These wheelchair wheels function like airplane landing gear

[Image courtesy of PlastiComp]

Frog Legs has partnered with PlastiComp to make carbon fiber composite wheelchair caster wheels that function like airplane landing gear for a smoother ride.

Frog Legs wanted to switch the wheels of its wheelchairs from machined aluminum to carbon fiber composite. Mark Chelgren, the company’s founder, also wanted to create a wheelchair that had a smoother ride using a patented pivot point and wedge shaped shock absorber instead of having the wheels going up and over obstructions. The shock absorbers allow for the wheels to move over obstructions in an arc path like landing gear and make the ride smoother.

“An arc is a much more efficient movement,” said Chelgren in a press release. “But its compression zones are not linear, so instead of a traditional cylinder shaped shock absorber, Frog Legs uses a wedge shape to better handle the differential loadings from front to rear.”

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

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