Vehicle Platform Lift Sensing and Locking for Safe Wheelchair Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing platform lifts for vehicles lack effective safety features and efficient operation, particularly in preventing accidental movement of wheelchair users and ensuring safe loading/unloading, with inadequate safety warnings and protection against high power short circuits.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a mobile platform with a parallelogram mechanism, hydraulic system, acoustic sensor arrays for threshold safety warnings, a decouplable power interface for enhanced safety, and a modular LED light assembly for traffic warnings, along with a bridgeplate and occupant retention devices to ensure safe motion patterns and operational safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If acoustic sensor arrays and threshold safety warning systems are added to detect occupants and prevent accidental movement, then safety and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The safety system is segmented into multiple independent components: acoustic sensor arrays for detection, threshold safety warning systems for alerting, and controller interlocks for prevention. Each component performs a specific function, allowing the complex safety system to be managed through modular segments that can be independently tested and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection and warning actions before the lift platform moves. The acoustic sensors detect occupants in advance, the threshold safety system issues warnings before movement begins, and the controller interlocks prevent movement initiation until the area is clear, ensuring safety measures are taken proactively rather than reactively.
2Reliability
If a decouplable power interface with encapsulated protection is implemented to protect against high power short circuits, then reliability and safety are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The power interface uses a nested protective structure where an encapsulated decouplable connector is housed within a protective enclosure. The decouplable interface allows electrical connections to be made and broken safely, while the encapsulation provides an additional layer of protection against short circuits, creating a nested defense system that prioritizes reliability over manufacturing simplicity.
3Reliability
If a bridgeplate mechanism with cam-shaped edges and spring-loaded arms is added to control platform motion and provide barriers, then safety and operational control are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bridgeplate mechanism uses dynamic elements including spring-loaded arms that automatically engage and disengage based on platform position, and cam-shaped edge surfaces that convert rotational motion into linear barrier movement. This dynamic design allows the system to adapt to different operational states automatically, improving safety while managing complexity through self-regulating mechanical behavior.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded arms and cam mechanisms are designed to automatically perform their functions without external control. The springs provide continuous force to maintain arms in the engaged position, and the cam surfaces automatically guide the barrier movement as the platform rises or lowers, allowing the mechanism to service itself through its own mechanical properties.
4Strength
If a parallelogram mechanism with vertically disposed arms and hydraulic actuators is used to carry and move the lift platform, then lifting capability and stability are improved, but device complexity and power requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The parallelogram mechanism uses hydraulic actuators to provide the force necessary for lifting the platform and wheelchair. The hydraulic system efficiently transmits power from the motor to the lifting arms, providing high force output in a compact package. This allows the system to achieve the required lifting capability without excessively large motors or power consumption.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides enhanced safety features by preventing accidental platform movement, protecting against high power short circuits, and effectively warning oncoming traffic, ensuring safe and reliable operation for wheelchair users and vehicle occupants.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic system, configured to lift the platform from a ground level position to a floor level position in the vehicle and inversely
Implementation Method 2
acoustic sensor arrays for threshold safety warnings
Implementation Method 3
a modular LED light assembly for traffic warnings
Data Source
AI summary
A lift for a vehicle includes a platform configured to support an occupant thereon, a parallelogram mechanism to move the platform between a stowed position and a deployed position, a base to mount the parallelogram mechanism to a vehicle floor, a hydraulic system to move the platform through the parallelogram mechanism, a mechanism to fold and unfold the platform, an occupant retention device, a control unit to control a movement of the platform. The occupant retention device can include any one of a belt, a bridgeplate and a roll stop. The lift can also include a platform movement control device that can be provided as an acoustic sensor array, a bridgeplate lock and a platform stow lock. A light assembly can be mounted on the platform as a visual warning of the platform operation. The power connection to the control unit can include an encapsulated decouplable power interface.