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.