Q'STRAINT QRT-1 Series - User Manual

USER INSTRUCTIONS

Summary

Secure Wheelchair

Position Wheelchair

Place wheelchair facing forward in securement area and secure wheels or power.

Attach Tie-Downs to Floor Anchorages

Connect tie-downs to floor anchorages and confirm they are locked.

Secure Tie-Down Hooks to Frame

Attach hooks to solid frame members near seat level at approx. 45 degrees, avoiding wheels/plastic.

Tension and Lock Tie-Downs

Ensure tie-downs are locked and tensioned, using retractors to remove slack.

Secure Passenger

Attach Lap Belts

Feed belts through openings for proper fit around the occupant.

Connect Aisle-Side Lap Belt

Attach female buckle to rear tie-down pin connector on aisle side.

Connect Window-Side Lap Belt

Attach male tongue to rear tie-down pin connector on window side.

Attach Shoulder Belt

Extend shoulder belt over shoulder and torso, fastening to lap belt.

Adjust Belts Firmly

Ensure belts are adjusted firmly for comfort and security.

Release Passenger

Remove Passenger Belts

Carefully remove the passenger's shoulder and lap belts.

Unhook Tie-Downs

Press release levers on retractors to unhook front and rear tie-downs.

Move Passenger Out of Area

Unlock wheels or turn power on and move the passenger out of the securement area.

Maintenance and Care

Keep Belts Clean

Store belts off the floor using a storage device; clean with mild soap & water.

Inspect Components

Regularly inspect, clean, and maintain all systems and components.

Replace Damaged Webbing

Replace frayed, contaminated, or damaged webbing immediately.

Report Defects

Report any potential damage or defects to your supervisor.

Overview

1. Securing the Wheelchair (Section A)
2. Securing the Passenger (Section B)
3. Releasing the Passenger (Section C)
4. Maintenance & Care
5. Warnings (Maintenance & Care Section)

This document provides user instructions for the QRT-1 Series, a wheelchair and passenger securement system designed by Q'Straint, a company focused on "Thinking Beyond Safety." The system aims to safely secure wheelchair passengers in vehicles.

The QRT-1 Series system involves two main components: securing the wheelchair and securing the passenger.

Securing the Wheelchair (Section A)

The process begins with positioning the wheelchair. The user must place the wheelchair facing forward in the securement area and then apply the wheel locks or turn off the power, if applicable.

Next, the tie-downs are attached. The instructions specify attaching the tie-downs into the floor anchorages (illustrated in Fig. 1) and ensuring they are securely locked in place. Following this, the four tie-down hooks are to be attached to solid frame members or weldments of the wheelchair, specifically near seat level. It is crucial that the tie-downs are fixed at approximately a 45-degree angle and remain within the angles shown in Fig. 2. A critical warning is provided: hooks should not be attached to wheels, plastic, or removable parts of the wheelchair.

The final step for wheelchair securement involves tensioning the tie-downs. All tie-downs must be locked and properly tensioned. If necessary, the user should rock the wheelchair back and forth or manually tension the retractor knobs (if present) to remove any slack from the webbing.

Several warnings are associated with wheelchair securement:

• Webbing must not be allowed to get twisted inside the retractors.
• Wheelchair accessories and equipment should be properly secured or removed from the wheelchair and secured separately in the vehicle during transportation.
• Whenever possible, items attached to the wheelchair in front of the passenger should be removed and secured separately during transportation.

Fig. 1 illustrates various types of floor anchorages used with the system. Fig. 2 provides a visual guide for the correct tie-down angles, showing both rear and front securement points. For rear securement, angles of 45° and 30° are depicted, while for front securement, angles of 40° and 60° are shown. Additionally, Fig. 2 includes overhead views of a wheelchair, indicating acceptable tie-down angles from the side (10° for both back and front) and from the front (20° for both back and front).

Securing the Passenger (Section B)

Once the wheelchair is secured, the passenger is then secured using lap and shoulder belts.

The first step is to attach the lap belts. Integrated stiffeners are used to feed the belts through openings between the seat back and bottom, and/or armrests, to ensure a proper fit around the occupant.

• On the aisle side, the belt with the female buckle (labeled 1) is attached to the rear tie-down pin connector (Fig. 4), ensuring the buckle rests on the passenger's hip.
• On the window side, the belt with the male tongue (labeled 2) is attached to the rear tie-down pin connector (Fig. 4) and then inserted into the female buckle (labeled 1).

Next, the shoulder belt is attached. The shoulder belt is extended over the passenger's shoulder and across the upper torso (Fig. 3). The pin connector (labeled 3) is then fastened onto the lap belt (labeled 2). A note clarifies that combination lap/shoulder belts serve as both the window-side lap belt and the shoulder belt.

Finally, all belts must be adjusted as firmly as possible, while still ensuring user comfort.

Warnings for passenger securement include:

• The lap and shoulder belt should not be held away from the passenger's body by wheelchair components or parts such as the wheelchair's wheels, armrests, panels, or frame (Fig. 5).
• The wheelchair's lap belt or a postural support belt should never be relied upon unless properly approved and crash-tested.
• Belt webbing must not be twisted while being worn by the passenger.
• Occupant belts should always bear upon the bony structure of the passenger's body and be worn low across the front of the pelvis, with the junction between the lap and shoulder belts located near the passenger's hip.

Fig. 3 illustrates the proper positioning of the occupant restraints, showing the shoulder belt crossing the torso and the lap belt across the hips. It also details the connection points of the buckles (1, 2, 3). Fig. 4 provides a closer look at the tie-down pin connectors and also includes a diagram showing the preferred zone for the shoulder belt angle, ranging from 30° to 75° from the horizontal.

Releasing the Passenger (Section C)

To release the passenger, the steps are reversed.

1. Carefully remove the passenger's shoulder and lap belts (reversing the steps from Section B).
2. Unhook the front and rear tie-downs from the wheelchair by pressing the red release levers on the retractors, or by activating any remote release or time-delay equipment.
3. Unlock the wheels or turn the power on, and then direct or move the passenger out of the wheelchair securement area.

A prominent warning is reiterated: "RESTRAINTS SHOULD NOT BE HELD AWAY FROM BODY BY WHEELCHAIR COMPONENTS." This is visually reinforced by a large red circle with a diagonal line through an image depicting a person in a wheelchair with restraints held away from their body.

Maintenance & Care

Proper maintenance and care are essential for the QRT-1 Series system.

• Belts should always be kept clean and off the floor. A storage device, such as the Q'Straint wall pouch, is recommended for each wheelchair location.
• All system components should be regularly inspected, cleaned, and maintained.
• Webbing should be cleaned periodically with mild soap and water. After cleaning, belts should be fully extended (and positioned to prevent water from entering retractors) until completely dry. Care must be taken to prevent contamination of the webbing with polishes, oils, or other chemicals, particularly battery acid.
• Buckles or fittings should be lubricated occasionally, with care not to contaminate the webbing.
• Bolt threads should be cleaned, and permanent thread locker should be re-applied if bolts are adjusted.
• Frayed, contaminated, or damaged webbing must be replaced immediately.
• Systems or components showing signs of missing parts, excessive damage or wear, or suspected to have been in use during a vehicle accident (from which the vehicle has been towed) should be replaced.

Warnings (Maintenance & Care Section)

• Systems should only be used with forward-facing wheelchairs.
• The Q'Straint 4-Point Securement systems and components comply with various safety regulations and standards, including ADA, FMVSS & CMVSS 209/210/222/302, CSA Z605 & D409, AS-2942-1994, CE Directive 93/42/EEC, and SAE J2249* & ISO 10542*, 2007/46/EC, 2001/85/EC.
• The systems are dynamically crash-tested to 30mph (48kph), 20g, using an 85kg forward-facing surrogate wheelchair and a 76.3kg Anthropomorphic Test Dummy (ATD). The ATD is restrained by both lap (pelvic) and shoulder (upper-torso) restraints; the use of only a lap restraint may compromise the performance of the system.
• 'A'-Series track has not been tested to comply with SAE J2249 & ISO 10542.
• The Wheelchair Securement System should be used as shown in these instructions.
• Parts and components from other manufacturers should not be mixed to create a complete system.
• Any potential damage and defects should be reported to a supervisor.
• For questions regarding installation or use, the nearest Q'Straint office should be consulted.
• For additional instructions and details, users should refer to the User Instruction Booklet for 4-Point Systems (Part # Q5-1160).

The document also mentions "Webbing Loops" (Part #Q5-7580) as a solution for hard-to-reach securement points on wheelchairs, providing an alternative when securement points are difficult to access with hooks. Further information is available on Qstraint.com.

The manual concludes with a brief history of Q'Straint, highlighting its origin from Queens University in Ontario, Canada, and its commitment to developing high-quality wheelchair passenger safety solutions. Contact information for Q'Straint America, Europe, and Australia is provided. The guide states that it contains current information at the time of printing and that Q'Straint reserves the right to alter or modify contents and/or components without notice.

Q'STRAINT QRT-1 Series Specifications