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Automated Wheelchair Locks

By Abigail Clayton, William Davignon, Max Jacobs


Table of Contents:
1. Components

2. Initial Setup

3. Daily Use and Maintenance

4. Troubleshooting and Repairs


Components

Electrical Housing that contains the


protoboard and the Arduino, along with the
battery and some extra wire lengths. In the
pouch on the back of the chair.

Arduino processing board stored in the


electrical housing.

9V Battery used to power the Arduino and the


sensors. Stored in the electrical housing.

Protoboard used to solder all the sensors back


to one central location to then connect to the
Arduino. Stored in the electrical housing.
Distance sensor used as one of the two sensors
run in conjunction to detect whether someone
is getting up. Mounted on the front right of the
wheelchair’s pipe frame. Calibrated based on
the “Motion Sensor Calibration Curve.”

Servo unit used to press the brake pads onto


the wheels. Located at the back of the chair on
both the left and the right side.

Brake pads located at the back of the chair


along with the servo motors. Used to lock the
wheels in place using their unique oblong
toothed shape.

Pressure sensor that uses a varying elastic


resistor that spans the width of the seat.
Located about the seat, mounted to the two
pipe frames on either side. Calibrated based
on the “Resistance Band Calibration Curve.”
Initial Setup
1. Mount the distance sensor to its component location stated under the component section.
Do this by first assembling its stand, including the casing that surrounds the sensor.
2. Mount the elastic pressure sensor across its two guides, then use the clips attached to the
protoboard to create a connection across the band.
3. Mount the servo motors at the back left and back right, making sure the brake pads are
placed curved side down, with the pinhole towards the back.
4. Begin bundling the wires that leave these components back to the electrical housing to
ensure cables are out of the way and won’t interfere with day to day mobility.
5. Lastly, double check all pin connections using the circuit diagram below, then connect
the red terminal of the battery to the Vin port, and then the black terminal to ground
Daily Use and Maintenance
Since this product is an automatic product, for daily use just make sure to connect the battery in

the housing, and at night make sure to disconnect it. In future models we hope to add an on-off

switch to make this much easier on the user. As for day to day maintenance, make sure to swap

the battery every 2 days to ensure there isn’t a loss of power while the product is in use. Also

make sure to check on the condition of the elastic band, and if there is any severe wear and tear,

or noticeable damage, to order a replacement band to make sure the system is fully functional. If

the user notices that only one brake pad seems to be activated, check the screw connecting the

pad to the turning mechanism, as this has the potential to loosen, which will decrease the brake

pads ability to lock.


Troubleshooting and Repairs

The most common issue that occurs is the pressure sensor begins to loosen overtime, and will

either need to be restrung, or over enough use, possibly even replaced. To do this simply thread

the new band, or push the existing one, deeper into its mounting holes, from there you can use

the key hole on the opposite side with just a household paper clip and guide the band back in the

direction of the clamps that allow the completing the circuit. An appropriate length compressed

by the clamp would be the first half inch to inch of the elastic cable. Another possible error is

that a connection between the battery, or one of the pin inputs in the Arduino can come loose. To

check this, consult the circuit diagram on the initial setup page, and confirm that all cables within

the electrical housing are all connected to one of the pins marked. Unless it is a failed soldered

connection to the protoboard, feel free to push the missing pins back into their respective slots as

needed. In the case of damaged soldering, please return the product, or have a local electronics

store look at it, along with the circuit diagram, and see if they might be able to repair it. Lastly,

and certainly very scarce in occurrence, is a failure in the motor mount mechanism. This can be

caused by either a loose set screw, causing issues such as loose brake pads, or heavy loss in

locking capability. If this is to occur, please stop the use of our product immediately, and email

us and allow us to remount the motor system.


Calibration Curves

Motion Sensor Calibration Curve

Resistance Band Calibration Curve

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