JoeFischer Designs

Portability, convenience, and efficiency are becoming more and more prevalent as technology increases. This is also true with wheelchairs; Wheelchairs are being designed to fold and collapse smaller and smaller with every iteration but there is one parameter that remains constant, the wheel. No matter how small the wheelchair frame folds it is always limited by its’ wheel’s diameter. This project aims to create a collapsible wheel design to accompany a foldable wheelchair in order to make it more portable and storable. Since the diameter of the wheel is the limiting factor in a foldable wheelchair, the relatively small width dimension of the wheel was increased in order to compensate for the reduction of the diameter dimension. This was achieved by creating a wheel composed of six equal parts that interlock to form a solid, functional wheel capable of supporting a human to the weight capacity of other wheelchairs (250 pounds). It is also important that the wheel is easy and quick to assemble and disassemble for users of all ages and capability. It will be tested for strength but also for how quickly it can be assembled and disassembled. To achieve a 1-minute assembly time, quick release hinges were used, an instruction manual was created, and magnet and Velcro attach points were implemented. This collapsible wheel design collapses a standard 24-inch wheelchair wheel to an 11.25 by 10.75 by 6.00-inch assembly. This is a reduction of 83% of its original frontal area when collapsed.