DESIGN OF A MECHANISM TO ASSIST THE STANDING UP AND SITTING DOWN OF A WHEELCHAIR USER

This paper details the design of a mechanism to assist the wheelchair user during actions like standing up and sitting down. The original structural design of a commercial basic wheelchair has been retained, therefore, the proposed 3-bar mechanism to move only the seat through a linear actuator has been intended to match the dimensions and shaping of a commercial wheelchair. Moreover, the mechanism has been reasoned to be easy to manufacture and install, besides, this must support the weight to load. For this reason, the design is based on kinematic synthesis and results of simulations with SolidWorks showing a correct trajectory of motion and the required force by the actuator in relation to the available device.