An active-caster add-on drive for manual wheelchairs with a drive mode change function Online publication date: Wed, 14-Jan-2015
by Yu Munakata; Masayoshi Wada
International Journal of Mechatronics and Automation (IJMA), Vol. 4, No. 4, 2014
Abstract: This paper presents a motorised system for a wheelchair that uses an add-on single-wheel drive system, which is called an active-caster. The active-caster has two electric motors to rotate the wheel shaft and steering shaft independently. This coordinated control provides an arbitrary velocity vector. Despite the single-wheel drive system, the 2DOF motions of the wheelchair can be controlled independently without any constraints. In addition to 2DOF mobility, the proposed system enables wheelchair users to change between rear and front drive modes. The height of the drive wheel equipped on the back of the wheelchair can be vertically adjusted by a linear motor. When all five wheels are in contact with the ground, the wheelchair moves in normal or rear drive mode. Depressing the drive wheel results in the large wheels losing contact with the ground and causes the centre of rotation to shift to the midpoint of the front casters.
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