Maneuvering Chair Transformable to Nursing Care Bed

Abstract

In this paper, we describe a maneuvering chair transformable to a nursing care bed. Most of the caregivers suffer from their lower back pains caused by transferring care-receivers at care beds. In order to reduce the physical burdens of caregivers, we have developed an autonomous chair maneuvered by care-receivers. This chair is able to transfer a care-receiver from a bed without caregiver burden such as holding up the care-receiver. Moreover, the care-receiver can also manipulate the chair as an electric wheelchair. In particular, the joystick controller and the velocity profile of the chair are carefully designed. We propose the concept of the maneuvering chair system, and experimentally evaluate the ride quality of the chair.