1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control module for an electric wheelchair, in particular a control module configured to accept user input by means of a joystick and to present the user with various information related to operation of the wheelchair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The control module for an electrically powered wheelchair typically presents the user with a joystick via which the user can control the movement of the wheelchair. The control module converts directional information generated by the user movement of the joystick into control signals for the power electronics of the electrically powered wheelchair which in turn control the operation of the electric motors coupled to the drive wheels of the electric wheelchair. It is also known for the control module to present the user with various information relating to operation of the electrically powered wheelchair. This information may be presented as simply as illuminating an LED to indicate the on/off status of a component of the electrically powered wheelchair (e.g. the control module itself), but contemporary control modules may be required to present the user with more detailed information, such as by means of a display embedded in the control module. Such a display has the advantage that it caters to the ever increasing desire for richer information display and allowing greater interactivity by the user, however for a control module which is fixed with respect to the electrically powered wheelchair (typically mounted as the extension of an armrest of the wheelchair), a display screen embedded in a control module may not be orientated at the most favourable angle for the user to interact with this screen. Furthermore, whilst it might be desirable to provide larger and more capable display screens, on the one hand the greater the size of the display screen the larger the size of the control module in which it is housed, and on the other hand a display screen is typically a component which requires protection from the impacts which are an inevitable part of usage of an electrically powered wheelchair.
Accordingly it would be desirable to provide an improved arrangement for a display screen forming part of a control module for an electrically powered wheelchair.
Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a control module for an electrically powered wheelchair, the control module configured to generate control signals for said electrically powered wheelchair in response to user input, the control module comprising:
a base portion;
a joystick configured to generate said control signals corresponding to user movement of the joystick relative to said base portion; and
a pivotable screen mount configured to provide a mount on said base portion for a display screen on which information relating to operation of said electrically powered wheelchair can be displayed to a user.
The control module is provided with a pivotable screen mount which is configured such that a display screen can be mounted thereon and pivotably reoriented with respect to the base portion of the control module. This has several advantages. Firstly, the dimensions of the display screen are no longer dictated by the dimensions of the base portion of the control module and in particular it is possible to provide a display screen which is wider than the base portion itself, thus enabling a greater range of information and a richer display to be presented to the user. A relatively large display such as this could however be somewhat vulnerable in the context of a control module for a electrically powered wheelchair, because of the inevitable collisions which from time to time occur between the wheelchair (and its various components), and the wheelchair's environment. However, because the display screen is mounted on a pivotable screen mount, this affords a useful degree of protection to the display screen since if the display screen comes into contact with an object external to the wheelchair (e.g. a table edge or a door frame) then the ability of the screen mount to pivot will absorb some of the impact and allow the display screen to move out of the way. Still further, the provision of a pivotable screen mount enables a control module to be provided which is readily reused in a number of positions with respect to the electrically powered wheelchair, in particular can be switched between a left-handed and a right-handed configuration (attached to the respective armrest) and allowing the display screen to be positioned such that the user can easily read the information being presented.
Various embodiments of the present invention are envisaged, in particular some in which the display screen forms part of the control module and others in which the display screen represents an additional component which may be attached when required to the control module. Accordingly, in one embodiment said control module further comprises said display screen, wherein said display screen is fixedly attached to said pivotable screen mount. In such an embodiment the attachment of the display screen mount is essentially permanent and therefore enables a particularly robust and resilient attachment to be provided, thus enhancing the ability of the control module, with its integrated display screen, to withstand the above-mentioned impacts. Furthermore, a permanently attached display screen may be connected to the control module via permanent cabling, providing a more reliable connection between the control module and the display screen.
In other embodiments, in which the display screen is not permanently attached to the pivotable screen mount, said pivotable screen mount comprises an attachment mechanism, said attachment mechanism configured to releasable hold said display screen. A configuration in which the display screen is releasably held by an attachment mechanism of the pivotable screen mount has several advantages. Firstly, this enables the control module to be reconfigured by changing its control screen. Accordingly, manufacturing costs are reduced since the display screen does not form part of the control module. Furthermore different display screens can be attached to the control module depending on the end configuration desired. Secondly, the removability of the display screen represents an anti-theft feature, wherein this valuable component of the control module can be removed when the electrically powered wheelchair is left unattended. Thirdly, the releaseability of the display screen may itself represent a feature for allowing the control module to cope with the above-mentioned impacts, since a sufficiently large impact may cause the display screen to detach from the attachment mechanism, which whilst in itself is not ideal, it is preferable for the display screen to detach than to remain attached but absorb an impacted which will damage it.
The attachment mechanism may be configured to releaseably hold a range of devices as the display screen, and in some embodiments said attachment mechanism is configured to releasably hold as said display screen a device selected from: a mobile telephone; a touchscreen device; and a tablet computing device. Such devices may advantageously be used as the display screen of the control module. On the one hand because the user would already typically own this device, the cost of the control module is reduced by not providing a dedicated screen for the control module, but making use of this existing device and in particular its display functionality. Additionally, the reuse of this user-owned device to provide the display screen for the control module is beneficial to the user, since it avoids a proliferation of display screen devices in the user's presence. Accordingly, the user may for example, when sitting in their wheelchair, use their own mobile telephone as the display screen for the control module of the electrically powered wheelchair, and when not seated in the wheelchair simply take the mobile telephone with them. Furthermore, this embodiment has the advantage that the existing display and data processing capabilities of such devices may be integrated with the control module to provide a richer user experience.
The attachment mechanism provided to releasably hold such a device may take a number of forms, but in one embodiment said attachment mechanism comprises a cradle configured to clasp said device. This cradle can be suitably configured in dependence on the particular configuration of the device to be held. According to another embodiment said attachment mechanism is exchangeable to allow reconfiguration for a different device. This enables the control module to use a range of different devices as its display screen, thus on the one hand reducing the cost of the control module itself and further providing advantageous variability, for example to adapt to different specific devices which may be owned by different end users.
In one embodiment said attachment mechanism comprises a band, said band of comparable width to a clothing belt and configured to provide a mount for a belt clip of said device. Personal devices such as a mobile telephone, a touch screen device and a tablet computing device may be provided by their manufacturer with a belt clip, such that a user may carry the device clipped to their clothing belt. This feature of the device may be advantageously reused by the control module, which in this embodiment provides a band onto which this belt clip may be clipped, thus not only providing a cost effective mechanism for attaching the device to the pivotable screen mount, but furthermore in a fashion which is easily used by the user.
In one embodiment, said control module is configured to communicate wirelessly with said device. The control module can thus take advantage of the wireless communication functionality of the “smart” device, meaning that no wired connection must be provided between the device and the control module. This avoids an additional cable for the user to have to plug in when they mount the device as the display screen and furthermore renders the control module more weather proof by the avoidance of such a cable and/or socket.
In some embodiments said control module is configured to allow control of said device using at least one input device of said control module. For example, the user can then navigate a menu structure of a mobile telephone being used as the display screen via means of the joystick of the control module.
Conversely in some embodiments said control module is configured to allow control of said control module to be performed using said device. For example, a touch screen device mounted as the display screen of the control module may be used by the user as the interface for controlling at least one functional feature of the control module. This presents the user with a particularly familiar and intuitive interface via which the control module may be controlled.
In embodiments in which the display screen is releasably held by an attachment mechanism of the pivotable screen mount, in some embodiments said control module further comprises a display portion configured to display a limited set of information relating to operation of said electrically powered wheelchair, wherein said display portion is obscured when said display screen is mounted on said pivotable screen mount. Accordingly, in the absence of the display screen the user is nevertheless presented with limited information relating to the operation of the electrically powered wheelchair, sufficient that they may still operate the electrically powered wheelchair even if the display screen is not present (or even perhaps lost).
In one embodiment said pivotable screen mount is configured to allow said display screen a range of movement such that an outer edge of said display screen can be positioned within an plan-view area defined by said base portion. As mentioned above, the movement of the pivotable screen mount represents an advantageous mechanism for allowing the display screen to cope with external impacts and the configuration of the pivotable screen mounts such that the display screen can be moved into a position where its outer edge is within a plan-view area defined by the base unit means that the display screen is then effectively protected by the base unit, which will typically be more resiliently constructed than the display screen.
In some embodiments said pivotable screen mount comprises a friction mechanism configured to resist pivoting movement of said pivotable screen mount. This enables the display screen to be positioned at a desired orientation and to remain in that position.
In some embodiments said pivotable screen mount comprises a locking mechanism configured to hold said pivotable screen mount at a selected orientation. This provides a particularly resilient mechanism for holding the pivotable screen at a selected orientation such that for example when driving the wheelchair over rough ground the display screen does not move out of its selected position.
In one such embodiment said base unit comprises a protective shield positioned forward of said pivotable screen mount with respect to a forward-movement direction of said wheelchair. Given that forward movement is the dominant motion of the wheelchair, an impact on the control unit is then most likely to come from the forward direction and the positioning of a protected shield forward of the pivotable screen mount provides the display screen with a degree of protection against such impacts.
In one suction embodiment, said protective shield extends to at least a height of said display screen when mounted on said pivotable screen mount. This protects the display screen from impacts such as those resulting from a table edge, in that the protective shield will encounter the table edge before the display screen does.
In some embodiments said pivotable screen mount is configured to mount said display screen such that pivoting of said display screen is about a substantially off-centre position with respect to said display screen. The mounting of the display screen at a substantially off-centre position can be of advantage to the user, for example, because a display screen may therefore be mounted such that a greater proportion of the display screen is more central to the user when the control module is provided in its typically configuration of being mounted on a left or right armrest position.
In some such embodiments, said pivotable screen mount is configured to allow said display screen to be rotated through 180 degrees in a plane in which the display screen surface lies. This is advantageous because the off-centre positioning of the display screen, whilst moving the display screen more centrally to the user's view, may also impede the user seeking to get in and out of the wheelchair. The rotation of the display screen through 180 degrees will invert the off-centre positioning of the display screen such that where a majority of the display screen was to one side of the pivotable screen mount, it can be moved to the opposite side, thus being out of the way for the user.
In an alternative embodiment said pivotable screen mount is configured to allow said display screen to be slid with respect to the pivotable screen mount. This provides another mechanism by which the off-centre positioning of the display screen may be changed to allow the user to manoeuvre past the display screen.
In embodiments in which the display screen is provided by a smart device such as a mobile telephone a touch screen device or a tablet computing device, in some embodiments said control module further comprises a USB socket. The smart device may thus be easily connected to the control module both for the purposes of information exchange and for recharging the smart device.
In some embodiments said control module further comprises a light source configured to illuminate an area in front of said wheelchair with respect to a forward-movement direction of said wheelchair.
In some embodiments said control module further comprises a socket configured to power a rear light source mounted at a rear side of said wheelchair with respect to a forward-movement direction of said wheelchair.
In some embodiments said control module further comprises a camera socket configured to be coupled to a rear-facing camera mounted on said wheelchair, said control module configured to present an output of said camera on said display screen when said wheelchair is driving in reverse.
The present invention will be described further, by way of example only, with reference to embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:
It will be recognised that a cradle provided to hold a particular device as the removable display screen for the control module will typically be specifically configured to match the physical geometry of that device.
Although particular embodiments have been described herein, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto and that many modifications and additions thereto may be made within the scope of the invention. For example, various combinations of the features of the following dependent claims could be made with the features of the independent claims without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1217116.1 | Sep 2012 | GB | national |