Thesis-1999-Cole.pdf (123.05 MB)
Design and development of an omni-directional, indoor powered vehicle for use by people with disabilities
thesis
posted on 2013-05-14, 12:39 authored by Mark J. ColeMobility is something able-bodied people take for granted.
Approximately 132,500 people in the United Kingdom have disabilities which
permanently confine them to a wheelchair; 40,000 of these require a powered
wheelchair. The opportunity to lead a normal life and be accepted as an equal by the
able-bodied population is limited by their reduced mobility. As much freedom of
movement as possible is therefore crucial for these people.
Powered wheelchair users' mobility depends upon the manoeuvrability of the chair. For
optimum manoeuvrability a chair must be capable of moving in any direction. Currently
no omni-directional powered wheelchairs are commercially available.
This thesis describes the design and deVelopment of a powered base unit for a
wheelchair, controlled to instantaneously move in any direction.
The novelty is principally represented by the innovative design and configuration of four
omni-directional roller wheels* (LUMAN wheels) which, when individually controlled,
produce the omni-directional movement of the base unit. Further novelty within the
design is a set of bi-directional angled roller couplings that simultaneously disengage the
wheels from the motors, via a cable linkage mechanism, and simple control system.
Mathematical data models illustrate the theoretical performance of the wheel
configuration, and a prototype base unit is tested to prove these hypotheses.
Funding
wheelchair, omni-directional, disabled, roller coupling, control, LUMAN,
History
School
- Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
Publisher
© M.J. ColePublication date
1999Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.EThOS Persistent ID
uk.bl.ethos.409166Language
- en