Project Description

• Build a wheelchair lift for a reduced scale Gator Utility Vehicle.
• The lift must be mechanical, not hand driven.
• The lift must be easy to operate and maintain.
• The final goal is to allow a handicapped person to park their wheelchair next to the drivers seat of the Gator, get themselves into the Gator, easily attach the wheelchair to the lift and then maneuver the wheelchair into the rear bed of the Gator.
• Our final deliverable is to be a fully functional model of the lift built onto a scaled down John Deere Gator. This lift will be used in demonstrations at major agriculture expositions such as Ag Progress Days, the Pennsylvania Farm Show, and the Keystone Farm Show.

SAJ² Team Members:

Josh Weyant - Project Manager

Adam Rogers - Business Manager

Jason Maxwell - Engineer

Sean Patterson - Communication Officer

Our Sponsor:

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• The arm is controlled by a two-switch system contained in a control box (black box). The wires leading to the controls have enough slack for easy demonstration control.
• The arm is pictured in its initial position; the wheelchair is on the ground next to the drivers seat. Once the driver attaches the lifting cable to the wheelchair, it is ready to be hoisted into the vehicle bed.

• This picture is of the arm in its final resting position at which point it is safe to operate the Gator vehicle.
• Using the two motor controls, the operator has hoisted the wheelchair to its top position, rotated the arm approximately 200 degrees, and lowered the wheelchair into the bed of the vehicle.

• This is a close up on the two motor mechanism and its casing.
• The bottom motor turns at 1.3 rpm and uses a belt to turn the lift arm.
• The top motor turns at 16 rpm and serves as the winch to lift the wheelchair.
• The entire mechanism is enclosed in a plywood box for safety reasons.