Proposal on reduction of moving load for wheelchair users assuming natural disasters (Basic research and experimental evaluation)

Abstract

In recent years, as a natural disaster in Japan, there were damage from the 2011 Tohoku Region Pacific Offshore Earthquake and the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake. In the event of a disaster, people who are difficult to evacuate can not escape, and sometimes they die. In this research, we investigate damage situation on natural disasters in recent years, and make basic experiments on running experiments simulating bad roads after disasters. Based on the results obtained from experiments, we aim to propose a wheelchair that can be utilized at the time of a disaster or after a disaster. In addition, riding comfort analysis was carried out using the vibration measuring device during the experiment. From the results of the research, it was shown that the introduction of a wheelchair driven vehicle aimed at reducing the load assuming natural disasters is effective. Also, by increasing the size of the front wheel, it is possible to alleviate the gap between the step and the step. It is possible to reduce the load exerted on the body by using a tire with less electric assistance or less resistance.