"Kneeling" cupboards for wheelchair users.

SWMBO is pretty much full time in the wheelchair now, so some changes are needed to make life easy.

There is a problem in that a lot of adaptations then make life shitty for the able bodied - low surfaces & backache for example.

Anyway, looking at the kitchen, the biggest single improvement would be to reclaim the (currently wasted) cupboards which are above wheelchair height.

It struck me that if there was some sort of mechanism that an *existing cupboard* could be mounted into which allowed a wheelchair user to pull, and would slowly descend until it was at worksurface height, then the kitchen becomes quite accessible for both again.

Such a mechanism would also have to move slightly clear of the wall to avoid fouling powerpoints and anything mounted on the wall under the cupboard.

Having pondered what's needed, I believe I can confidently state it doesn't exist in any country in the world ... ?

So how would people here start ?

My thoughts involve using long drawer runners in conjunction with some sort of pantograph which would fix to the wall and allow a cupboard to be mounted.

The biggest question/problem is how to engineer it so a slight pull brings it down, and a slight push puts it back ?

Reply to
Jethro_uk
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Jethro_uk used his keyboard to write :

I seem to remember another solution which involved the wheelchair user being raised up to the height needed, in a supported standing position. Unless powered, then a slight pull and push would not be enough, due to the variation of weight of the cupboard contents. Rather I would think a series of motorised threaded rods, with the 'nuts' on the cupboard, one per cupboard might do what is needed.

Another way would be using bicycle chains, over chain pulleys with one motor to drive a cupboard section. That would not be too difficult to arrange mechanically, there are plenty of suitable bike parts available.

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Anything here:

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?

Reply to
Chris Hogg

It seems the magic phrase (kerching !) is "wall cabinet lifts" - then there are solutions, although they do look a tad ... over robust ?

I was hoping to avoid anything electrical ... too much to go wrong.

Tx for the steer ...

Reply to
Jethro_uk

after messing with google, and grappling with pinterest (:() I hit upon similar. At least it's a starting point.

Reply to
Jethro_uk

I might help to know what is wrong with electric wall cabinet lifts such as

NB I do accept their price is one thing wrong with them!

Reply to
Robin

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Quite a few similar.

I made some variable height work surfaces using standard industrial linear bearing runs a bit like these and an electric ram similar to the one shown in

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(the ram actually came out of a discarded bath lift)

Reply to
Peter Parry

You need an iBot.

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Sadly, $25K, which likely puts it out of reach for most.

Reply to
Huge

"These" should have been

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The electric rams by the way have been very reliable with little to go wrong.

Reply to
Peter Parry

Of course you can make every cupboard in the kitchen go up and down, but what a price!

I think you need to start again, deciding what do you actually need to achieve?

Can you organise things so 90-99% of what your DW needs is actually within wheelchair reach? Maybe with some stuff on a rotating tray on the worktop? My mother had one of those long grabbers.

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Low tech and cheap. :)

Reply to
GB

You might find

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useful.

Reply to
Peter Parry

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Reply to
dennis

that's crazy money.

This is also crazy, but might just work. Maybe. Make the whole floor raise up when required. A tenth the price, don't know if you could work out how t o make it genuinely workable.

Another slightly crazy option would be one hoist updowning all the cupboard s at once. The cables would be very much on view, but it should do the job. If you use steel cables, don't forget they do wear through eventually. Cot ton wear through more often, and plastics too often.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

Aldidl electric hoist currently £25 locally.

Reply to
Capitol

That's a very good link.

Reply to
Capitol

Indeed. But I know someone whose mother had them and they work. And priorities for spending can change when someone's disabled.

Seems to me a bold and courageous approach :) Eg seals at the edges cd be a bit challenging in a kitchen where spillages are to be expected; loss of access to lower cupboards (and w/m, d/w, fridge, freezer) until floor lowered again; can't leave kitchen until floor lowered again; provision to lower if power lost. Not to mention risk of floor being jammed "up".

Reply to
Robin

It's still crazy money. I bet an engineering shop could fab a full set for their price for one.

For real. Let's try it...

Maybe the floor is on a metal frame, and sections can be lifted off.

If it goes up & down quickly that's workable. Powered by an aldidl hoist it would.

a panel on one end hinged so it acts as a ramp passively

Stuck down is much more likely. It's the sort of mechanism that could be workable if there is someone in the house that can replace the steel cable every 10 years, change a fuse if ever etc.

I have an inherent dislike for retailed disability aids, the prices are obscene and the designs woefully bad.

NT

Reply to
tabbypurr

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com formulated on Tuesday :

+1
Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

Sarah Beany used this on one of her 'double your house for half the money' programs. It wasn't cheap though, all electrically operated to raise and lower worktops and wall cabinets.

Reply to
Andrew

Hang the cupboards from the ceiling, using a screw car jack like mechanism. The screw will ensure that the cupboards stay at whatever height you stop them. Position the cupboards away from the wall so that they can clear wall mounted items, or recess the items into the wall.

Probably not practical, given the variations in weight that will occur. If you don't want to power the screw, you will need something like a long crank handle, turning it via bevel gears, or a continuous chain mechanism.

Reply to
Nightjar

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