Inclined
Wheelchair Lift
They
don’t move straightly but in an inclined way. It has a very wide platform and
the wheelchair is rolled onto this platform. After that, it starts gliding to
take them to the required direction.
Modern Advancements
The
conventional models of wheelchair lift only move either straight up or down or
at an inclined way towards upwards or downwards direction. But modern
technologies have allowed them to move in any fashion. Generally, the stairs
are not straight and are designed in curved and other fashionable manners. Modern
techniques have allowed wheelchair lifts to move in the same curly manner as
the stairs.
Conclusion
It
is our responsibility that disabled people should not be devoid of anything. If
a disabled person will have to take help for each and everything, they tend to
think more about their disability and might feel depressed. Wheelchair lift adds
to the independence of disabled people. There are several companies which
provide installation of wheelchair lifts and if your office or building doesn’t
have wheelchair lifts yet, then you should install them as early as possible.