TOWARDS A 'BARRIER FREE' WHEELCHAIR

摘要

In the field of providing mobility to the elderly or disabled one aspect that remains largely unresolved is that of providing mobility into "barrier present" environments. Perhaps the most formidable and yet common barrier to a wheelchair is the boarding of a secondary form of transportation, often a van of some form, representing a single step of height ranging 60 to 80cm. At present vehicles intended for transporting powered wheelchairs are equipped with specialized and often expensive lifting apparatus. Building on the design concepts detailed by the authors in previous papers, "towards a "barrier free" wheelchair" focuses on major redesign extending the author's stairclimbing wheelchairs ability to make direct vehicle boarding possible. The simulated wheelchair is based on four legs operated by oil hydraulics for lift (2DOF/leg) and the base of each leg being equipped with a motor driven and motor steered wheel. Central in the design are safety and not exceeding the size of a standard powered wheelchair. Future work includes the prototyping of the new design planned to begin mid 2000.