Stair climbing

About: Stair climbing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1610 publications have been published within this topic receiving 30504 citations.

Stair climbing wheel chair adopting circular gear and non-circular gear transmission mechanisms

Abstract: The invention discloses a stair climbing wheel chair adopting circular gear and non-circular gear transmission mechanisms. The wheel chair comprises a wheel chair inner structure, a wheel chair outer structure and an electrical apparatus control system; the wheel chair inner structure comprises a wheel chair body, a rear-wheel back-and-forth moving mechanism and a wheel chair stair climbing power mechanism; the wheel chair utilizes four gear and non-circular gear transmission mechanisms as the wheel chair stair climbing power mechanism, alternate relative movement is produced between the wheel chair inner structure and the wheel chair outer structure through synchronous transmission of a first gear (35), a second gear (36), a third gear (46) and a fourth gear (47), and by means of the relative movement, the stair climbing action of the wheel chair is completed; in the stair climbing process of the wheel chair, all particles (including a person sitting on the wheel chair) in the wheel chair stably move forwards in a rising or falling mode, and the stable effect of stair climbing movement of the wheel chair is achieved; meanwhile, the wheel chair is simple in structure and low in manufacturing cost.

Stair climbing vehicle

Abstract: PURPOSE:To enable to climb up the foot part of a stairway by a vehicle itself, by making a center height of a driving wheel larger than that of a stair. CONSTITUTION:As a height (h') of the center O of driving wheels 5, 5' is larger than that (h) of a stair in climbing up a stairway, it is possible to make climbing at the foot part 51' of the stairway by a vehicle itself even if an auxiliary tilting stand is not used. Although the vehicle is overturned when a line of action of the center of gravity G of a cargo 51 lies at a position (a), the vehicle can be prevented from overturning, in this case, by moving the center of gravity G to a position G' through movement of a skid 52. In addition to the above, as right and left running devices 9, 9' can be turned and driven independently by right and left driving mechanisms respectively, straight travelling, turning and spin turning can be done easily.

Design Pitfalls lowering Acceptance of Technology-Based Interventions to Advocate Stair-Climbing

Abstract: Stair climbing is a physical activity that can easily be performed in daily life and has a positive influence on health. We investigated the role of technology to promote stair climbing by designing and implementing two prototypes in real-life circumstances. To understand user acceptance and interaction we conducted user studies in a shopping mall and a university building. Based on our findings we derived lessons learned for designing future technology for the promotion of stair climbing.

Could Activity Modifications Indicate Physical Decline Among Adults With Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract: Objectives Mobility activity modifications indicate early functional losses that act as precursors to future declines among community-dwelling older adults. However, there is scarce evidence on whether activity modifications indicate poorer physical health among adults with symptomatic osteoarthritis, a major cause of disability. Our purpose was to investigate whether patient-reported mobility activity modifications indicated poorer physical health among adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Design Secondary cross-sectional analysis of randomized trial data was performed. Preclinical Disability Questionnaire was used to group participants into the following three categories: difficulty, modified, and no difficulty walking/stair climbing. Kruskal Wallis and χ tests were used to compare clinical factors across groups. Results Among 121 participants (median age = 60 yrs; 73% female; 60% white), less than 10% had modified walking/stair climbing. Compared with those with no walking difficulty, participants with modified walking had significantly less balance (P = 0.01) and global health (P = 0.01) as well as greater knee pain (P = 0.05) and physical disability (P = 0.04). Those with modified stair climbing had significantly smaller walking distances (P = 0.03) compared with those with no difficulty stair climbing. Conclusions Activity modifications may signal early impairments in physical health among people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. If confirmed, patient-reported activity modifications may enhance symptom evaluation in osteoarthritis and enable a better understanding of the disablement process.

Conceptual design of a new stair-climbing mobile platform using a hybrid link mechanism

Abstract: High mobility performance is the most important key to mobile robots. In this research, a new indoor stair-climbing mobile platform is proposed on the basis of a hybrid-link mechanism. The hybrid link mechanism combining the passive link with the active mechanism can guarantee well-balanced simplicity as well as adaptability performance in comparison with the previous passive mechanisms. First, a requirement list for a stair-climbing indoor mobile platform is made upon the related researches. Then, a new kinematic model of hybrid link mechanism is suggested by using systematic design methodology. For the optimization of design parameters such as wheel radii and link lengths, the cost function is chosen as the combination of the backward movement and the deviation of path angle during climbing up stairs. Then, the optimization of the kinematic variables for the hybrid link mechanism is carried out via generic algorithm.