There is no accurate knowledge on when the first wheelchair was created, but some stone inscriptions from Ancient China and Greece suggest wheelchair-type furniture, and it is known that an inventor created for King Philip of Spain around 1595 a chair with four small wheels so he could be pushed around by his servants as he suffered from severe gout.
However, we do know about the first self-propelled wheelchair that was invented in 1655 by Stephan Farfler in Nuremberg, a 22 year old paraplegic clock-maker who built it to aid his own mobility.
Since then, there have been various technological and design advancements to improve the wheelchair. We share some of the patents that protect this inventions:
Inventor:
Willis Martin
Assignee:
Martin Manufacturing Co LLC
Date of Patent:
Mar. 15, 2005
Charles Kenneth Wike, Jr.Michael Alan Kapp and Richard Michael McEntyre
Assignee:
Active Body Inc
Date of Patent:
Jan. 02, 2018
Carrie Mabe
Assignee:
Individual
Date of Patent:
Oct. 07, 2021
James P. Mulhern and Stephen J. Antonishak.
Assignee:
Pride Mobility Products Corp
Date of Patent:
Feb. 07, 2023
Rory Alan Cooper, Hongwu Wang, Cheng-Shiu Chung, Jorge Luis Candiotti, Garrett G. Grindle, Jonathan L. Pearlman and Brandon Joseph Daveler.
Assignee:
University of Pittsburgh US Department of Veterans Affairs
Date of Patent:
May. 06, 2021
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