The Vehicle Wheelchair Lift System Using Human Powered Hydraulic Pump

The objective of this thesis is to introduce a manual powered option that enables the disabled person to utilize arm motions to initiate the vehicle wheelchair lift giving both exercise and more personal control over the equipment. The purpose of this project is to provide an alternative way for the disabled person to get into his/her vehicle without having to rely on any electrically powered assistance. It has been the author's intent to modify the existing vehicle wheelchair lift to incorporate a new drive system that would allow for functional manual use. A hydraulic drive system has been designed to be installed onto the existing lift structure. The author will go further in depth with the hydraulic analysis, as the other members of the group will focus on other subcomponents of the lift. Necessary design parameters and constraints were given on this project, which limited various options on the choice of drive systems. Extensive design analysis and testing has been performed to achieve the most functional and practical solution to the manual wheelchair lift