Development of Push-rim Activated Power Assisted Wheelchair

Recent studies have focused on power-assisted wheelchairs because they have several advantages related to both manual and electric powered wheelchairs. They provide users with exercise for rehabilitation and reduce the userâ?™s physical fatigue by providing electric assistance. However, if the assist function is too strong, the effect of exercise may be decreased, and it may cause the weight heavy. Conversely, if it is too weak, the effect of the physical assistance may be insufficient. In this study, the wheelchair driving mechanism is modeled, and the appropriate motor power is chosen based on the computer simulation. For the driving experiments, the wheelchair is developed with inwheel type electric assist wheels, which can be detached from the wheelchair body, and supports the manual driving mode with a clutch unit. In the experiments, the performance of the developed pushrim-activated power-assisted wheelchair is shown to be close to the proposed design specifications.