Improvement of Operability for Electric Power-Assisted Lift for Transferring Assistance

Abstract

　In recent years, as progressing a declining birthrate and a growing proportion of elderly people rapidly, the burden on caregivers is increasing. To reduce the physical burden of caregivers, various power-assisted systems have been developed for housing care. We have also developed an electrical power-assisted lift for transferring. However, there are some issues to overcome to improve the operability of the system.

　The purpose of this paper is to improve the operability of the power-assisted lift for transference assistance, where the smoothness control is applied to reduce impact force at the mode change. Friction compensation based on a rolling friction model is also introduced. The effectiveness of the proposed power assist system has been verified by experiments using a prototype of a transferring lift.