Design of a small folding Table for a wheelchair

Abstract

At receptions, parties, networking events, or other social functions, able-bodied people move around the room from conversation to conversation carrying a drink and/or a little plate of food. People who use wheelchairs for mobility are limited by their need to use their hands to push their wheelchair about the room. This thesis addresses this need through the design of a table that can attach to a manual wheelchair to hold food and drink. The table is engineered to be lightweight, small enough to fit in a backpack, hold a wine glass, and prevent food from sliding off its surface when the wheelchair goes over bumps. The thesis documents the design of the table- it is a simple, contemporary design made primarily of aluminum and vinyl. Preliminary mockups were built to test and refine the table concept and key details, while a detailed digital model for the final design was developed. Because the market for such a product is very small, the table will be manufactured by CNC machining and it will cost upwards of $100.