Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
This would work fine, except in terms of success.

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Lever Operated Wheelchair

use levers for propulsion instead of rings.
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This wheelchair would have two ratcheting levers, one on either side of your seat, on the insides of the wheels. Each lever would have a handgrip that can slide up and down along the lever, with a handbrake on it for each wheel. Each axle would have a second ratchet attached to the frame which would prevent the chair from rolling backwards when going up a hill. Each handle would have a switch which would reverse the ratcheting direction of each wheel; allowing you to move in reverse or turn around.

The handles would have an upward curve.

The higher you place your hands on the levers, the more torque you will have but the slower you will go. The lower you place your hands on the levers, the faster you can go but with less torque, and you can change your hand positions while you are in motion.

The levers will have rubber stoppers also.

BJS, Apr 18 2007

Prizewinner! http://www.csuchico...heelchairWins.shtml
Lever Operated Wheelchair [baconbrain, Apr 19 2007]

Exercise Bike http://www.wernerst...img/schwexer_lg.jpg
The levers on this bike could be used for wheelchair motivation, too. [DrCurry, Apr 19 2007]

Ha! Beat ya! 3-speed_20Wheelchair
tootin' my own horn, except I forgot to include a control for that [lurch, Apr 19 2007]

Retrofittable Rowing Wheelchair http://lemelson.ham...e.edu/Projects.html
scroll down a little [BJS, Apr 22 2007]

The Rowchair http://web.mit.edu/...chair/rowchair.html
[BJS, Apr 22 2007]

[link]






       Wow. I just thought of this the other day. I have a sketch of it somewhere here <sifts through papers on ludicrously untidy desk>   

       Great minds...
Texticle, Apr 18 2007
  

       Google the title, eh? Forum proceedings: "Lever driven or ratchet arm systems have been explored. They consist of a lever-operated drive attached to the hub of each wheel. Applying a push/pull motion to the top end of the levers propels the wheelchair. The user moves the lever forward and backward to propel the chair and turns it left and right to turn the chair. A number of studies have shown that lever propulsion is more efficient than handrim propulsion for paraplegics as well as quadriplegics."   

       My dad makes a lever-operated chair by driving a single wheel out front.
baconbrain, Apr 18 2007
  

       I was pondering something similar on the exercise bike in the gym - the one that has arms for the, um, arms. That would make a good propulsion mechanism, too.
DrCurry, Apr 19 2007
  

       Also known as a rowbike
BunsenHoneydew, Apr 21 2007
  
      
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