Development of Power-Assisted Transport Wheelchair

• Main Authors: Tse-Yung Chang, 張澤湧
• Other Authors: Chung-Huang Yu
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/73538796463201921348

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 物理治療暨輔助科技學系 === 101 === Wheelchairs are very helpful for people who have brain, nerves and degenerative disease or lower limb disorders. Among these groups, most of them can’t control wheelchairs or electric ones, as a result, they need caregivers’ help to handle them. Furthermore, because of the general type wheelchairs are unpowered, the caregivers have to overcome the long-distance walk or the rough roads, and therefore causes inconvenience or difficulty. In addition, with advances in technology, population ageing and the low birth rate is expected to lead to a burgeoning demand for aged care services. In consequence, it is important to provide power-assisted wheelchairs. The development of electric powered wheelchairs has gradually progressed, and there are many functional electric powered wheelchairs on the market. Most electric powered wheelchairs’ use is designed for disabled users themselves, and not for the caregivers’ assistance. Although some control interfaces design for caregivers, the settings of them are not suited for them. The specific aim of this study is to design a power-assisted wheelchair for caregivers. This device can be easily controlled without learning. It can be used in a variety of contexts (asphalt, grass, uphill, downhill, outdoor environment) without wearing any sensors. In this study, we detected the location of the caregiver to control the wheelchair to move forward and backward. The results showed that the distance between the caregiver and power assisted wheelchair maintained at 45-65 cm when moving forward while 60-80 cm were observed when moving backward. In addition, without the use of our device, the thrust test in a variety of contexts (asphalt, grass, uphill, downhill, outdoor environment) was significantly lower. The support test showed that the device can provide 180 to 200N support when the users were in need of help. Only by understanding the users' actual usage can we improve the actual test. In the near future, the improvement of the power-assisted wheelchair might be advantage to the caregivers.