Design Details
Overview of Components
The basic components of the wheelchair mounting system are either textile or mechanical.
Textile Components
The textile components make up the wheelchair sleeve,L-Bar compartment, and tablet pocket.
Textile Components
The textile components make up the wheelchair sleeve,L-Bar compartment, and tablet pocket.
The wheelchair sleeve comes in two sizes: the Ultralight Sleeve and the Standard Sleeve. The Ultralight Sleeve is designed to fit smaller wheelchairs with seatbacks of smaller width and shorter height. The Standard Sleeve is designed to fit larger wheelchairs and wheelchairs with handlebars. Both of the sleeves are made of duck fabric and elastic bands. Duck fabric is a durable, flame- and water- resistant material. The elastic fabric can stretch to twice its length - making it possible for the sleeve to fit wheelchairs of various seatback dimensions.
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view of expanded Ultralight Sleeve
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Sewn onto the wheelchair sleeve is another layer of duck fabric that contains the L-Bar compartment. This is a pocket designed to hold the L-Bar of the mounting system. The fabric of this pocket is also duck fabric, and it wraps around all sides of the bar (without fulling extending over the top of the L-Bar). A zipper along the left size of the L-Bar makes it easier for the mounting system to be removed or attached to the sleeve. The right side of the L-Bar compartment is flush with the wheelchair sleeve. For the Ultralight Sleeve, the L-Bar compartment is 2" below the top edge. For the Standard Sleeve, the L-Bar compartment is 6" below the top edge.
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view of expanded Standard Sleeve
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view from above of L-Bar Compartment on Standard Sleeve
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Mechanical Components
The mechanical components of the mounting system consist of the L-Bar, telescoping tube, gooseneck and tablet case.
The mechanical components of the mounting system consist of the L-Bar, telescoping tube, gooseneck and tablet case.
The L-Bar is composed of a hollow 12" long segment of a 2" hollow square tube that is diagonally cut and welded to create an L-shape. The outer tube of the telescoping tube is an 8" segment of the same kind of 2" square tube. The inner tube of the telescoping tube is a 7.25" segment of a 1.75" square tube. The wall thickness of both of the tubes is 0.105", making the inner tube fit perfectly inside the outer tube. The outer tube has five 3/8" diameter holes drilled into, 1" apart from each other from the left end of the tube. The inner tube has a single 3/8" diameter hole drilled 0.25" from the left end. A connector button is located inside the inner tube and uses spring force to hold the two tubes together. Using the holes, the connector button can be pushed to adjust the length of the telescoping tube.
The telescoping tube and L-Bar are connected through a system of two hinges, two brackets, and a 2"X4" flat piece of metal. This hinging system is described in more detail below in "Overview of Use." |
L-Bar & telescoping tube in most compact and most extended positions
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The gooseneck is welded to a small 1.75"X1.75" square piece of metal on one end and a 2.5" diameter circular piece of metal on the other end. The small square piece is welded to the exposed end of the telescoping tube, and the circular piece is screwed to the tablet case. The gooseneck provides adjustability to the position and viewing angle of the tablet computer.
The tablet case used in this design is from RAM Mounts. The zipper of the L-Bar compartment is from Zipperstop.com. All the other components of the design are from McMaster-Carr. More information about the components can be found by clicking the buttons below. |
Overview of Use
Stowed Position:
Intermediate Position:
Extended Position:
When in the extend position, the telescoping pole rests upon a small flat piece of metal that is supported by the brackets attached to the L-Bar. The strap hinge that connects to the telescoping tube falls open to 90 degrees. The telescoping tube rests against the exposed section of the flat piece of metal that is supported by the brackets. In this configuration, the bracket and piece of metal add support to the joint.
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