Today, electric wheelchairs are mostly purchased by the elderly and disabled groups with limited mobility. Compared to manual wheelchairs, a major advantage of electric wheelchairs is that they are electrically driven, with sufficient power and speed. However, driving a wheelchair will inevitably encounter sections of up and down slopes, which can easily lead to dangerous occurrences such as tipping and tipping up and down slopes. Hence, the safety factor of the wheelchair is a great concern to them. As a professional electric wheelchair company, this article will analyze what you should pay attention to when going up and down a slope in an electric wheelchair.

1. Why does the wheelchair roll over?

Wheelchairs go up and down slopes, involving the knowledge of mechanics in physics. To briefly summarize: wheelchair acceleration, slope angle, and wheelchair center of gravity, these three together constitute the wheelchair on the slope stability factors.

a > g (cos(θ) ) * L / H - sin(θ) )

The greater the acceleration, the more likely it is to roll over (larger a, larger rollover moment)

The higher the angle, the easier it is to roll over (large θ)

The shorter the length of the wheelchair car, the higher the car body (L/H coefficient is small, easy to overturn)

Therefore, what we need to know is.

(1) learn the correct use of power wheelchairs.

(2) Choose a more gentle slope.

(3) Choose a safety-compliant power wheelchair with the center of gravity in the center or front of the wheelchair to reduce the chance of rollover.

2. Electric wheelchair up and down slope skills.

The general accessibility of the slope is no more than 5 °, and manual wheelchairs can easily pass. However, there are often more complicated situations in life. What should we do at this time?

(1) Going up the slope.

Try to choose a flat, straight-down slope with no turns, and don't hang too many heavy items on the back of the wheelchair (such as backpacks, storage bags, etc.) when going uphill. When the steep slope is steep, lean your body forward to stabilize your center of gravity.

The motor power mainly determines electric wheelchair climbing performance, and high horsepower motor power is sufficient and easy to climb the slope. In contrast, low horsepower motor climbing slope will relatively struggle. In the general market wheelchair, motor power is within 500w. The higher the power, the easier it is to climb the slope. The higher the power, the easier it is to climb. The electric wheelchair company will also consider the climbing problem when designing the wheelchair. The power is small, the weight of the wheelchair will be designed to be lighter, and the uphill is effortless.

Another thing to note is that even though the wheelchair is designed with enough horsepower, it is still important to pay attention to safety when climbing overly steep slopes. When the tilt angle is too large, there may be a risk of tipping over due to the change in the center of gravity. Safety first, prevention first!

(2) Downhill.

Check the road for obstacles, adjust the speed to 1 gear, and when the car is accelerating too fast, you can let go and lower the speed; when you encounter a steep slope, lean your body back slightly to keep your center of gravity stable.

Going downhill is also an important scene to test the safety performance of wheelchairs. A good wheelchair brakes smoothly, and the speed can be immediately braked even if it is faster. This kind of wheelchair generally has electromagnetic brakes.

Here to remind the point, wheelchair driving must be fastened seat belts. Downhill, even if the brake is good, people will still have a forward movement due to the role of inertia. If not fastened, seat belts will be dangerous.

For consumers who usually need to travel frequently up and down slopes, it is recommended to buy electric wheelchairs with large tires and electromagnetic brakes, large tires with sufficient friction, reliable electromagnetic brakes, and safer when going downhill.

Finally, no matter what brand of wheelchair, driving sideways on a slope is very dangerous. Electric wheelchairs are mostly used by the elderly and the disabled, so remember to pay attention to safety when using them!

If you need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us!