Heron equipment for people with disabilities
An article by Ross Baker. Images of the vehicles and mobility equipment appear below the article.
After I had recuperated from my boating accident in 1979, I became very involved in designing and building equipment for people with disabilities. This included many hand controls for vehicles and wheelchair lifting equipment plus some very interesting one off vehicles.
To See or Not to See – That is the Question
One of our major projects was to make a hoist to fit in the back of a Toyota Hi-Ace van for Peter O’Flaherty who was confined to a wheel chair. Peter had an old CA Bedford van with a very primitive hoist on the back of the van that required about 3 metres clearance for loading. This meant it was impossible to angle-park and in the streets of Rotorua for Peter to be put on the hoist platform and wheeled into the van. The other problem, when Peter was in the van he was too high sitting in his wheel chair to see out the windows and spent his whole time looking at the road. Very boring on a long trip!
We decided the hoist had to be part of the floor of the van so that it could be loaded with out sticking out onto the road and the floor had to be lowered 250mm for Peter to be the same height as the driver to see out the windows.
Peter turned up with a brand new van with only 250 klms on the clock. Chris Cooke and I spent many hours looking at the marks I had put on the floor of this brand new van before cutting it out. Eventually, I plucked up enough courage and cut out the whole floor from the rear door to the front seats. We now went about making a new floor that would drop the original floor by 250mm but with a raised portion in the middle for the drive shaft. The rear portion of the floor was a platform that was hydraulically raised up and down for loading. We build about 5 of these hoist for various people and they all commented on how great it was to be able to load anywhere but mainly to be able to see out the windows. Any trip was now an adventure instead of hours of boredom and frustration. See picture below.
I also designed a swing out seat that the person in a wheelchair could be transferred, then travel as a regular passenger. The seat lowered to the ground for easy transfer.
LOOK MUM - NO HANDS
Another interesting project was the vehicle we built for an orchardist who lost the use of his lower body. Mr Brom Wells of Te Puke owned a large Kiwi fruit orchard but was having trouble pruning the vine and instructing staff. The New Zealand Disability Resource Centre approached me to design and build a vehicle that he could control with one hand so he could instruct his staff in pruning etc. I designed this machine based on the Electric Trucks we were building for Tasman Pulp and Paper. It consisted of a steel chassis, fiberglass body, 4 X 6 volt batteries and a 24 volt 2.5 hp electric motor. So that Brom always had a hand free to prune, it had a tiller steering that operated the brakes when pushed down and a thumb accelerator. This vehicle was charged over night and had enough power to operate all day.
As Brom could not leave this vehicle without the ramp at the packing shed, we later built a smaller three-wheeler with its own ramp operated by a leaver as shown below. This proved more successful and was used extensively for everyday transport around the orchard.
My Biggest Challenge, My Biggest Inspiration, A Wish Come True
In 1992, I was given my biggest challenge of my life. An 18-yearold girl, who had chalky bones and had been confined to a wheelchair all her life, wanted to become independent and drive a car and was referred to Heron Developments Ltd by the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Disability Resource Centre. Cherise Hobbs arrive with her grandmother and grandfather who she called mum and dad from Auckland. Cherise was in an electric wheelchair fitted with a unit similar to a bassinet. Her spine had collapsed, her legs were only about 500mm long and she had a broken left arm above the elbow that would not heal due to her condition but a heart of gold and the determination that would put any able bodied person to shame. Cherise was my biggest inspiration that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
The major problem, I could not fit a normal hand control brake and accelerator unit as Cherise’s broken left arm was not strong enough to hold the steering wheel while she braked with her right arm or visa versa. I spent many hours lying in bed at night thinking about this until it came to me, why not couple the steering wheel to the brake pedal and she could keep both hands on the steering wheel and brake at the same time.
With the help of John Moat, I purchased a Honda City Automatic as it had a very high roofline, large door and was a simple little car to drive. While I designed the modifications, Chris Cooke helped me build it. First we cut the drivers side floor out and dropped it about 100mm. We then constructed a platform that would lift up and slide out the door. This platform was fitted with a ramp that folded down using a hydraulic lift ram and pump from an outboard motor.
At the rear right hand corner of the car we fitted switches to open the door, slide out the platform and lower the ramp. Cherise would then drive her wheelchair up the ramp. At the top of the ramp was a control panel that would raise the ramp, which would lock the wheelchair to the platform, then slide the platform into the car and lower it into the driving position. We had also extended the gear leaver and handbrake. The accelerator was located where the wiper switch is normally fitted on the steering column as Cherise’s leg would not bend or reach the floor.
The steering and braking were the major challenge. I fitted another universal about 200mm down the steering column and a hinge that would allow the steering wheel to be pushed up. A bracket was then fitted to the column with a linkage to the brake pedal. By pushing the steering wheel up it applied the foot brake. I had my doubts this would work as I thought by turning the steering wheel would apply the brakes, but I was surprised it worked 100%. In fact it was very easy to drive and gave excellent control. We also fitted power steering as it was not fitted to the Honda City. As we had designed and built many vehicles, we had little trouble with certification – although I feel the certifier just gave up and signed the certification hoping it would all go away – until next time!
Cherise came down to Rotorua on a Thursday to learn to drive the car. She drove it around the workshop yard over the weekend before taking her first professional lesson on the Monday morning. Her instructor booked an appointment for her driving test on the following Friday, which she passed first attempt. The Officer was absolutely amazed at her control of the car and her skill as a driver after only nine days of driving. On the Saturday she drove her Dad the 250 klms back to Auckland! Amazing!
Cherise drove this car to the Auckland University where she gained a degree in child sociology. She later purchased a house and became completely independent – her wish had come true. Ten years later, Cherise had traveled over 120,000 klms in this car before she sadly passed away through medical complications associated with her condition. Cherise was an inspiration to all that knew her and will be sadly missed but never forgotten. I would like to thank her Mum and Dad; they were also an inspiration to us all.
Chair cart, for Brom Wells
Van conversions
Honda City conversion, for Cherise Hobbs
