Torque measurement experiments of a torque detection mechanism implemented on hand-rims of a one hand drive wheelchair

We have been developed an original one hand drive wheelchair. This wheelchair has the original manipulation mechanism with a triple ring and power assist units, which realize some assist functions, the power assist function, the reverse prevention function on upward slops and so on. Furthermore, we have proposed a simple and useful manipulation torque detection mechanism. In this paper, we demonstrate results of torque measurement experiments, which shows that even if the grasping position of the hand on hand rims changes, the accurate detection of manipulation torque can be realized. The result, presented in this paper, shows the validity of the proposing torque detection mechanism.