Intelligent electric wheelchair and automatic control method therefor

Abstract

Disclosed in the present invention are an intelligent electric wheelchair and an automatic control method therefor. The present invention has the advantages that a patient can reach, by himself / herself, a place needing to be reached, and a seat and a seat slide rail can be separated, so that the patient can conveniently transfer between the wheelchair and other positions, thereby solving the problems that the existing wheelchairs cannot achieve large-range transfer of a patient, and the use of the wheelchairs excessively depends on assistance of the accompanying personnel.

Description

Intelligent electric wheelchair and automatic control method thereof Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of artificial intelligence and relates to an intelligent electric wheelchair and an automatic control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The functions of existing wheelchairs still have some shortcomings. For example, it is inconvenient for patients to make large-scale position transitions between wheelchairs and other scenarios on their own. When patients use wheelchairs, they rely heavily on the help of accompanying personnel and cannot reach the required position independently.

[0003] Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an intelligent electric wheelchair that is easy to transfer and an automatic control method thereof, so as to solve the problems that existing wheelchairs cannot realize convenient transfer of patients over a large range and the use of wheelchairs is overly dependent on the help of accompanying personnel.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0006] The present invention provides an intelligent electric wheelchair, comprising wheels, a camera, an electric chassis, a seat adjustment joint, a power supply module, a control module, a seat slide, a seat and an operating module, wherein the wheels, the camera, the seat adjustment joint, the power supply module and the control module are all arranged on the electric chassis, the seat slide is arranged on the seat adjustment joint, and the seat adjustment joint is used to control the lifting and / or rotation of the seat slide; the seat comprises a seat rolling plate and an armrest, the operating module is arranged on the armrest, the seat rolling plate is slidably connected to the seat slide to form a sliding pair, and a plurality of balls are movably installed on the lower surface of the seat rolling plate; the camera, the seat adjustment joint, the operating module and the camera are all communicatively connected to the control module, and the camera is used to capture the movement route when the wheelchair moves and send it to the control module, and the control module performs automatic navigation control on the wheelchair according to the camera shooting results.

[0007] The present invention proposes an automatic control method for the above-mentioned intelligent electric wheelchair, wherein the seat is provided with a pressure sensor. The automatic control method for the intelligent electric wheelchair includes an automatic braking method, wherein the automatic braking method includes:

[0008] Step S1, the camera captures the wheelchair operating environment image and transmits it to the control module, and the pressure sensor collects the pressure value and transmits it to the control module;

[0009] Step S2, the control module determines whether the image and pressure values ​​meet the preset values ​​of the control module, if so, executing step S3, if not, executing step S4;

[0010] Step S3, determining whether the operating module is operated, if so, the wheelchair moves normally, if not, executing step S4;

[0011] Step S4: the control module controls the wheelchair to brake automatically.

[0012] Optionally, the automatic control method of the intelligent electric wheelchair further includes an automatic navigation method, and the automatic navigation method includes:

[0013] Step S21, the camera captures the wheelchair operating environment image and transmits it to the control module;

[0014] Step S22, the control module records the image, generates and stores the driving route after arriving at the destination;

[0015] In step S23, the control module controls the wheelchair to automatically navigate according to the stored driving route.

[0016] Compared with the existing technology, the present invention has the advantages of enabling patients to reach the desired location by themselves through automatic control functions, and can separate the seat and the seat slides, thereby allowing patients to easily transfer between the wheelchair and other locations, thereby solving the problems of existing wheelchairs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an intelligent electric wheelchair;

[0018] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the electric chassis;

[0019] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a seat;

[0020] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the seat;

[0021] Figure 5 is an enlarged view of point J in Figure 4;

[0022] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a seat rolling plate;

[0023] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the left operating console;

[0024] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the right operating console;

[0025] FIG9 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the seat rolling plate slides out from the seat slide rail;

[0026] Figure 10 is a right side view of the seat rolling plate sliding out from the seat slide rail;

[0027] FIG11 is a rear view of the seat rolling plate sliding out from the seat slide rail;

[0028] Figure 12 is a flow chart of automatic braking control;

[0029] Figure 13 is a flow chart of the automatic navigation control of an intelligent electric wheelchair. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Example 1

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 to 6, this embodiment provides a portable intelligent electric wheelchair 100, comprising wheels 1, a camera, an electric chassis 2, a seat adjustment joint 3, a power supply module 4, a control module 5, a seat rail 6, a seat 7, and an operating module 8. The wheels 1 and camera are mounted on the electric chassis 2. The wheels 1 are four Mecanum wheels, arranged symmetrically in two groups on either side of the electric chassis 2 and driven by a motor. One group of wheels 1 is composed entirely of Mecanum wheels A10, while the other group is composed entirely of Mecanum wheels B11. Mecanum wheels A10 and B11 rotate in opposite directions. As shown in Figure 2, the four Mecanum wheels are arranged clockwise in the following order: Mecanum wheel A10, Mecanum wheel B11, Mecanum wheel B11, and Mecanum wheel A10. This allows the electric chassis 2 to travel in any direction, forward, backward, left, or right, as well as turn around on the spot. The cameras are embedded within the electric chassis 2 and distributed around it for observing and recording the wheelchair's surrounding environment. The seat adjustment joint 3, power supply module 4, control module 5, and seat rails 6 are mounted above the electric chassis 2. The electric telescopic cylinder serves as the lifting joint for the seat adjustment joint 3. Its bottom end is typically rotatably connected to the housing of the power supply module 4 using a rack and pinion assembly or a gear meshing assembly, enabling 360° rotation of the seat adjustment joint 3. The power supply module 4 supplies power to the electric wheelchair's electrical components. The control module 5, which includes a control chip and a wireless communication module connected to the chip, enables automatic operation control of the electric wheelchair.

[0032] As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the seat 7 includes a seat rolling plate 70, armrests 71, a backrest 72 and a leg rest 73. The armrests 71 are a pair, including a left armrest 710 and a right armrest 711. The operating module 8 includes a left operating platform 81 and a right operating platform 82. The left operating platform 81 is installed on the left armrest 710, and the right operating platform 82 is installed on the right armrest 711. Slide grooves 80 are provided on the left operating platform 81 and the right operating platform 82. The left operating platform 81 and the right operating platform 82 are respectively connected to the left armrest 710 and the right armrest 711 through their respective slide grooves 80. After the intelligent electric wheelchair 100 falls over, the left operating platform 81 and the right operating platform 82 can slide on their respective armrests, making it convenient for the patient to touch the left operating platform 81 and / or the right operating platform 82 when lying down. The front end of the seat rolling plate 70 is hinged to the leg rest 73, and there is a leg rest limiter between the two. The rear end of the seat rolling plate 70 is hinged to the backrest 72; one end of the armrest 71 is hinged to the backrest 72, and the other end of the armrest 71 is connected to the seat rolling plate 70 through a connecting rod, wherein one end of the connecting rod is hinged to the armrest 71, and the other end of the connecting rod is hinged to the seat rolling plate 70, and the seat rolling plate 70, armrest 71, backrest 72 and connecting rod are connected to form a quadrilateral linkage mechanism; a motor is provided at the connection between the backrest 72 and the seat rolling plate 70, which can control the backrest 72 to flip forward and backward relative to the seat rolling plate 70, thereby realizing the conversion of the seat 7 between the lying position and the sitting position. During this conversion process, in the aforementioned quadrilateral linkage mechanism, the angle between the connecting rod and the seat rolling plate 70 will change. In order to ensure that the structure of the seat 7 is reliable after the shape is adjusted to the right position, this embodiment also provides a sitting or lying locking knob 703 at the hinge position of the connecting rod and the seat rolling plate 70. When the sitting or lying locking knob 703 is closed, the shape of the quadrilateral linkage mechanism remains fixed, and the angle between the connecting rod and the seat rolling plate 70 cannot be adjusted, and thus the shape of the seat 7 cannot be adjusted; on the contrary, when the sitting or lying locking knob 703 is opened, the seat 7 can be converted between the lying shape and the sitting shape.

[0033] As shown in Figures 9 to 11 , the lower surface of the seat rolling plate 70 is provided with a slide groove 701 extending transversely along the seat 7 and cooperating with the seat rail 6 to form a sliding pair. A slide groove locking knob 702 is provided on each side of the seat rolling plate 70, and the two slide groove locking knobs 702 are located at either end of the slide groove 701. The slide groove locking knobs 702 are rotatably connected to the seat rolling plate 70 and have a stopper. Rotating the slide groove locking knob 702 causes the upper stopper to extend below the slide groove 701, preventing the seat 7 from sliding relative to the seat rail 6. The relative position between the slide groove 701 and the seat rail 6 is fixed, thus acting as a stopper. Conversely, rotating the slide groove locking knob 702 causes the upper stopper to extend above the slide groove 701, releasing the stopper. The stopper moves away from the slide groove 701, allowing the seat 7 to slide relative to the seat rail 6, thereby partially separating the seat 7 from the electric chassis 2. As a preferred embodiment, the present embodiment sets the slide groove locking knob 702 to a rectangular or elliptical shape, the center of which is hinged to the seat 7. When the length direction of the slide groove locking knob 702 is perpendicular to the seat rolling plate 70, as shown in Figure 1, the bottom end of the slide groove locking knob 702 will limit the relative sliding of the slide groove 701 and the seat slide rail 6. When the slide groove locking knob 702 is rotated until its length direction is parallel to the seat rolling plate 70, the slide groove locking knob 702 is completely located above the slide groove 701, and does not restrict the relative movement between the slide groove 701 and the seat slide rail 6.

[0034] The seat rolling plate 70 is also provided with a pressure sensor for detecting whether the patient is sitting on the seat 7 .

[0035] As shown in FIG6 , the lower surface of the seat rolling plate 70 is provided with a plurality of grooves 700, avoiding the position of the slide groove 701. A ball bearing 7000 is movably embedded in any groove 700. In some scenarios where it is inconvenient to use the wheelchair chassis, the seat 7 can be detached from the other parts of the wheelchair, and then the seat 7 can be used alone. In particular, when the patient is transferred from the seat 7 to the bed, the seat 7 can be first raised to the same height as the bed, and then the slide groove locking knob 702 can be turned to release the restriction on the relative movement between the slide groove 701 and the seat slide rail 6. The seat 7 can slide relative to the seat slide rail 6 through the slide groove 701, detach from the seat slide rail 6, and slide onto the bed. After the seat 7 detaches from the seat slide rail 6, it can move on the bed by relying on the rolling of the ball bearings 7000 at its bottom, so that the patient can be moved to any position on the bed through the seat 7, thereby expanding the patient's range of movement. When the person on the seat 7 needs to be transferred from the seat 7 to the bed, the person on the seat 7 is first slightly lifted up, and then the seat 7 is pulled out. At the same time, due to the balls 7000 on the lower surface of the seat rolling plate 70, the seat 7 can be easily pulled out.

[0036] As shown in Figure 6, this embodiment also includes several grooves 700 on the back of the backrest 72 of the seat 7. Each groove 700 contains a movably mounted ball bearing 7000. The ball bearings 7000 on the rear surface of the backrest 72 facilitate movement of the patient while lying down. For example, after separating the seat 7 from the seat rails 6 and transferring the seat 7 and the person on it to a corresponding position on the bed, the seat 7 can be tilted back so that the rear surface of the backrest 72 contacts the bed surface. At this point, the person on the seat 7 can be slightly lifted and removed. The ball bearings 7000 on the rear surface of the backrest 72 make the seat 7 easily removable.

[0037] Since the electrical modules and the control module 5 are wirelessly connected, after the seat 7 and the electric chassis 2 are separated, the left operating console 81 and the right operating console 82 on the armrest of the seat 7 can still wirelessly control the movement of the electric chassis 2, which is convenient to use. For example: 1) When the electric chassis 2 needs to be brought closer to the seat 7, the patient can adjust the orientation of the electric chassis 2 through the left operating console 81 and the right operating console 82 to facilitate the combination of the seat 7 and the seat slide 6 on the electric chassis 2; 2) Use the electric chassis 2 as a robot to pass objects between two people who are inconvenient to move; 3) After the seat 7 is separated from the seat slide 6 on the electric chassis 2, the electric chassis 2 can be operated to park in other convenient open spaces, and when it is needed, it can be remotely controlled to move closer. It is convenient and quick to use, allowing the patient to use and park the wheelchair completely by himself.

[0038] As shown in Figure 7, the left operating console 81 includes an operating lever 810. The forward and rearward movements of the electric wheelchair are controlled by the lever 810. Leftward movement is counterclockwise with the rear wheel as the center, rightward movement is clockwise with the rear wheel as the center, and right-forward movement is right-forward movement, and so on. The left operating console 81 is also equipped with an acceleration switch 8110, a deceleration switch 8111, a horn switch 8112, an emergency call switch 8113, a preset location A activation switch 8114, and a preset location B activation switch 8115. These switches enable functions such as wheel acceleration, wheel deceleration, wheelchair horn activation, emergency call activation, and route travel. This expands the wheelchair's functionality and improves the convenience and reliability of patients' independent wheelchair use.

[0039] As shown in Figure 8 , the right operating console 82 is equipped with a display 820, a seat rotation switch 8210, a seat lift switch 8211, a seat backrest adjustment switch 8212, and a power switch 8213. These functions enable seat rotation, seat lift, seat backrest rotation, and wheelchair activation, respectively. Display 820 displays information such as the power supply and driving status of the electric wheelchair.

[0040] The above-mentioned intelligent electric wheelchair 100 includes an automatic braking control method and an automatic navigation control method:

[0041] The automatic braking control method is as follows: during the movement of the wheelchair, the camera remains on, captures the operating environment of the electric wheelchair and transmits it to the control module 5. The control module 5 automatically brakes when it determines based on preset information that a collision or other danger is about to occur; the seat 7 pressure sensor collects the pressure value and transmits it to the control module 5. The control module 5 brakes based on the preset information when it determines that the patient is not sitting firmly; the control module 5 brakes when it determines that the operating lever 810 is not operated.

[0042] The automatic navigation control method is as follows: first, a path is captured. A camera captures images of the electric wheelchair's operating environment and transmits them to the control module 5. The control module 5 is connected to the internet and can automatically locate the electric wheelchair's location and upload them to a server. The server returns the path generated by the location. The control module 5 then intelligently generates and stores a driving route based on the path returned by the server and the images captured by the camera. The control module 5 then controls the electric wheelchair to automatically travel according to the stored driving route. The automatic positioning function can also be used to call for help. Multiple driving routes can be stored, for example, including Route A to a preset location A and Route B to a preset location B. The preset location A activation switch 8114 corresponds to the preset route A. When it is necessary to reach preset location A, pressing the preset location A activation switch 8114 will automatically cause the wheelchair to automatically proceed to preset location A along the preset route A. Similarly, pressing the preset location B activation switch 8115 will automatically cause the wheelchair to automatically proceed to preset location B along the preset route B.

[0043] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0044] 1) The movement route is captured by a camera and sent to the control module, which automatically controls the electric wheelchair, allowing the patient to reach the desired location without an accompanying person;

[0045] 2) The slide groove on the seat rolling plate and the seat slide rail form a sliding pair. The ball bearings on the seat rolling plate can easily move the seat on a flat surface such as a bed. The patient can be easily moved from the wheelchair to a different position or from another position to the wheelchair with the seat;

[0046] 3) A combination of manual and automatic control can be used to achieve intelligent control of the wheelchair, realize automatic braking and automatic navigation functions, store the driving route, and automatically reach the set location without the patient having to operate;

[0047] 4) The control module includes a wireless communication module. Even after the seat and the electric chassis are detached, the console can still operate the movement of the electric chassis, making it easier for the patient to move the electric chassis closer to the seat or park it elsewhere when the wheelchair is needed. It can also be used to pass objects between two people with limited mobility.

[0048] 5) There is a slide rail between the console and the armrest. The console can be adjusted according to the different shapes of the chair, so that patients can operate it conveniently in different shapes.

[0049] Example 2

[0050] This embodiment discloses an automatic control method for the intelligent electric wheelchair 100 in the first embodiment, including an automatic braking method, comprising the following steps:

[0051] Step S1: The camera captures the image of the electric wheelchair's operating environment and transmits it to the control module 5; the pressure sensor collects the pressure value and transmits it to the control module 5;

[0052] Step S2, the control module 5 determines whether the image and pressure values ​​meet the preset values ​​of the control module 5, if they meet, step S3 is executed, if not, step S4 is executed;

[0053] Step S3, determining whether the left operating panel 81 and the right operating panel 82 are operated. If so, the electric wheelchair moves normally; if not, executing step S4;

[0054] In step S4, the control module 5 controls the wheel 1 to stop rotating, thereby realizing the automatic braking function of the electric wheelchair.

[0055] Example 3

[0056] This embodiment discloses an automatic control method for the intelligent electric wheelchair 100 in the first embodiment, including an automatic navigation method, comprising the following steps:

[0057] Step S21, the camera captures the image of the electric wheelchair's operating environment and transmits it to the control module 5;

[0058] Step S22, the control module 5 records the image, generates and stores the driving route after arriving at the destination;

[0059] In step S23, the control module 5 controls the electric wheelchair to automatically travel according to the stored travel route.

[0060] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only intended to help understand the method and core concept of the present invention. At the same time, those skilled in the art will find that the specific implementation methods and application scopes may vary based on the concept of the present invention. In summary, the contents of this specification should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent electric wheelchair, characterized in that: It includes wheels, a camera, an electric chassis, a seat adjustment joint, a power supply module, a control module, a seat slide, a seat and an operating module, wherein the wheels, the camera, the seat adjustment joint, the power supply module and the control module are all arranged on the electric chassis, the seat slide is arranged on the seat adjustment joint, and the seat adjustment joint is used to control the lifting and / or rotation of the seat slide; the seat includes a seat rolling plate and an armrest, the operating module is arranged on the armrest, the seat rolling plate is slidably connected with the seat slide to form a sliding pair, and a plurality of ball bearings are movably installed on the lower surface of the seat rolling plate; the camera, the seat adjustment joint, the operating module and the camera are all communicatively connected with the control module, the camera is used to shoot the movement route when the wheelchair moves and send it to the control module, and the control module performs automatic navigation control on the wheelchair according to the camera shooting results.

2. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 1, characterized in that: A slide groove locking knob is also provided on the side of the seat rolling plate, and the slide groove locking knob can be switched between a limited state and a released limit state. When the slide groove locking knob is in the limited state, the slide groove locking knob can limit the sliding of the seat relative to the seat slide rail.

3. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The seat also includes a backrest and a backrest adjustment drive. The backrest is rotatably mounted on the rear end of the seat rolling plate, and a plurality of ball bearings are movably mounted on the back of the backrest. The backrest adjustment drive is communicatively connected to the control module, and the backrest adjustment drive is used to drive the backrest to rotate relative to the seat rolling plate so that the seat can be converted between a lying position and a sitting position.

4. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 3, characterized in that: It also includes a sitting or lying locking knob arranged on the seat rolling plate, and the sitting or lying locking knob is used to lock the position of the backrest relative to the seat rolling plate.

5. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The seat further comprises a leg rest and a leg rest adjustment drive, wherein the leg rest is rotatably mounted on the front end of the seat rolling plate; The leg rest adjustment drive is in communication connection with the control module, and the leg rest adjustment drive is used to drive the leg rest to rotate relative to the seat rolling plate.

6. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The armrest comprises a left armrest and a right armrest, and the operating module comprises a left console and a right console; the left console is slidably mounted on the left armrest, and the right console is slidably mounted on the right armrest.

7. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 6, characterized in that: The left operating console is provided with an operating lever, an acceleration switch, a deceleration switch, a horn switch, a distress call switch, a preset location A start switch and a preset location B start switch; the right operating console is provided with a display, a seat left and right rotation switch, a seat up and down lifting switch, a seat back adjustment switch and a power switch.

8. The intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The wheels are Mecanum wheels, and there are four of them, and the four Mecanum wheels are divided into two groups and are respectively arranged on both sides of the electric chassis, wherein the two Mecanum wheels of the first group have the same rotation direction, the two Mecanum wheels of the second group have the same rotation direction, and the rotation direction of the Mecanum wheels of the first group is opposite to that of the Mecanum wheels of the second group.

9. An automatic control method for the intelligent electric wheelchair according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The seat is provided with a pressure sensor, and the automatic control method of the intelligent electric wheelchair includes an automatic braking method, and the automatic braking method includes: Step S1, the camera captures the wheelchair operating environment image and transmits it to the control module, and the pressure sensor collects the pressure value and transmits it to the control module; Step S2, the control module determines whether the image and pressure values ​​meet the preset values ​​of the control module, if yes, execute step S3, if no, execute step S4; Step S3, determining whether the operation module is operated, if so, the wheelchair moves normally, if not, executing step S4; Step S4: the control module controls the wheelchair to brake automatically.

10. The automatic control method of the intelligent electric wheelchair according to claim 9, characterized in that: Also included is an automatic navigation method, the automatic navigation method comprising: Step S21, the camera captures the wheelchair operating environment image and transmits it to the control module; Step S22, the control module records the picture, generates and stores the driving route after reaching the destination; Step S23, the control module controls the wheelchair to automatically navigate according to the stored driving route.

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