Wheelchair Transportation | True to Care Non Emergency Transportation | Phoenix

The first documented wheelchair was build in in 1595 A.D. Spain when a Flemish Nobleman built one for King Phillip II. The king was walking very difficulty and was in need for an easier method of transportation, with other people’s help. Only in 1665, Stephen Farfler, a 22-year-old paraplegic watchmaker built himself an invention that consisted of cranks and cogwheels to propel himself using his own power. A more modern wheelchair, nevertheless.

In 1783, John Dawson of Bath, England, invented a wheelchair named after the town of Bath. the covered chaise had a chair with two large wheels and one small one, it was pushed from behind and steered by a long rod connected to the front wheel and outsold all other wheelchairs throughout the early part of the 19th century. It became so popular because the occupant would have guided the direction of travel and would be propelled by another. It was often used at the seaside and resorts carrying the sick from their lodgings at the spa and the rich and famous about their business in the city.

It wasn’t until 1869 when a patent was taken out on a wheelchair that could be self-propelled and had large wheels at the back. That model had rear push wheels and small front casters. From 1867 to 1875 inventors added new hollow rubber wheels similar to those used on bicycles on metal rims. In 1881, the pushrims for added self-propulsion were invented. Wheelchairs were starting to get less bulky but still were not easily transportable until the 1920s.

In 1932, the engineer Harry Jennings built the first folding, tubular steel wheelchair. That was the earliest wheelchair similar to what is in modern use these days.

The first motorized wheelchair came onto the scene in 1953 and was developed by a Canadian inventor, Ralph Braun, who had a standard wheelchair, but he wanted to go further and easier. Just ten years later he invented the first motorized three-wheeled scooter.

The Full-Size Handicap Vans

In 1970 Chrysler introduced the B-vans, which featured an elongated body, but unlike their predecessor, the A-vans, they were engineered to be quieter and increase highway mileage. The accessible version with a wheelchair lift was developed soon after that.

In 1973, Ralph Braun’s company developed the first raised-top, raised-door van conversion, the first full-size handicap van.

The year 1987 was a busy one for the mobility industry. By that time there were available several options when it came to personal mobility but not all the earliest designs by newcomers were ideal. In that year Freedom Motors founder Anthony van Dillen bought a rear-entry wheelchair van configuration design from the Netherlands and was the first to introduce it to the United States. And Vantage Mobility International installed a ramp system onto a Chrysler minivan.

In 1989, National Mobility Equipment Dealers Association (NMEDA) opened membership to mobility dealers on a national scale. This allowed the many companies interested in providing mobility products to customers the ability to certify their designs were tested and safe for operation.