Patent Application
20240074924
This invention relates to a power assist system for manual wheelchairs, specifically a system that employs motion-based sensing for recognition of user propulsion and braking.
Manual wheelchairs are the primary mode of locomotion for millions of people around the world. Upper limb pain and injury is very common among these manual wheelchair users and can severely impact mobility, independence and quality of life. The most common types of injury are impingement syndrome of the shoulder and carpal tunnel syndrome of the wrist. Upper limb pain and injury is an emotionally, physically and financially costly problem.
Wheelchair propulsion is one activity that has been associated with the development of these upper extremity injuries. It is recommended that users reduce how hard they push on the handrim and to do it less frequently in order to reduce the stresses of propulsion on the upper body.
Prior art presents power attachment units that have been used to mount to manual wheelchairs to assist in propulsion. The typical power add-on, comparable to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,418, which is incorporated herein by specific reference for all purposes, employs a linkage system that mounts to the wheelchair frame and trails in between the two rear wheels. An electric motor powers a drive wheel that is controlled by a push button located within reach of the user. This type of design, not common to all power attachments, also employs a steering bar that attaches to the front casters in order to guide the wheelchair when being driven by the power add-on. These electric drive attachments are known to be successful in helping to reduce the physical effort needed for propulsion. A drawback is that these types of systems completely eliminate the need for pushing because the user drives the wheelchair, rather than maneuvers it through pushes. In this situation, the user does not benefit from the physical exercise of manual propulsion or the psychological benefits of not being dependent on the device for transportation.
Another prior art is the push activated power assist wheels. These combine the benefits of manual push operation by the user and power assistance to reduce the demand on the user's upper extremities during propulsion. Push activated power assist wheels, similar to those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,818,189, which is incorporated herein by specific reference for all purposes, are battery powered wheels that employ either force and torque sensors, or both, to measure the force applied to the handrims from the user and amplify that force through the use of motors embedded in the wheels to drive the wheelchair forward or backward. This technology has been shown to have a number of positive effects on wheelchair users, including reduced energy expenditure, reduced push cadence, reduced muscle activation, decreased range of motion, easier hill climbing, increased propulsion speed and reduced pain during propulsion for those users already experiencing pain.
The drawback with this approach is that the employment of force and torque sensors to recognize and quantify the amplitude of the push significantly complicates the design. The handrims must be mounted to the wheel hubs, instead of the wheel rim as in typical manual wheelchairs, causing a significant increase in complexity. Added cost and weight of these devices then becomes inherent when this type of approach is taken. Additionally, because measurements are focused on the handrim, hazardous situations can be escalated by the assistive power.
Accordingly, there is a need for power assist system that addresses the issues of the prior art and devices.
In various exemplary embodiments, the present invention comprises a motion-based power assist system for manual wheelchairs. This power assist system uses the motion, including the angular and linear velocities and accelerations, of the power assist system in order to sense when a push is being performed on the handrims. The system uses different kinematic sensors, not force or torque sensors like the prior art, in order to measure when the wheelchair is accelerating past a certain minimal threshold, and recognizes that this is the result of the user performing a push. The system then provides an assistive force-pulse that is related to the experienced acceleration and velocity from propulsion.
By using the kinematics of the power assist system, the system will be able to recognize different situations and adjust its contribution to the user's propulsion to compensate. By measuring the kinematics of the power assist system, the present invention can recognize situations when the user is trying to stop, slow down, or is beginning to tip, and in response cut off all driving assistance. The use of the power assist system motion and kinematics as the input to the push activation control is novel. Prior art devices tend to add significant weight to the wheelchair, making it difficult to get the wheelchair into and out of a car for even the strongest user. Battery life is also an issue because the power assist wheels are simply too heavy to push around without the power assist.
In one exemplary embodiment of the invention, the aforementioned motion-based push activation is employed on a single drive wheel attachment that mounts to the axle of a wheelchair midway between the rear wheels. Attachment mounts are clamped to the axle and attach to the drive wheel attachment, allowing for quick connecting and releasing of the system for easy transport.
A separate embodiment employs the motion-based push activation on electric hub motors that are embedded in the rear drive wheels of a wheelchair. In using the motion of the wheelchair and its parts as the input for push activation, the handrims on the rear drive wheels can be directly mounted to the wheel rim, as on traditional non-power assist wheelchair wheels.
Another embodiment employs the said motion-based push activation on wheelchair mounted motors that drive the rear wheels of the wheelchair. This embodiment uses the same motion-based means to activate frame mounted motors, instead of the aforementioned wheel mounted motors, that in turn power the driven rear wheels for an assistive force to the wheelchair and user.
In various exemplary embodiments, the present invention comprises a power assist system used on a manual wheelchair. Motion-based instrumentation measures the kinematics of the power assist system. The kinematics measured include, but are not limited to, linear velocities, angular velocities, linear accelerations, and angular accelerations. These parameters are quantified using a range of instruments, including but not limited to, gyroscopes, encoders, potentiometers, inertia measuring units, and multi-axis accelerometers. From these motion-based measurements, push activation can be recognized.
The push activation recognition employs the principle that when the user is applying a push to the rim mounted handrim of typical wheelchair rear wheels 16 on a generic manual wheelchair 8, as shown in
The single wheel power assist attachment 10 is positioned between the wheelchair drive wheels 16 such that the electric drive wheel 20 contacts the ground at a point midway between the wheelchair drive wheels 16. This positioning prevents the wheelchair from turning or drifting when an assistive force is provided, while not significantly hindering the rotation of the chair when desired for maneuvering. The single wheel power assist attachment 10 and drive linkage 18 are also angled such that as the drive wheel power is increased, the wheel digs into the ground for ideal traction control.
The electric drive wheel 20 mounts to the distal end of the drive linkage 18, which is pivotally attached to the wheelchair axle bar 14 through the mounting attachment 22. While
An exploded assembly of the power assist attachment 10 is shown in
Sensor measurements and motor power is passed to and from the printed circuit board 28 by cables that pass though the motor axle 26. Sensor measurements and configuration information from the remote control device 24 is passed to the printed circuit board 28 wirelessly using any of a number of standard data transmission protocols.
The power assist unit 10 can be made to accommodate wheelchairs of varying rear wheel sizes by allowing the linkage pivot point to be adjusted along a slide pocket 36 in the drive linkage frame 30, as shown in
The remote control device 24, shown removed from the wheelchair in
In another exemplary embodiment, motion-based push activation is used on two wheel hub motors incorporated into each of the wheelchair drive wheels. The design and operation of hub motors is well-known in the prior art. The motor assembly comprises a self-contained unit which includes a center shaft that fixable mounts the wheelchair to a stator. The motor housing has permanently mounted magnets and is rotationally driven by the push and pulling forces induced by the electrical excitation of the stator. The rotationally driven motor housing is connected to the tire supporting rim of the wheelchair wheel. The nature of this power assist system allows for the handrims to be directly mounted to the rim of the wheelchair drive wheels. As the user performs a push to the handrims, the wheelchair accelerates, activating the power assist through the motion-based recognition instrumentation.
The instrumentation and motion control processing is similar to the previously described embodiment. The primary difference is that the rotational position of the two rear wheels would be measured directly and averaged to yield a single rotational position, which would then be processed as previously described. Each rear wheel would communicate wirelessly with the other in order to exchange rotational position information. Each drive wheel would be set to the same drive speed setting at the same time. Similarly, power to each drive wheel would be discontinued at the same time when a braking event is detected.
In another embodiment, motion-based push activation is incorporated into a wheelchair frame fixed drive system. The wheelchair wheels are secured to the wheelchair as normally done. Drive motors are then affixed to the frame of the wheelchair and the output shafts are pressed into the rear wheel tires to effectively couple their rotations together. When a user pushes, the rear wheels along with the drive motor shafts accelerate and a push is recognized using the aforementioned sensing. The motor power is mechanically transferred to the rear wheels providing propulsion assistance. The mechanical means of transferring rotation from the drive motor to the rear wheels includes but is not limited to friction, gears, or belts, all of which is operationally well-known and need not be explained.
The foregoing description is that of certain exemplary embodiments, and various changes and adaptations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, it should be understood that the embodiments and examples described herein have been chosen and described in order to best illustrate the principles of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited for particular uses contemplated. Even though specific embodiments of this invention have been described, they are not to be taken as exhaustive.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/543,598, filed Jul. 6, 2012, which claims benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/504,949, filed Jul. 6, 2011, by Mark Richter, and is entitled to those filing dates for priority. The specifications, figures and complete disclosures of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/504,949 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/543,598 are incorporated herein in their entireties by specific reference for all purposes.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61504949 | Jul 2011 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17342104 | Jun 2021 | US |
| Child | 18506706 | US | |
| Parent | 15218937 | Jul 2016 | US |
| Child | 17342104 | US | |
| Parent | 13543598 | Jul 2012 | US |
| Child | 15218937 | US |
