Detection mechanism of manipulation torque for one hand drive wheelchair with a triple ring

A one hand drive wheelchair with power assist mechanism is developed. In this investigation, we propose a simple and useful manipulation torque detection method which yields wide detection areas with uniform distribution of stress. This method can be applied to a one hand drive wheelchair with complicated structure of manipulation mechanism with three rings. Moreover, even if the grasping position of the hand on hand rims changes, the accurate detection of manipulation torque can be realized. Therefore, it improves the controllability and the operability of the wheelchair. Numerical results given by FEM show the effectiveness of proposed method.