Powered Mobility Device with Tilt Mechanism having Multiple Pivots

摘要

A powered wheelchair 100 with a tilt mechanism having multiple pivots that allows the wheelchair 100 to be driven and steered with or without the use of hands. The wheelchair 100 has two spaced apart drive wheels 101, each mounted to a separate shaft 104 that is independent of the other drive wheel. A drive controller drivingly coupled to the shafts 104 and the drive controller is housed within a base 102 that is pivotally situated on the shafts 104. A seat 103 mounted on a tilt mechanism enables the seat to tilt in a forward, backward, left and right direction as a result of the user displacing their body weight in either of those directions. The tilt mechanism includes three pivots, a primary pivot P1, secondary pivot P2 and tertiary pivot P3. The primary pivot P1 pivotally connects the base 102 to the shafts 104. The secondary pivot P2 is situated above and adjacent the base 102 so that the respective ends of the rod 105 are pivotally connected to the base 102.

主权项

1. A powered mobility device with tilt mechanism having multiple pivots, typically a powered wheelchair, which is able to be driven and steered with or without the use of hands, the powered mobility device includes:
i. at least two drive wheels where each drive wheel is mounted on a separate drive shaft such that the each drive wheel can be independently driven; ii. a drive controller drivingly coupled to the shafts; iii. a seat mounted on a tilt mechanism enabling the seat to tilt in a forward, backward, left and right direction as a result of the user displacing their body weight in either of those directions; and iv. a weight displacement sensor connected to the tilt mechanism and the drive controller such that upon sensing a weight displacement of a user in a particular direction the weight displacement sensor causes the drive controller to impart drive to one or both of the drive wheels to move the mobility device in the direction of the sensed displaced weight of the user and enable the mobility device to be driven in a forward or backward direction and/or steered in a left or right direction; wherein the tilt mechanism includes a primary and a secondary pivot, where the primary pivot is mounted on the shafts to allow the tilt mechanism to tilt the seat in a backwards or forwards direction, and the secondary pivot is spaced a distance above the primary pivot so that the secondary pivot is situated between the seat and the shafts such that the secondary pivot allows the seat to tilt backwards or forwards about the secondary pivot to enhance the offset of weight transfer to allow increased control of the backwards or forwards tilt of the seat relative to the shafts.