Design and control of actively combined carrier system for the elderly

In this work, an active conbined carrier which combines a wheel chair and a bed is introduced. This carrier is designed for disabled or elderly persons by providing them with an integrated moving carrier and bath-bed, helping them use a bath without using their bodies. In particular, omni-directional wheels are utilized to move to any direction without turning the carrier body widely, reducing turing space and operation time. To be combined with the lying bathtub, the bed and wheel chair are separated by using distinguished mechanisms. At the same time, the carrier is designed to be docked with the bathtube autonomosly or manually. An appropriate wheel base is determined by taking weight balance and pulling force in a incline into consideration, which contributes to preventing turn-over in any case.