are there any wheel designs that can ascend and descend stairs?

Answer 1

Yes. I know of two types of "wheelchair" designed to ascend and descend stairs. Since we're limited to words only in this forum (no images) describing them will be difficult. I saw both designs in the mid-70's during a visit to "The Center For Independent Living" in Berkeley, California.

1) The first chair went up and down the stairs backwards and in the "wheelie" position, with the front wheels in the air. Each rear "wheel" consisted of three smaller wheels mounted on a revolving ring. The small wheels fit within the tread and rise of a single stair and had one-way clutches so they would roll into, but not out of, each stair. To ascend/descend stairs, the supporting ring rotated, allowing each small wheel to "step" on each tread in turn. My group watched a handicapped person use the device to climb a set of stairs but, when it came time "pop a wheelie" and back over the top edge, the demonstrator lost his nerve. (With good reason!)

2) The second device was more a tracked vehicle than a wheelchair. Its treads had triangular blocks that gripped the edge of each step. It could easily (slowly) climb and descend any straight stairs but had trouble executing a 90 degree turn on a small landing. The "caterpillar" chair worked OK on smooth hard floors but couldn't turn well on carpets.

I see that I forgot to mention that the first chair was strictly manually operated and depended heavily on the user's upper body strength. The second chair was exclusively electric powered (by onboard golf cart batteries) and had no provisions for manual operations. At the time, my impression was that both alternatives were innovative but neither was really a practical solution. Now days, with the tremendous improvements in "sport" wheelchairs, I imagine there are much more practical solutions available.

Oh, yeah! One more idea. In a high end department store, where they had several escalators, I watched three handicapped men happily pop a wheelie and roll onto the escalator. It seemed quick and easy and they did it again and again, obviously having a blast, until store management, undoubtedly fearing a lawsuit,spoiled their fun and made them stop. All things considered, some version of an escalator is possibly best because it works with ordinary wheelchairs and is (could be) the safest approach.

Answer 2

Yes, there is a type of "wheel" that readily handles stairs. What's more, it handles all sorts of uneven terrain very efficiently.

While it spins on a centrally rotating axle like a wheel, its really not a wheel at all.

E-mail me for more info.

Answer 3

Oh yes. There are wheelchairs, furniture dollies, cargo dollies, ATVs,, etc. Lots of stuff out on the market today. Check out the Grainger and U-Line catalogs for a pic or two.

Answer 4

I had a delivery person use a dolly that went up stairs. I don't know about down.

I heard that Segway human transporters go up and down stairs.

Answer 5

properly...by ability of code...it needs to be 7 to eight inch riser hieght,...the shallower..the greater desirable....thread intensity is often 10-11......hand rails at 36 inches of the tip of the thread..i could additionally upload carpet or grip mats on each and each riser... Bob Architectural Draftsmen. 12 years