Lecture 19 Dimitar Stefanov

Powered Wheelchairs 1940s – first powered wheelchairs, standard manual wheelchairs adapted with automobile starter motors and automobile battery Prescription of the type of the wheelchair depends on the user’s mobility. In some cases – manual wheelchair for indoor and sort- distances and a powered wheelchair for long distances.

Powered wheelchair with combination of other devices – communication devices, computer access devices, respirators, and reclining seating systems. NEMO, Madentec Limited, 54 commands HMI by voice, switch, joystick, wheelchair controls.

Depending on their construction: 1.Power bases 2.Power wheelchairs 3.Scooters. Four classes wheelchairs (depending on their power): Class 1 – carry up to 100 kg, maximal speed of 1.1 to 1.8 ms -1, capable to carry up to 6° slope, travel over than 10 km on a single charge, climb a 25 mm obstacle, for indoor use Class 2 – carry up to 100 kg, maximal speed of 1.8 to 2.7 ms -1, capable to carry up to 9° slope, travel over than 16 km on a single charge, climb a 50 mm obstacle, designed for indoor and moderate outdoor use. Class 3 – carry up to 113 kg, maximal speed of 1.8 to 2.7 ms -1, capable to carry up to 9° slope, travel over than 16 km on a single charge, climb a 50 mm obstacle, designed for active indoor and outdoor use. Class 4 – carry up to 130 kg, maximal speed of 10 to 12 km/h, capable to carry up to 15° slope, travel over than 35 km on a single charge, climb a 150 mm obstacle, designed for active outdoor use in heavy terrains.

Scooter – an example Front-wheel driven (for indoor use) Rear-wheel driven (for indoor and outdoor use) Scooter can be broken down to fit into the trunk of an automobile.

Powered wheelchair system schematic Electromagnetic brakes immobilize the wheelchair in case of inclined ground surfaces

Motor selection: Armature controlled permanent magnet direct current motors – high torque, high start torque, simplest control In some prototypes: Brushless motors AC motors – special controllers, where the motor power is changed by varying the frequency of the motor supply. Power rate of the DC motor – describes the ability of the motor to transfer electrical power to mechanical power. Motor control of powered wheelchair Dynamic stiffness – how closely a moving system follows a desired motion profile in the presence of disturbance torques. Closed-loop systems are used to increase the dynamic stiffness.

Bandwidth – the limiting frequency of motion commands to which a system can respond Speed contour of the controller Typically – Hz Servo controllers M Current sensor Switching drive Velocity reference Velocity sensor Voltage control is used to control the motor speed Current contour (inner) Speed contour (outer) Switching (or chopper) drive

Switching drive: 1.Unidirectional (half-bridge) – used in scooters 2.Bi-directional (full-bridge, H-bridge) Switching drive: 1.With dynamic braking 2.Without dynamic braking Speed reverse by relay Pulse – width modulation (PWM) Frequency – KHz

Motor current in the switch mode: Pulse Generator R L DC motor 1.I max should be limited to 5 times the rated current of the motor to insure that demagnetization does not occur 2.The ripple (I max – I min )/I average should be minimized to improve the form factor, and reduce the conduction loss in the switching devices.

Switching elements: 1.Silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR) – old constructions 2.Powder metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) Powered wheelchairs based on SCR use typical switching frequencies of Hz. Powered wheelchairs based on MOSFETs use typical switching frequencies of KHz. Efficiency – 90%.- excellent to battery application.

Basic Full-bridge circuit High forward voltage (up to 50 V) on the MOSFETs transistors during the turn-off period due to the motor inductivity. Multiple MOSFETs transistor in parallel in order to achieve big output currents.

Typically - MOSFETs transistors rated at 100V and A continuous operation. In some constructions – up to 8 transistors, connected in parallel to increase the reliability of the wheelchair Dynamic braking – special fast recovery diodes are switched in parallel of the MOSFETs and the motor ; During the braking process the current is returned back to the supply, i.e. the battery is charged during braking.