Electric wheelchairs are transformed and upgraded on the basis of traditional manual wheelchairs, superimposed with high-performance power drive devices, intelligent control devices, batteries and other components.
Equipped with artificially operated intelligent controller, it can drive the wheelchair to complete forward, backward, turn, stand, lie down, and other functions. It is a new generation of intelligent wheelchair that combines modern precision machinery, intelligent numerical control, engineering mechanics and other fields. Technology Products.
The fundamental difference from traditional electric scooters, battery cars, bicycles and other means of transportation is that electric wheelchairs have intelligent manipulation controllers. Nowadays, electric wheelchairs have become an indispensable means of transportation for the elderly and the disabled with limited mobility. They are applicable to a wide range of objects. As long as the user has a clear consciousness and normal cognitive ability, using an electric wheelchair is a good choice, but it requires a certain amount of room for movement.
There are many types of electric wheelchairs, with prices ranging from 1,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan. At present, there are more than 100 brands on the market, with different configurations, materials, and quality. How to choose an electric wheelchair that suits you? How to choose an electric wheelchair Woolen cloth
There are many wheelchairs on the market at present. In summary, there are three types of wheelchairs:
1. Hand-push wheelchair: It is shaped like a chair, with four wheels, armrests on both sides, and a pedal on the front. Some hand-push wheelchairs have relatively large rear wheels. Add a push circle, and the car also relies on the rear wheels. In addition to being pushed by others, hand-pushed wheelchairs can also be rocked by themselves. There is also a type of rear wheel that is relatively small and does not have a hand-pushed ring. You must rely on others, but they are all larger than the front wheels. The front wheels are smaller and used for steering. Anti-roll wheels. Hand-push wheelchairs are relatively light and can be folded away. It is suitable for ordinary situations, or for those with short-term mobility difficulties. Manual wheelchairs generally need to be accompanied by family members, and are not suitable for long-term sitting
2. Electric wheelchair: The structure of the electric wheelchair is basically the same as that of the manual wheelchair. It has more batteries than the manual wheelchair, which is more humane. As long as the user’s awareness and control ability are good, it is a good choice to use the electric wheelchair. In this way, you can control it yourself, and you don’t need to bother others, but you must pay special attention to safety when using an electric wheelchair to cross a ditch. In addition, electric wheelchairs need a large space for activities indoors to trouble others, but special attention should be paid to safety when using electric wheelchairs to cross ditches and chop. In addition, the electric wheelchair needs a larger activity space indoors.
3. Wheelchair: also called electric scooter, which is used by many people. It is roughly divided into three-wheel and four-wheel and single-seater and double-seater. The electric motor drives the electromagnetic brake, and the speed is generally limited below 15km/h. , as long as the user has a clear mind and wants to travel farther, then the electric scooter is an ideal choice
Most consumers don’t know much about electric wheelchairs as a medical device product. They just judge the quality by looking at the appearance or the sales volume of the e-commerce platform until they place an order. However, many users, after receiving the goods, will You will find many unsatisfactory places, such as volume, weight, handling, detail craftsmanship, the gap between the picture and the real thing, etc.
However, it is very troublesome to return the goods in general. The first choice is the packing box. During the transportation of the goods, the box will inevitably be bumped and bumped. Small damages when the goods arrive will cause trouble when the goods are returned. Not returning to the original appearance, the frame and wheels are worn, stained, scratched, etc. due to trial use. Based on the above, as a merchant, a certain wear and tear fee must be charged to compensate for the loss caused. However, as a consumer This part becomes “spending money to buy experience”.
This experience is the epitome of most people who buy electric wheelchairs for the first time. In order to reduce losses, some users have no choice but to make do with it.
Most consumers who buy electric wheelchairs often consider light weight, foldable, and can be put into the trunk when purchasing the first electric wheelchair. think abut.
After using it for a period of time, the user will give feedback to the family about the comfort, power, battery life, and the stability of the vehicle system, handling, etc., and these will only gradually appear when problems are encountered in daily use. , and at this time it has been a few months since the purchase. Many users have also begun to think about buying electric wheelchairs again. After the first use experience, users understand their needs better, so they can also find electric wheelchairs that suit them better.
Let’s take a look at what parts the electric wheelchair is made of
The electric wheelchair is mainly composed of the following parts, the main body frame, the upper controller, the lower controller, the motor, the battery, and other accessories such as seat back cushions. Next, let’s take a look at the accessories of each part.
Main frame: The main frame determines the structural design, external width, and seat width of the electric wheelchair. External height, backrest height, and designed functionality. The main material can be divided into steel pipe, aluminum alloy, and aviation titanium alloy. Most of the common materials in the market are steel pipe and aluminum alloy. It is not bad, but the disadvantage is that it is bulky, and it is easy to rust and corrode when exposed to water and humid environments. Long-term corrosion will affect the service life of the electric wheelchair. At present, most of the mainstream materials have adopted aluminum alloy, which is lighter and relatively corrosion-resistant. The material strength, lightness, and corrosion resistance of aerospace titanium alloys are better than the first two, but due to the cost of materials, currently the main It is applied to high-end and portable electric wheelchairs, and the price is also more expensive.
controller
Let’s take a look at the controller. The controller is the core component of the electric wheelchair, just like the steering wheel of a car. Its quality directly determines the handling and service life of the electric wheelchair. Conventional controllers are generally divided into: single controller and There are two types of split controllers.
How to simply check the quality of the controller? There are two things you can try:
1. Turn on the power switch, push the controller, and feel whether the start is stable; release the controller, and feel whether the car stops immediately after a sudden stop.
2. Control and rotate the car on the spot to feel whether the steering is stable and flexible.
Brake system
The brake system is divided into electromagnetic brake and resistance brake. To judge whether the brake is good or not, we can test to loosen the controller on a slope to see if it will slide and feel the length of the braking buffer distance. The shorter braking distance is relatively more sensitive and safer
motor
Let’s take a look at the motor, which is the core component of the drive. According to the way of power transmission, it is mainly divided into brush motors, also called worm gear motors, and brushless motors, also called hub motors.
Let’s talk about the advantages of the brushed motor (turbine worm motor) first. It has large torque, high torque, strong driving force, it will be easy to go up some small slopes, and the start and stop are relatively stable. The disadvantage is that the conversion rate of the battery is low, that is, it consumes more electricity. Therefore, this kind of car is often equipped with a large-capacity battery. At present, the most widely used brush motor is Taiwan Shuoyang Motor. Due to the high cost of the motor, most of them are equipped with electric wheelchairs with a unit price of more than 4,000. Most of the vehicles using this turbo-worm motor weigh more than 50-200 kg. In recent years, there are also portable models that use this type of motor. , The unit price of the car is on the high side, probably around 10,000 yuan.
The advantage of brushless motor (hub motor) is that it saves electricity and has a high conversion rate of electricity. The battery equipped with this motor does not need to be particularly large, which can reduce the weight of the vehicle. The disadvantage is that the start and stop are relatively not as stable as the worm motor, and the torque is large, which is not suitable for daily users who need to walk on slopes. Most of these motors are used in electric wheelchairs ranging from one thousand to two or three thousand yuan. Most of the weight of the whole vehicle that adopts this motor is about 50 jin.
Battery
It is well known that there are lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries. Whether it is a lead-acid battery or a lithium battery, care and maintenance are required. When the electric wheelchair is idle for a long time, it must be charged and maintained regularly. It is generally recommended to charge the battery at least once every 14 days. power consumption. When comparing whether lead-acid batteries are worse than lithium batteries, at first glance, lithium batteries must be better, and lead-acid batteries are not as good as lithium batteries. This is the concept of most people. What is so good about lithium batteries? The first is light, and the second is longer service life. Compared with some light-weight electric wheelchairs, the standard configuration is lithium batteries, and the selling price is also higher.
The voltage of electric wheelchairs is generally 24v, and the battery capacity is different, and the unit is AH. When comparing batteries, for example: 20AH lead-acid and lithium batteries are definitely better than lithium batteries. However, most domestic lithium batteries are about 10AH, and some 6AH meet the aviation boarding standards. Most lead-acid batteries start at 20AH, and there are 35AH, 55AH, and 100AH.
Lithium batteries are currently mainly used in portable electric wheelchairs. In terms of battery life, small AH lithium batteries are relatively inferior to large AH lead-acid batteries. In the later replacement cost, the lithium battery is also higher, while the price of lead-acid is lower.
Google—Allen 19:47:13
cushion
At present, most manufacturers of wheelchair seat back cushions are equipped with double layers, which are breathable in summer and cool in winter, and there are many other functions. The quality of the seat back cushion mainly depends on the flatness of the fabric, the tension of the fabric, the details of the wiring, and the fineness of the craftsmanship. Even a layman will find the gap through careful observation.
To sum up, the configuration of electric wheelchairs is basically the end of the introduction, so how to choose an electric wheelchair that suits you will continue to look down.
First of all, we have to consider that electric wheelchairs are all for users, and each user’s situation is different. From the user’s point of view, based on the user’s physical awareness, basic data such as height and weight, daily needs, accessibility of the use environment, and special surrounding factors, comprehensive and detailed assessments can be made for effective selection and gradual subtraction , until you choose a suitable car. In fact, some conditions for choosing an electric wheelchair are basically similar to ordinary wheelchairs. The seat back height and seat width of each electric wheelchair are different. The recommended selection method is that the user sits on the electric wheelchair. The knees are not bent, and the lower legs are naturally lowered, which is the most suitable. The width of the seat surface is the widest position of the buttocks, plus 1-2cm on the left and right sides. most suitable. If the user’s sitting posture is slightly high, the legs will be curled up, and sitting for a long time is very uncomfortable. If the seat surface is narrow, the sitting will be crowded and wide, and long-term sitting will cause secondary deformation of the spine. harm.
The easiest way to test the power of the motor is to climb a slope to test whether the motor is easy or a little difficult to climb. Try not to choose the motor of a small horse-drawn cart, as there will be many failures in the later stage. If the user has many mountain roads, a worm motor is recommended.
The battery life of electric wheelchairs is also a link that many users pay attention to. To understand the properties of the battery and the AH capacity, most people will consider portability, whether the weight can be carried by one person, whether it can be placed in the trunk of the car, and whether it can be entered The elevator, whether it is possible to board the plane, these factors need to be paid attention to, such as wheelchair material, folding degree, weight, battery capacity, etc.
If these factors are not considered, the selection will be wider, but it is necessary to pay attention to the overall width of the electric wheelchair. Some families have special doorways, so the distance must be measured.
Another very important point is the after-sales problem that must be considered when purchasing electric wheelchairs. At present, the industry standards for electric wheelchairs produced in China are different, and the accessories of various manufacturers are not universal. There are also some that have no plan to operate a brand for a long time, but just make whatever kind of product is popular, so the future after-sales problem of this kind of product is very worrying. How to avoid these problems, please carefully understand the instructions, and whether the product label brand is the same as the manufacturer
Post time: Jan-30-2023