Patient transfer aids with counterbalance mechanisms and multiple spur gear-based reference plane linkages

Do Won Kim, Won Bum Lee, Jae Bok Song

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    In general, patient transfer procedures in hospitals or nursing homes are performed manually by caregivers. Several patient transfer assist robots have been developed to relieve the burden on caregivers during such transfers. However, existing robots face a limitation in that the payload is limited due to problems, such as the motor and reducer capacity and the electrical energy consumption rate. To overcome these limitations, this study proposed a patient transfer aid consisting of a link-type counterbalance mechanism and a novel reference plane linkage based on multiple spur gears. The patient transfer aid comprises a 1 DOF vertical sliding joint and 3 DOF revolute joints to transport the patient in various postures. The developed device can transport patients weighing up to 140 kg even with small-capacity motors and reducers. The performance of the patient transfer aid was verified through motor current comparison experiments.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number103020
    JournalMechatronics
    Volume94
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2023 Oct

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    This research was supported by the MOTIE under the Industrial Foundation Technology Development Program supervised by the KEIT (no. 20014923 )

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2023

    Keywords

    • Counterbalance mechanism
    • Mechanism design
    • Patient transfer aid
    • Reference plane linkage

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Control and Systems Engineering
    • Mechanical Engineering
    • Computer Science Applications
    • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Patient transfer aids with counterbalance mechanisms and multiple spur gear-based reference plane linkages'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this