EP3208224B1

EP3208224B1 - System for moving loads along an inclined surface

Info

Publication number: EP3208224B1
Application number: EP16155813.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Panayiotis Philimis; Stavros Hadjiyiannis; Federico Vicentini; Simone Pio Negri
Original assignee: Givotech Ltd
Current assignee: Givotech Ltd
Priority date: 2016-02-16
Filing date: 2016-02-16
Publication date: 2023-08-23
Anticipated expiration: 2036-02-16
Also published as: ES2958397T3; EP3208224A1; EP3208224C0

Description

Technical Field

The invention relates to a system for moving a wheelchair or other load along an elevated surface, which system is provided with a deployable support surface on the stairs or other elevated surface and a transport vehicle onto which a wheelchair or other load can be positioned so that it can be carried along the stairs, said vehicle moving on said support surface. The transport vehicle comprises propulsion means and means for maintaining the wheelchair or other load in an essentially horizontal position during the entire transport operation.

Background Art

Currently there are four main directions for moving wheelchairs along stairs or other elevated surfaces.
The first direction involves propulsion and step moving mechanisms incorporated in wheelchairs as exemplified by patent application US4674584A . The main disadvantage of this direction is that each wheelchair user has to occur a significant cost for having such functionality incorporated into the wheelchair, the wheelchair itself becomes bulky and heavy and less manoeuvrable in small spaces. In addition, stability in ascending and descending is not smooth due to the complicated controls which raises issues of users feeling safe.
The second direction involves use of ramps as exemplified by patent US7010825B1 (extensible ramp) or patent US6430769B1 (deployable ramp). The main disadvantages of this direction is the limit in the number of steps and the space required as the inclination generally needs to be kept under 10% and that it does not provide any autonomy for wheelchair users.
The third direction involves a wheelchair lift as exemplified by patent application WO1997019887A1 . The main disadvantage of this direction is the limitation in the number of steps and fact that such installations are permanent or at least the movement of such lifts from one location to another is cumbersome and time consuming.
The fourth direction involves self-propelled vehicles where a wheelchair can be loaded and the vehicle is propelled along the stairs. There are several implementations of such vehicles. For example, patent application US6158536A describes a vehicle for carrying a wheelchair having a loading platform and an undercarriage, said undercarriage using continuous tracks for propulsion. A key characteristic of this invention is that the wheelchair user is facing to the opposite direction to the direction of movement during ascent and the wheelchair is slightly inclined rearwardly. In another example, patent application US4411330A also describes a vehicle for carrying a wheelchair having a loading platform and an undercarriage, said undercarriage using continuous tracks for propulsion. A key characteristic of this invention is that the platform supporting the wheelchair is kept horizontal by an element controlled by a screw spindle.
All existing implementations of such vehicles involve a heavy undercarriage that extends along the length of the vehicle with continuous tracks extending along the length of the vehicle. The overall structure is heavy and cannot be moved from one location to another quickly and easily, while no vehicle provides transfer of all types of existing wheelchair users or loads to either indoor or outdoor stairs or elevated surfaces. In addition, such vehicles does not provide any autonomy for wheelchair users since it requires a personal assistant to drive the vehicle.
US 2015/0375965 A1 discloses a system according to the preamble of claim 1.
There is therefore the need for improvement on systems that can support and move wheelchairs or other loads along stairs, such systems being capable of easy relocation from one place to another.

Summary of invention

The invention relates to a system that can move loads along stairs comprising a support surface and a load transporting vehicle. When the support surface is deployed on stairs, the support surface remains flat and straight and provides structural support to the load transporting vehicle. The load transporting vehicle can climb along the stairs by moving on said support surface. The load transporting vehicle comprises a load support platform (13), means for propulsion, and means for maintaining during operation, the load support platform at a safe orientation for the load as the load transporting vehicle climbs along the stairs by moving on said support surface. The load transporting vehicle comprises two moveable arms supporting a movement mechanism so that the vehicle can move along the support surface and rotate in a vertical plane so as to maintain the load support platform in an essentially horizontal position. The load transporting vehicle further comprises two propulsion units, each propulsion unit mounted on one of the two arms. The two moveable arms move to maintain contact with a ground support surface, as the vehicle moves along stairs, and maintain the load transporting vehicle in an essentially horizontal orientation. Each propulsion unit and supporting arm is housed in a protective enclosure, the protective enclosure forming part of the load bearing structure of the load transporting vehicle. The two protective enclosures are joined by a middle load support platform so that a load can be positioned onto said middle load support platform for transportation along the stairs.
The movement mechanism may comprise an electric drive motor.
Each of said arms may be supported on a slider crank mechanism and driven by an actuator.
The load transporting vehicle operating to keep the load support platform in an essentially horizontal orientation may comprise a set of inclination sensors that provide feedback to an actuator that controls the vertical rotation of each of said arms by means of a control system based on the output of the inclination sensors.
The middle load support platform of the load transporting vehicle may comprise a floor surface and flaps at both ends of the platform so that accidental sliding of the load off the platform can be prevented. The movement of said flaps between the vertical position, that prevents movement of the load off the platform, and the essentially horizontal position, that allows movement of the load off the platform, may be effected by a central bar operated by an actuator. Said central bar may be positioned in a channel so as to prevent any obstruction to the positioning or movement of the load on the load support platform.
The floor surface may comprise lightweight multi-layered double-wall structured composite material with cross-orientation.
The propulsion means of said load transporting vehicle may comprise non-slip wheels.
The propulsion means of said load transporting vehicle may comprise continuous track.
Said support surface may comprise a non-slip top surface to prevent slip between the top surface and the load transporting vehicle. Said non-slip top surface may comprise high friction material to prevent sliding of the propulsion means of the vehicle relative to the support surface and/or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the propulsion means of the load transporting vehicle relative to the support surface. Said support surface may comprise a non-slip bottom surface to prevent slip between the bottom surface and the stairs. Said non-slip bottom surface may comprise high friction material to prevent the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface, and/or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface.
In the instances when the load is a wheelchair (or a similar device) and/or a person, the load transporting vehicle can communicate with the person or with the wheelchair via any mode of communication so that the load transporting vehicle can get ready to receive the load as the load approaches the load transporting vehicle. Transition to a ready state may comprise moving the load transporting vehicle to the correct side of the stairs, namely upper or lower side of the stairs, where the load is anticipated to arrive and opening the flaps.
The mode of communication between said vehicle and the wheelchair may comprise wireless communication between the load transporting vehicle and a dedicated communication device on the wheelchair. Said wireless communication may comprise a sensor installed on the vehicle, said sensor operating to uniquely identify a wheelchair user. Said sensor may comprise one or more methods of wheelchair user identification. Said methods of recognition may comprise visual recognition using a camera and associated image recognition software, or reception of signal from a smart phone activated by a dedicated application.
The load support platform of the load transporting vehicle may be adapted to collapse into a single folded structure by a pulling action at the pivot line of connecting segments.
On the user's command, the transport vehicle may transport the wheelchair or other load safely several meters all the way up the stairs, without any manual intervention. It can operate on slopes beyond the typical 8% reaching up to 60% allowing the wheelchair user to safely ascent several stair steps. The transport vehicle may be foldable and can be packed quickly to be carried away in one or more transport cases.

Brief description of drawings

Figures 1A, 1B and 1C show the principle of operation: A support surface is laid on an elevated surface like stairs, and the vehicle can receive a wheelchair as the load for transporting it over the support surface. Figure 1A shows the system before a wheelchair is loaded, Figure 1B shows the vehicle transporting the wheelchair along the stairs, and Figure 1C shows the system after unloading the wheelchair.
Figure 2A, Figure 2B and Figure 2C : Show a side view of the stages of operation as the load is moved from lower level to the upper level along stairs ( Figure 2A ) or along other elevated surfaces as shown in Figure 2B and Figure 2C .
Figure 3A and 3B: Show the structure of the load transporting vehicle and the levelling arm that maintains the platform in a horizontal orientation.
Figure 4A and 4B: Show a side view of the levelling arm with the propulsion unit attached to it.
Figure 5A and 5B: Show how the load is safely secured with front and back flaps lifted in the vertical position to prevent accidental falls of the load.
Figure 6A and 6B: Show a propulsion unit mounted on movable arm and the propulsion unit detached.
Figure 7A , 7B and 7C: Show how the system is folded for packaging and transportation.

Description of embodiments

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter with respect to the accompanying drawings. One embodiment of the system (10) that can move loads along stairs or other elevated surface is shown in Figure 1A , where its principle of operation is also shown. A flat and straight support surface (11) is deployed on stairs or other elevated surface (19) to provide structural support to a load transporting vehicle (12) so that said vehicle can climb along the stairs or the elevated surface (19) as shown in Figure 1B , Figure 2B and Figure 2C . The load transporting vehicle has a load support platform (13), means for propulsion (14), and means for maintaining the load support platform at a safe position for the load (15)(41)(42) as shown in Figure 4B . The load transporting vehicle makes contact with said support surface to transfer part of the load onto the support surface. The load transporting vehicle comprises means for keeping the platform horizontal and traction means for ascending/descending along the support surface placed on stairs or an elevated surface. In said embodiment, an elevated surface (19) may be an elevated deck or patio as shown in Figure 2B or an elevated uneven terrain as shown in Figure 2C .
In a preferred embodiment the load (16) is a wheelchair (56) as shown in Figure 5A .
In a preferred embodiment, the load transporting vehicle (12) climbs along the stairs by moving on the support structure while maintaining the load support platform (13) at an essentially horizontal position. The load support platform (13) remains at an essentially horizontal position during the entire operation as shown in Figure 2A . As shown in Figure 4B , the load support platform is maintained at an essentially horizontal position by an arm (15) that is supported on a slider crank mechanism (42) on its upper side, and two beams interconnected at a junction point (45), the one being an actuation beam (43) and the other a passive beam (44).
The movement of the arm in the vertical plane is driven by a balancing actuator (31) as shown in Figure 3A , which may be an electric drive motor (41) attached to the actuation beam (43) as shown in Figure 4B . The balancing actuator (31) is used for changing the length of the actuation beam (43), thus altering the angular position of interconnected arm (15) and beams. Said actuation beam (43) is non-back-drivable, i.e. achieving safe block in case of loss of power and/or failures.
In another embodiment, the balancing actuator uses a ball-screw actuated mechanism and is equipped with an additional mechanical brake.
Said actuator that controls the vertical rotation of the arm is adjusted by means of a control system (33) taking feedback from inclination sensors (33) on the load transporting vehicle (12), in order to set the angular position of said arm which in turn sets the inclination of said platform in the essentially horizontal orientation.
The arm (15) of this embodiment extends from the side of the vehicle positioned at the highest elevation of the stairs where it is supported on a slider crank mechanism (42), towards the side of the vehicle at the lowest elevation of the stairs where it is attached to means of propulsion (14) as shown in Figure 4B . Said means of propulsion provide traction to move the vehicle in the forward or backward direction over a flat and straight support surface (11) deployed on stairs, as shown in Figure 1B .
In one embodiment, the means for propulsion of the load transporting vehicle (12) are two propulsion units (14), each mounted on a movable supporting arm (15) as shown in Figure 4B and Figure 6A , where each unit has a continuous track (32) as shown in Figure 3B . A traction actuator (34) controls the rotation of said continuous track (32). Traction force is achieved by mating surfaces, using a series of teeth on the continuous track (32) and a matching pattern on a non-slip top surface (17) of the support surface (11) in Figure 2A . In an alternative embodiment the propulsion unit has non-slip wheels.
Each propulsion unit (14) and supporting arm (15) are housed in a protective enclosure (51) to form part of the load bearing structure of the vehicle as shown in Figure 5A . A middle load support platform (30) shown in Figure 3B connects the two said enclosures and a load (16) can be positioned onto said platform for transportation along the stairs.
Said middle load support platform (30) has a floor surface (52) and flaps (53) at both ends of said floor surface so that accidental sliding of the load off the platform can be prevented as shown in Figure 5A . Said flaps (53) move between the vertical position ( Figure 5B ), that prevents movement of the load off the platform, and a position where the flaps edge make contact with the ground ( Figure 5A ), that allows movement of the load on and off the platform. Flap movement is effected by a central bar (54) operated by a flap actuator (55) positioned in a channel so as to prevent any obstruction to the positioning or movement of the load on the load support platform, as seen in Figure 5A and Figure 5B Said floor surface (52) is manufactured using lightweight multi-layered double-wall structured composite material with cross-orientation. Said composite material is a sandwich panel, with thin glass/epoxy or carbon/epoxy skins, manufactured either as resin infusion, using shaped foam inserts, or direct fabrication using aluminium core sandwich panel 'cut-and-fold' techniques.
In another embodiment, a support surface (11) has a non-slip top surface (17) to prevent slip between the top surface and the vehicle and a non-slip bottom surface (18) to prevent slip between the bottom surface and the stairs, as shown in Figure 2A . Said non-slip top surface (17) has high friction material to prevent sliding of the propulsion means of the vehicle relative to the support surface, and/or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the propulsion means of the vehicle relative to the support surface. Said non-slip bottom surface (18) has high friction material to prevent the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface, or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface.
In the preferred embodiment the load (16) is a wheelchair (56) or a similar device and/or a person. The system (10) can communicate with the person or with the wheelchair (56) via any mode of communication so that the system can get ready to receive the load as the load approaches the system, as shown in Figure 1A . To transition to a ready state, the load transporting vehicle moves to the correct side of the stairs, namely upper or lower side of the stairs, where the load is anticipated to arrive and opens the flaps as shown in Figure 1A .
In one embodiment, the mode of communication between the load transporting vehicle and the wheelchair is via wireless communication between a sensor installed on the vehicle to uniquely identify a wheelchair user and a dedicated communication device on the wheelchair. The method of recognition is a visual recognition using a camera and associated image recognition software, or reception of signal from a smartphone activated by a dedicated application.
A control system (33) continuously monitors the user input (up/down buttons) and the sensors (e.g. inclination sensors), in order to issues appropriate commands to the actuators (traction actuator (34), balancing actuator (31), flap actuator (55)).
The load transporting vehicle (12) is easily assembled and disassembled as shown in Figure 7B and Figure 7C . In one embodiment, said vehicle is packed in two portable containers (70) in the disassembled condition as shown in Figure 7C , where one container houses one movable arm and its attached propulsion unit and another similar container houses the other movable arm and its attached propulsion unit. In said embodiment, the middle load support platform (30) is arranged in two parts, each of said parts pivotably folding so that the load support platform (11) can be totally folded and securely held at the side of a container as shown in Figure 7C . In said embodiment, containers can be easily and quickly carried and/or transported from the disassembly location to another location for assembly, therefore serving multiple locations with a single load transporting vehicle.
In another embodiment, said middle load support platform (30) is independently held as a single folded structure (71) in a collapsed condition, wherein the collapse of load support platform (11) into a folded single structure is achieved by a pulling action at the pivot line of the connecting segments, as shown in Figure 7B . In said embodiment, said load transporting vehicle (12) that comprises of said middle load support platform (30) is packed in a single container (70) that can be easily and quickly carried and/or transported from the disassembly location to another location for assembly, therefore serving multiple locations with a single load transporting vehicle.

Citation list

Claims

A system that can move loads along stairs comprising a support surface (11) and a load transporting vehicle (12), wherein when said support surface (11) is deployed on stairs, said support surface (11) remains flat and straight and provides structural support to said load transporting vehicle (12) and wherein said load transporting vehicle (12) can climb along the stairs by moving on said support surface (11), said load transporting vehicle (12) comprising a load support platform (13), means for propulsion, and means for maintaining during operation, the load support platform (13) at a safe orientation for the load as the load transporting vehicle (12) climbs along the stairs by moving on said support surface (11); characterized in that the load transporting vehicle (12) comprises two moveable arms (15) supporting a movement mechanism so that the vehicle can move along the support surface (11) and rotate in a vertical plane so as to maintain the load support platform (13) in an essentially horizontal position; and in that the load transporting vehicle (12) further comprises two propulsion units, each propulsion unit mounted on one of the two arms (15), wherein the two moveable arms (15) move to maintain contact with a ground support surface (11), as the vehicle moves along stairs, and maintain the load transporting vehicle (12) in an essentially horizontal orientation, and wherein each propulsion unit and supporting arm (15) is housed in a protective enclosure, the protective enclosure forming part of the load bearing structure of the load transporting vehicle (12), and wherein the two protective enclosures are joined by a middle load support platform so that a load can be positioned onto said middle load support platform for transportation along the stairs.
The system of claim 1, said movement mechanism comprising an electric drive motor.
The system of claim 1, wherein each of said arms (15) is supported on a slider crank mechanism and driven by an actuator.
The system of claim 1, wherein said load transporting vehicle (12) operating to keep the load support platform in an essentially horizontal orientation comprises a set of inclination sensors (33) that provide feedback to an actuator that controls the vertical rotation of each of said arms (15) by means of a control system based on the output of the inclination sensors.
The system of claim 1, wherein said middle load support platform of the load transporting vehicle (12) comprises a floor surface and flaps at both ends of the platform so that accidental sliding of the load off the platform can be prevented, and wherein the movement of said flaps between the vertical position, that prevents movement of the load off the platform, and the essentially horizontal position, that allows movement of the load off the platform, is effected by a central bar operated by an actuator wherein said central bar is positioned in a channel so as to prevent any obstruction to the positioning or movement of the load on the load support platform.
The system of claim 5, wherein the floor surface comprises lightweight multi-layered double-wall structured composite material with cross-orientation.
The system of claim 1, wherein the propulsion means of said load transporting vehicle (12) comprise non-slip wheels.
The system of claim 1 wherein the propulsion means of said load transporting vehicle (12) comprise continuous track.
The system of claim 1, wherein said support surface (11) comprise a non-slip top surface to prevent slip between the top surface and the load transporting vehicle (12), wherein said non-slip top surface comprises high friction material to prevent sliding of the propulsion means of the vehicle relative to the support surface (11), and/or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the propulsion means of the load transporting vehicle (12) relative to the support surface (11), and a non-slip bottom surface to prevent slip between the bottom surface and the stairs, wherein said non-slip bottom surface comprises high friction material to prevent the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface (11), and/or geometrical patterns that act as obstacles to the sliding of the edge of each step of the stairs relative to the support surface (11).
The system of claim 1 wherein in the instances when the load is a wheelchair (or a similar device) and/or a person, the load transporting vehicle (12) can communicate with the person or with the wheelchair via any mode of communication so that the load transporting vehicle (12) can get ready to receive the load as the load approaches the load transporting vehicle (12), wherein transition to a ready state may comprise moving the load transporting vehicle (12) to the correct side of the stairs, namely upper or lower side of the stairs, where the load is anticipated to arrive and opening the flaps.
The system of claim 7,
wherein the mode of communication between said vehicle and the wheelchair comprises wireless communication between the load transporting vehicle (12) and a dedicated communication device on the wheelchair, said wireless communication comprises a sensor installed on the vehicle, said sensor operating to uniquely identify a wheelchair user,

wherein said sensor comprising one or more methods of wheelchair user identification, said methods of recognition comprising visual recognition using a camera and associated image recognition software, or reception of signal from a smart phone activated by a dedicated application.
The system of claim 1, wherein the load support platform of the load transporting vehicle is adapted to collapse into a single folded structure by a pulling action at the pivot line of connecting segments.