ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 19 -- United States Patent no. 12,329,695, issued on June 17.
"Powered assistance device for improved operation of a wheelchair" was invented by Christopher Paillet (Tucson, Ariz.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus for powering a manual wheelchair with rear wheels that includes a motor and pair of powered drive wheels, with each powered drive wheel in contact with a respective rear wheel of the manual wheelchair. Some embodiments of the powered apparatus include a piston assembly coupled to each of the powered drive wheels, whereby movement of the piston assembly to a disengaged position ceases motorized control of the wheelchair. The piston assembly may also be...