Diseño y construcción de un sistema de propulsión anclable a una silla de ruedas para traslado autónomo de personas parapléjicas en zonas urbanas.

Abstract

The design and construction of a propulsion system anchorable to a wheelchair for the transfer of paraplegic people in urban areas was carried out, this technological proposal was initiated with bibliographical research and information gathering in order to establish the requirements and parameters of the prototype as: power and torque. Based on these parameters, an electric propulsion system consisting of a brushless motor with 350 Watts, a 36-volt 9-amp lithium-ion battery and a 15-amp driver was selected. In the design phase, the A36 steel was chosen for the modeling of the prototype in a computer-aided design software (CAD), then the simulation of the system was carried out under pre-established conditions and satisfactory results were achieved; the components are subjected to stresses below their elastic limit, where their deformation is minimal and does not affect the operation thereof, with the safety factor obtained, the reliability of the equipment is guaranteed. Once the reliability of the design was determined, the prototype was built by suitable manufacturing methods such as tuning of inert gas from tungsten (TIG) for the union of the different elements of the structure and other processes such as cutting, bending. Finally, the components of the system were assembled to perform the necessary field tests where it was concluded that the prototype meets the criteria established above, since it is capable of propelling a wheelchair with its occupant on a 12% slope route with a speed of 5km/h, while in a flat area it reaches 20km/h; in terms of autonomy, the system travels a distance of 16 km in full load. It is recommended for future designs to use lighter materials to facilitate handling and reduce their energy consumption.