Development of a Wheelchair with a Lifting Function

A wheelchair with a lifting function is designed to assist a caregiver when transferring a wheelchair user not only indoors but also outdoors. The target user is typically a severely disabled person with disabled upper and lower limbs and therefore needs the physical support when using a toilet or transferring from a bed to a wheelchair and so forth. Both the wheelchair and the lift are driven by their respective motors. The user can approach above the toilet stool or the bed from the rear because the large driving wheels are located in front of the body, and the seat can be folded. This wheelchair is allowed to travel on public roads because of the mechanism of folding the frame for lifting. This paper presents the concept design and the experimental results of a full-sized prototype wheelchair with the lifting function, which confirms the design effectiveness.