A disabled electric all-terrain wheelchair

[dirk pitt]

At the request of citro; following a little off topic in the post on the electric hipomobile hitch, here I give you a little overview on the all-terrain wheelchair for the disabled that we developed with the association ladybugs
you will find lots of information on the site link (above) but here are the main information.




it is to allow access to paths, including mountain paths, by wheelchairs for the disabled and this, in total autonomy.
there were already downhill armchairs, armchairs with hand pedaling (very difficult as soon as the path becomes steep) and all terrain armchairs requiring the help of pushers / shooters (joelette or other). coccinelle wanted to make a machine delivering complete autonomy.
the few happy owners of the prototypes and 1st in series can thus leave as well for a small family walk in the forest as to face 1500m of uneven on mountain path. (we have quite a few here around Grenoble)

the structure of the chair is made from 2 suspended mountain bike frames connected together by tubes forming the seat and support part of the feet.
the two forks are connected by a link and the turning is done by turning two half-handlebars, one of which is equipped with a handle of Watts.
the stock wheels have been replaced with 20 "to lower the center of gravity and allow a short turning radius compatible with the legroom, they are equipped with disc brakes.
the 4 wheels are equipped with electric bike motors of 500W each, ie 2kw of maximum power. it climbs trees
they are motors reduced with a lot of torque. the speed is limited to around 18km / h
several battery solutions have been tried. currently, these are 5 e-solex batteries, i.e. 36V 70Ah.

More than the distance (theoretical 100km to flat) it is the difference in level on the difficult path that is sought: today approximately 1500m.
the climb is very pleasant with a feeling of power that is difficult to describe. downhill off-road is a real treat
only downside: the price. after having made some conclusive prototypes of garage funds, it was necessary to find a more professional manufacturer to manufacture small series (5 or 10 chairs). the important thing is above all that the manufacturer assumes the responsibility of "constructor" with the guarantee, etc.
all this is expensive. today around 10K €
we are therefore working on new versions with the manufacturer to drastically lower the price.
see you soon on the site of ladybugs for other news

[Flytox]

Great idea and realization!

Have you thought of a "city" version capable of eating from the sidewalk?

[Christophe]

Wow!

This is the kind of technological project / demonstrator / proto that I would like us to be able to carry out with our association ...

[Grelinette]

... and for the next edition (2010) of the "Montée Electrique" event, it will be at the start?

And why not a Grand-Prix or the "Electric 24h"?

[dirk pitt]

when it comes to eating the sidewalks "from the front", no problem. the fact of having the 4-wheel drive makes it possible to attack rather high steps gently without going into it. the machine literally "climbs" them by the rotation of the front wheels.
I have already crossed trees across the path of about 20 cm in diameter.
the only limitation becomes the ground clearance which cannot be too great because we must keep the center of gravity low enough for slopes.
looking for boundaries, i turned around more than once. for me, it's not too serious because I have the use of my legs but for a handicap in the mountains ...

yes we will certainly have ladybugs on LES 2010 electric rises:
the electric climb of Ventoux on May 29 and 30 and the electric climb of Alpe d'Huez on June 27
The site ofthe-electric-monteewill soon be updated. (early 2010)

during the climb to Ventoux, we hope to have a very "trialising" all-terrain course to show the capabilities of the machine.