SBIR-STTR Award

The Turbo WheelChair will demonstrate the feasibility of a new design that offers a significant departure from the design weaknesses and durability problems of the existing metal-frame chairs. Verification occurs when the prototype chair exceeds the ANSI/RESNA Performance Standard for Manual Wheelchairs. Turbo will be made from structural resins, molded into only seven unique components. The components are assembled with the patented "Interlocking Technique"(C) that holds the frame together WITHOUT screws or welds. Turbo avoids the "X-frame" common to most folding manual wheelchairs and eliminates the tubing welds and bolt holes at the "X" crossbar, which are common failure points in metal-frames. It folds side-to-side to 12" and yet has a solid seat that eliminates the inherently unstable sling seat. Turbo's chair will be lighter and stronger than its rehabilitation or lightweight manual competitors made with metal-frames. This project will support development of two prototype lightweight, low- cost, rehabilitation wheelchairs based on FEA modeling conducted for Turbo wheelchair by Allied-Signal, Inc. Allied- Signal assigned a materials specialist and a FEA engineer to optimize Turbo's design on their Cray supercomputer. The Turbo wheelchair will be economical to own and maintain with the features of expensive models; it will be sturdy, dependable transportation. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: According to industry data, US and Canadian wheeled mobility sales exceeded $700 Million in 1997, with manual chairs accounting for about one-half of total sales. A low-cost, manual rehabilitation wheelchair offering the maintenance and durability improvements predicted for the Turbo wheelchair could be expected to capture 10% of the market share in 5 years.

There is a glaring need for low cost manual wheelchairs that withstands daily use trauma, are light enough to transport and still remain rolling. This proposal follows a successful Phase I in which the 26 pound merlinchair, a glass filled nylon prototype, passed the double drum and curb drop ANSI fatigue durability tests. Turbo has assembled a strong team in plastics, medical devices, wheelchair and computer technology with broad base knowledge, cross over experience and a solid track record for producing products. In Phase II we will: design and fabricate preproduction tooling, develop molding processes, assemble and test preproduction wheelchairs. Diverse users will ride, and caretakers will push the post Phase I modified prototype chairs and evaluate them. From user reports SFSU will guide further refinements. We expect at least two separate chair configurations to result. Contract molding, in house assembly, testing and more evaluation by the users/caretakers group will provide data for final design parameter& TWC will fabricate 200 preproduction chairs for Phase III institutional and user distribution and for attracting capital necessaiy for producing Merlinchairs. Users and advocates have begged for chairs with MerlinChairs' attributes. TWC anticipate that Merlinchair will be widely used and accepted. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: The North American wheelchair market exceeds $650 million in annual sales. Manual chairs account for just under one-half the dollar volume. In phase III TURBO Wheelchair will capture approximately 6-10% ($20-32.5million) of the manual chair market within 5years on the basis of a durable, folding solid seat, affordable engineering resin based product.