All-Terrain Power Chair Fix. All-Terrain Wheelchair Fix. Beach Wheelchair

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Britton Greer
5 years ago
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1 Alternate Designs All-Terrain Power Chair Fix Project 1 for Annalee Hughes All-Terrain Wheelchair Fix Project 2 for Nathan Lamb Beach Wheelchair Project 23.1 for Danielle Giroux Team 1 Stephen Elovetsky, Steven Rogers Client Contact: Susan Lucek 777 Tolland Stage Road Tolland, CT (Home) (Mobile) (Office) slucek@nerac.com Janice M. Lamb 142 Barnes Road Stonington, CT (Home) (Mobile) (Office/Fax) janice.lamb@linde.com David & Suzanne Giroux 53 Charlotte Drive Tolland, CT (Home) (Mobile) girouxs@sbcglobal.net

2 Project 1 The power chair that was built for Annalee had a built in, actuator controlled seat tilt. An accelerometer and a microcontroller chip were used to automate the operation of the actuator in order to keep the seat level at all times without the need to manually adjust the actuator. The microprocessor chip and other electrical components were soldered to a generic breadboard. This breadboard will be replaced with a newly designed printed circuit board, or PCB. In designing the PCB, we will be able to test the circuit and any changes we make to it to ensure that it functions the way we need it to. Once it is tested, the board will be printed and used in the chair, making the wiring much neater and more reliable. The microprocessor chip will then have to be reprogramed in order to compensate for any changes in the circuitry and to ensure that the seat can auto-level itself. The accelerometer senses the change in tilt and outputs a voltage that is related to the tilt. Based on this relationship, the microcontroller will know exactly how much tilt the chair is experiencing. It will then be able to send the appropriate signal to the actuator to correct the tilt of the seat. A switch will also be incorporated to allow the user to turn off the automatic leveling and manually adjust the seat s tilt. Project 2 The power chair that was built for Nathan was not completed, resulting in the chair not functioning properly. A microcontroller was never implemented in the system but will be now so that the chair can function properly. The microcontroller will be programed to analyze the input from a new joystick, and send the appropriate signals to the motor driver that is on the chair now. All electronic circuitry will be designed and tested using Multisim. PCBs will be created to allow the wiring to be clean and neat, while allowing the circuitry to function more reliably. The kill switch for the electric motors will be mounted in an easily accessible location so that if the chair malfunctions or Nathan loses control of the chair, someone can easily cut power to the motors and stop the chair safely. The joystick will be replaced with a more robust one that will last longer and be able to stand up to more aggressive use from Nathan. The Plexiglas housing that was created for the battery and other electronic components will be rebuilt with more sturdy material so that it will not break. 1

3 Project 23.1 Alternate Design 1 This design for the beach wheelchair is a three-wheeled, low riding chair. The frame will be made out of aluminum round stock to ensure that it is light but also strong. The three wheels will be polyurethane balloon wheels that allow the chair to move easily across the sand. The rear wheels will be largerr and the front wheel will be smaller.. The seat will be positioned in between the rear wheels, slightly reclined so that Danielle can sit back and have her legs extended along the length of the frame while stilll being comfortable. Thee three wheels will be fixed, and the handle bar will be at an angle that allows for the person pushing the chair to easily lift the front tire off the ground and turn the chair when pushing downn on the handle bar. Figure 1: Solidworks three dimensional layout of thee three wheel beach wheelchair. 2

Alternate Design 2 A more traditional looking

seat with a back and armrests that is on a

The overall chair frame will bee made out of

ones because they are each part of a castor

The advantage of putting rotating tires in the

allow better ease and maneuverability for the

torque is being applied further from the point

All four of these tires must have a wide base

comfort and safety as she moves across uneven

It is importantt to point out that the seat

a low center of gravity so that it will not tip

Figure 2: Solidworks three dimensional layout

wheelchair has been designed to disassemble for

protrude through the frame and are secured

4 Alternate Design 2 A more traditional looking wheelchair was used as the template for this beach wheelchair design. This chair, like typical wheelchairs, has a seat with a back and armrests that is on a frame consisting of four wheels. The overall chair frame will bee made out of hallow aluminum bars to ensure both stability and be lightweight. Two different sizes of polyurethane balloon tires were used in this construction. The rear wheels are smaller than the forward ones because they are each part of a castor that rotates freely on an axle. The advantage of putting rotating tires in the back rather than the traditional front is to allow better ease and maneuverability for the one pushing the chair by the handlebar because torque is being applied further from the point of rotation. All four of these tires must have a wide base in order to move easily across the sand and not sink and get stuck in the process. A headrest has beenn included for Danielle s comfort and safety as she moves across uneven and bumpy terrain. It is importantt to point out that the seat must be positioned low to the ground as to have a low center of gravity so that it will not tip as easily going across the uneven sand. Figure 2: Solidworks three dimensional layout of the four wheel, modular beach wheelchair design. This beach wheelchair has been designed to disassemble for the purpose of easy storage and transportation to and from the beach. The seat of thee chair has four bolts thatt protrude through the frame and are secured using wing nuts so it can be disassembled without the use of additional tools. The forward tires use the same concept; ; they are held onto the axle by wing nuts that can be easily removed. The rear wheel castors are also held into place on the frame by bolts and wing nuts. This disassembly will allow easy stackingg in a van trunk or storage closet. 3

5 Alternate Design 3 This wheelchair design is going to be a modification of one of Danielle s existing strollers from when she was younger and doesn t use anymore. The frame and design are sound for this project. Essentially the main things to change on the stroller to make to a functional beach wheelchair are to modify the seat and tires. The seat is obviously too small for Danielle since she has grown, so a new wheelchair seat must be either built orr modified from another wheelchair so that she can sit comfortably. As mentionedd before, it iss important to point out that the seat must be positioned low to the ground as to have a low centerr of gravity so that it will not tip as easily going across the uneven sand. The wheels onn the original stroller are definitely too thin to glide across the sand, so they must be replaced with the much wider polyurethane tires. The front tires will be smaller and in castors, like the original stroller, and the rear wheels will be bigger and fixed to better support the frame. Figure 3: Large beach wheelchair wheel. Figure 4: Small beach wheelchair wheel and caster assembly. The main reason for recycling Danielle s old stroller is that itt has a collapsible feature making it easy to store and transport. The same wing nutt system, as seen in this project s Alternatee Design 2, will be used to secure and disassemble the tires from the chair frame. The new seat will probably not be compatible with the collapsible design, so it will have to be removable as well. The overall advantage to this design is the conciseness of the disassembled parts making it easy to transport. 4

All-Terrain Power Chair Redesign. All-Terrain Wheelchair Redesign. Beach Wheelchair

Final Report All-Terrain Power Chair Redesign Project 1 for Annalee Hughes All-Terrain Wheelchair Redesign Project 2 for Nathan Lamb Beach Wheelchair Project 23.1 for Danielle Giroux Team 1 Stephen Elovetsky,