Speedy Lite Wheelchair

Here are the instructions for our Speedy Lite Wheelchair. Our goal is to create an electric wheelchair that is lightweight, affordable, portable, and has good battery life.

Supplies

REQUIRED MATERIALS

1xDrive medical blue Wheelchair

2xTSINY Reversible motors

2xGC4-Pin joystick

1xDurecell ultra 12V battery

6 feet of aluminum tubing

3 Rod of ss 416 1/2inch steel

Electric Wiring, 15 ft.

Step 1: Assemble and Attach Motors

The figure above shows the right side of the wheelchair. You can plainly see the wiring harness going alongside the frame and the where the motor is attached in front of the wheels on the bottom of the frame.

Retrieve the sprocket with the correct inner diameter for the motor shafts.

Using two clamps per motor, attach the motors to the frame in front of each wheel with the sprockets facing outward.

Clamp tightly in place to the frame using a ⅜ nut driver or wrench.

Step 2: Assemble the Wheel Mount

The first figure shows the rear tailing wheel assembly, the portion of the wheelchair that drives it forward.

The second figure shows the rear tailing wheel assembly connected to the wheelchair, without the battery mount or battery attached.

Using the tubing included in the bill of materials, cut (2) 3 foot sections.

Attach the two pieces of tubing to the hinge using a welder

Weld the stud to the opposite end of the hinge at a slight angle to be used as the hitch point of the wheelchair

Completely unscrew one side of the adjustment assembly.

Connect one hook to each side of the piping and thread the adjuster together again

Weld the wheel assembly to the hinge and only one bar so that the hinge will still operate.

Step 3: Assemble Battery Mount

The figure above shows the rear tailing wheel assembly fully connected to the wheelchair, with the battery mount and battery fully attached and plugged in.

Using the stainless steel rod, cut the rod into a box that will fit snug around your battery. Do this twice. Weld the boxes to shape and then stack them on top of each other. Weld the stacked mounts to the rear wheel frame.

Step 4: Make and Attach Controller/armrest

Attach the motor controllers and switch in a comfortable position under the armrest on each side of the wheelchair. The speed control knobs should be on the outside while the direction switches should be on the inside.

Step 5: Set Up Wiring Between Armrest and Motors

The figure above is showing the right side of the wheelchair unit. Here you can see the motor controls are mounted on the outside of the armrest with the forward/ reverse switch mounted on the inside of the armrest.

Carefully run the wire from the controllers, down the frame and attach the wiring to the motors( positive to positive and negative to negative for right side and negative to positive and positive to negative for the left side).

Run two more wires from the motor controllers to the rear wheel assembly. These will be the wires that will attach to the battery when ready to use.

Operating Instructions

Figure above shows the most condensed profile of the wheelchair and equipment. On the left is the wheelchair with the battery in the right front and the rear tailing wheel assembly in the right rear of the figure.

Step 1: Open the Wheelchair. The wheelchair can be opened by pulling the handles apart until it clicks open.

Step 2: Connect the Battery Place the battery in the battery mount. Connect the battery to the chair via the pigtail.

Step 3: Turn On the Motors Flip the switches on both controllers to the “on” position to make the wheelchair ready to move.

Step 4: Driving the Wheelchair. The wheelchair functions similar to a zero-turn lawn mower. Each motor controls the side that it is mounted to. To increase or decrease speed, the user can twist the dials located on each armrest.

Step 5: Turning off the wheelchair. When done with the wheelchair, turn off both switches on the motor controllers. After the controllers have been switched off, unplug the battery from the pigtail and remove from the battery mount if desired. Fold the wheelchair if desired.