Wheelchair Auxiliary Drive Coupling for Secure Locking and Release
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing auxiliary drive devices for wheelchairs face challenges in ensuring safe and secure coupling, easy uncoupling, and maintaining maneuverability, especially when negotiating obstacles and curves.
Innovation Solution
An auxiliary drive device with a freely pivotable drive wheel and a coupling mechanism featuring a locking element that allows for positive-locking attachment and easy detachment, combined with an operating satellite for control, ensuring the drive wheel aligns with the wheelchair's steering motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking element with positive-locking manner is used in the coupling mechanism, then coupling security and reliability are improved, but coupling and uncoupling operation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element is designed to be movable between a locking position (engaging with the coupling element) and a released position (disengaged from the coupling element). This dynamic positioning allows the system to transition between secured and unsecured states, resolving the contradiction by making the locking mechanism adaptable rather than static
Solution Approach 2:
A handle is introduced as an intermediary component that the user operates to move the locking element between positions. The handle serves as a mediator between the user's action and the locking element's position change, simplifying the operation while maintaining the positive-locking security when engaged
2Stability of the object's composition
If the auxiliary drive device is securely coupled to the wheelchair, then drive stability is improved, but maneuverability when negotiating obstacles deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling mechanism allows dynamic transitions between a secured state (for stable driving) and an unsecured state (for maneuvering over obstacles). The movable locking element enables the system to adapt its coupling state based on operational requirements, maintaining both stability and maneuverability at different times
Data Source
AI summary
An auxiliary drive device for a wheelchair has at least one freely pivotable electrically driven drive wheel and a coupling mechanism for coupling the auxiliary drive device to the wheelchair. The coupling mechanism includes a movable locking element which is movably supported in the coupling mechanism. The movable locking element can be in a locking position in which it causes locking in a positive-locking manner so that the auxiliary drive device is coupled to the wheelchair and, by operation of a handle, the locking element can be moved in a release position in which uncoupling of the auxiliary drive device from the wheelchair is possible.