Solar Electric Wheelchair S3
1997.11.29
Shunya Susuki

To S3 bacic specification

 I had made two solar electric cars S1 and S2 till now, and I challenged producing a solar electric wheelchair as S3 this time. I had been warming the idea of the solar electric wheelchair since the nine years before I had begun to just make a solar electric car. In fact I started making it from a half year after I purchased a wheelchair. According as I studied the self-run-type wheelchair which I purchased, I knew that it was rational structure without waste, and I changed my original plan to put not only the power system such as motors and batteries but also each switches on it for driver's easy operation according to each result of the studies. In other words, I paid attention to how to assemble a solar panel, a motor, battery and a switch not to downgrade the function of the self-run-type wheelchair with my pursuing the operability of the drive transmission system. And what I made much of particularly till the last was the easy way for the driver to get on and off . When I let two wheelchair users take a test ride on S3, fortunately, I could get a favorable reputation, and I really felt worth having done so. But there is the rest of challenge namely the folding mechanism of the wheelchair as the one of the functions that I was not able to realize this time, but this is my future research theme. (Test Run : animation 1,042KB)

 By the way, I think that the demand for wheelchairs will increase in future in Japan that aging goes ahead rapidly. And I can imagine that various functions and designs will be requested for the wheelchairs from the viewpoint of usability, safety and each person's taste. In the field of the car also, the small electric cars which is the kind of green car will be develop quickly in future. Even if people think this situation might be different, perhaps the study on thus electric wheelchair will influence on the field of the car in the future. As if it were downsizing in the field of the computer that small work stations and personal computers that had been improved more than expected in terms of their performance had spread out instead of super computers.



To Earth Friendly