Indoor/Outdoor Wheelchair
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Project Number 1501 Indoor/Outdoor Wheelchair A Major Qualifying Project Proposal Submitted to the Faculty of WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by ________________________ George Benda ________________________ Jacob Mercier ________________________ Wilson Bly Rougier ________________________ Elizabeth Schofield Date: April 28, 2016 ________________________ Professor Allen H. Hoffman, Co-Advisor ________________________ Professor Holly K. Ault, Co-Advisor This report represents the work WPI undergraduate students. It has been submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review Abstract Over 125,000 paraplegics in the United States require a wheelchair for transportation. Many of these people want the ability to travel safely over a variety of obstacles and thereby greatly increase their independence. This project developed an all-purpose wheelchair that operates as a standard wheelchair indoors, and competes with an all-terrain wheelchair outdoors. To accomplish this, necessary standard features and dimensions were retained for indoor operation. To improve mobility outdoors, the chair was modified to allow on-the-fly adjustment of the center of gravity to prevent tipping. Mountain bike tires were utilized to increase traction and optional ratcheting drive levers were included to provide a mechanical advantage for climbing steep hills. Field tests showed the prototype capable of extending the user's range on steeper slopes, over roots, through mud and grass while the standard chair had major difficulties with traction and tipping. Survey results indicate 85% of people prefer the prototype to a standard wheelchair regarding the advantages it provided in each test. i Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... i List of Figures ............................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................................................ ix 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 2.0 Identification of Need ............................................................................................................................. 2 3.0 Background ............................................................................................................................................. 4 3.1 Wheelchair Operators ......................................................................................................................... 4 3.1.1 Independent Living ...................................................................................................................... 4 3.1.2 Assisted Living .............................................................................................................................. 4 3.2 Common Injuries from Wheelchair Use .............................................................................................. 4 4.0 Current Wheelchairs ............................................................................................................................... 6 4.1 Indoor Wheelchairs ............................................................................................................................. 6 4.1.1 Current Standard Wheelchair Models ......................................................................................... 6 4.2 Outdoor Wheelchairs .......................................................................................................................... 7 4.2.1 Current Models of Outdoor Wheelchairs .................................................................................... 7 4.3 Limitations ........................................................................................................................................... 9 4.4 Indoor and Outdoor Wheelchairs ....................................................................................................... 9 4.4.1 Rio Mobility Dragonfly ................................................................................................................. 9 4.4.2 Debug Beach Wheelchair ........................................................................................................... 10 4.4.3 Freewheel .................................................................................................................................. 11 4.4.4 Wijit ............................................................................................................................................ 12 4.4.5 SoftWheel .................................................................................................................................. 13 4.5 Relevant Patents ............................................................................................................................... 14 4.5.1 US4098521A ............................................................................................................................... 14 4.5.2 US20150115566A1 ..................................................................................................................... 14 4.5.3 US3917312A ............................................................................................................................... 15 5.0 Assessing Users ..................................................................................................................................... 16 5.1 Propulsion Test ................................................................................................................................. 16 5.2 Skills Test ........................................................................................................................................... 17 6.0 Design Specifications ............................................................................................................................ 20 6.1 Indoor Operation Requirements ....................................................................................................... 20 6.2 Function ............................................................................................................................................ 20 ii 6.3 Size/Weight ....................................................................................................................................... 21 6.4 Maintenance ..................................................................................................................................... 21 6.5 Durability ........................................................................................................................................... 21 6.6 Cost ................................................................................................................................................... 21 6.7 Aesthetics .......................................................................................................................................... 21 6.8 Environment ...................................................................................................................................... 22 6.9 Safety ................................................................................................................................................ 23 6.10 Manufacturability ........................................................................................................................... 23 6.11 User Capability Requirement .......................................................................................................... 24 7.0 Ideation & Selection .............................................................................................................................. 26 7.1 Morphological Chart ......................................................................................................................... 26 7.1.1 Ranking Functions ...................................................................................................................... 26 7.2 Parametric Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 33 7.3 Preliminary Concepts ........................................................................................................................ 33 7.3.1 Stability ...................................................................................................................................... 33 7.3.2 Propulsion .................................................................................................................................. 38 7.3.3 Braking ....................................................................................................................................... 43 7.4 Preliminary Designs ........................................................................................................................... 43 7.4.1 Design One ................................................................................................................................