Pushchair safety brake
To provide an automatic pushchair brake which is applied if the handlebars are released by accident.
The solution
The type of pushchair is braked normally by operating a foot lever which extends a pair of rods which lock into the rear wheels. An additional braking system was devised which operated a similar pair of extending rods using the same wheel features but this was a brake which mudt be held off normally by means of a lever mounted on the handlebars. Releasing this lever causes the braking rods to engage via springs. The brake lever was connected to the mechanism via standard bicycle brake cables. The springs were chosen so that the effort in holding off the brake off was not too tiring.
As an additional feature, a wrist strap was made to connect the client’s wrist to the handlebars.
The benefit
Gives the client peace of mind that the pushchair does not roll away uncontrollably.
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Thanks for your reply Chris. The wrist lanyard was in fact connected to the pushchair axle low down which was a secondary feature. Our client was happy to hold the brake lever down in a normal situation out and about (the force required was small). Application of the brakes was positive and the same action as the footbrake. If the the wheel notches were not present then this would present problems.
The Doncaster Panel originally followed the system developed by the Leeds Panel by providing friction brakes on the rear wheels operated by a wrist tether which released the spring loaded brake cables. This was sometimes found by Leeds to be inadequate on slippery or wet surfaces as the braked wheels could skid.
Eventually we adopted the later Leeds suggestion of providing a wrist lanyard which was attached low down near or on the rear axle, to prevent it tipping the pushchair, in the event of the carer falling or having a seizure.