Abstract
Abstract. Posture transformation is an essential function for multi-posture wheelchairs. To improve the natural motion in posture transformation that is a popular problem in the design of multi-posture wheelchairs because the current wheelchair's posture transformation mechanism cannot remain consistent between the rotation center of the wheelchair and the rotation center of the human body joints. This paper proposes a sitting–standing–lying three-posture bionic transformation mechanism for a smart wheelchair. A human–wheelchair coupling model is described and analyzed according to the biomechanical characteristics of the posture transformation of human beings and their functional requirements. The configuration of the transformation mechanism is chosen by comparing the trails of the wheelchair rotation centers and the corresponding human joint rotation centers. The kinematics of the optimized configuration are discussed in detail to obtain the most bionic motion performance using the multivariable nonlinear constraint optimization algorithm. Finally, the mechanism is designed, and its posture transformation performance is simulated and verified using Adams (Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems) software.
Highlights
The wheelchair is a type of typical mobile assistive product for people with disabilities, such as elderly people
A slider mechanism is coupled in the posture transformation mechanism to compensate for the change in the human joint motion center in the procedure of transitioning from sitting to lying, such as in some commercial wheelchairs, e.g., KS1 (Kangni Smart Technology Co.) and F5 Corpus VS (Permobil)
This paper focuses on the two design factors and proposes a novel posture transformation mechanism for the wheelchair based on the human–wheelchair coupling model, using the multivariable nonlinear constraint optimization algorithm to improve comfort and safety
Summary
The wheelchair is a type of typical mobile assistive product for people with disabilities, such as elderly people. In the design of a voice-controlled multi-posture wheelchair proposed by the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology (Cao et al, 2020), the kind of singlejoint movement mechanism was used in the wheelchair to transition between the different postures Such a mechanism has a significant drawback in that it cannot bring comfort because the human motion center cannot follow the mechanism during the process of moving. A slider mechanism is coupled in the posture transformation mechanism to compensate for the change in the human joint motion center in the procedure of transitioning from sitting to lying, such as in some commercial wheelchairs, e.g., KS1 (Kangni Smart Technology Co.) and F5 Corpus VS (Permobil). This paper focuses on the two design factors and proposes a novel posture transformation mechanism for the wheelchair based on the human–wheelchair coupling model, using the multivariable nonlinear constraint optimization algorithm to improve comfort and safety.
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