Wheelchair Power Kicker

Commissioned by San Leandro School District, the Power Kicker is a wheelchair-mounted mechanism that enables wheelchair using students to participate in ball-kicking activities otherwise inaccessible to them. Engineers and machinists worked together to design, prototype, fabricate, and test hardware within demanding schedule and resource constraints to experience the full design cycle.

Project Contributions

  • Project specifications documents.

  • DFM and maintenance guide for future teams.

  • Button and wheelchair attachment system design and testing.

  • Quantitative analysis.

Wheelchair Project Quad Chart.jpg

Mechanical Design Overview

  • Kicker arm angled back to provide an up-angle kick.

  • Kicker arm CNC machined from aluminum.

  • Powered by two 4.44 lb/in springs; 16.9 lb max force each.

  • Foot press for reset requires less than 20 lb force on pedal.

  • “Big Buddy Button” can be activated with 5.3-oz of force and provides tactile feedback.

  • Articulating arms are adaptable to a wide range of wheelchair configurations.

IMG_2709.jpg

Quantitative Analysis

  • Relationship established between work done by springs and kinetic energy of ball.

  • Two limiting cases (translation with and without ball rotation) establish initial velocity to satisfy requirement (15-30ft in 3s), analyzed numerically for air drag.

  • Result: Spring constant for main power springs must be between 1 lbf/in and 44 lbf/in