Electric-powered wheelchairs are useful for those individuals unable to propel a manual wheelchair or who may need to use a wheelchair for distances or over terrain which would be fatiguing in a manual wheelchair. Typically, an electric motor is usually powered by rechargeable deep-cycle batteries that drive a chassis for providing front, center, or rear wheel drive, and all-wheel drive. However, many such rechargeable batteries are limited to a one day charge, thereby requiring daily recharging.
Solar panel systems are well known sources of electrical power that convert sunlight into electrical energy. Recently, solar energy powered wheelchairs have been designed that rely solely on solar energy as a source of electrical energy. In these types of wheelchairs, the solar panels are arranged above the wheelchair using a fixed support structure that provides an excellent orientation for receiving sunlight as well as shade to the individual sitting in the wheelchair. However, such support structures, for example canopies, are either fixed structures with no means for adjustment or support structures with no easy and accessible means for making various types of adjustments to the canopy, especially for a user that may be handicapped and have limited mobility for adjusting the overhead canopy.