Patent Publication Number: US-2007100511-A1

Title: Wheelchair control display with infrared capability

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 60/725,393 and 60/725,570, both filed on Oct. 11, 2005. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION  
      The present invention is generally related to land vehicles, and more particularly related to personal mobility vehicles. Most particularly, the invention is related to the control of environmental devices by wheelchairs.  
      It is not easy to set up and interact with an environmental device via conventional wheelchairs. What is needed is a manner in which a wheelchair occupant may more easily interact with environmental devices.  
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION  
      The present invention is directed to the control of environmental devices by wheelchairs.  
      A wheelchair control display may comprise a modal screen with one or more features corresponding to functional inputs of a user input device. Each of the features may be tagged with a command associated with an environmental device. When one of the features is selected, a signal associated with the tag may be transmitted to the environmental device.  
      A wheelchair that controls environmental devices may comprise a chassis, one or more ground engaging wheels, a user input device and a control display. The wheels are provided for supporting the chassis for movement in relation to a supporting surface (i.e., the floor or the ground). The wheels may include one or more driven wheels and one or more non-driven caster wheels. The one or more driven wheels may be driven by one or more drive motors. The input device may be supported in relation to the chassis. The control display may be supported in relation to the chassis and may comprise a modal screen with one or more control commands corresponding to control functions of an environmental device. The control commands may be selected by the input device to operate the environmental device.  
      A method for setting up a wheelchair control display may comprise the step of entering into the wheelchair control system a code that matches a control code of a given environmental device.  
      Another method for setting up a wheelchair control system may comprise the steps of entering on a wheelchair control display a code comprised of one or more digits and/or characters by searching through a string or array of the digits and/or characters using at least a first control command, and selecting one of the digits or characters by using at least a second control command. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of an exemplary power wheelchair.  
       FIG. 2  is a top plan view of an exemplary hand control.  
       FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of an exemplary control display.  
       FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary driver menu.  
       FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary main menu.  
       FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary expansive menu tree.  
       FIG. 7  is a rear elevational view of the control display shown in  FIG. 3 .  
       FIG. 8  is an environmental, side elevational view of the wheelchair shown in  FIG. 1  with signals transmitted therefrom.  
       FIGS. 9A-9G  are diagrammatic representations depicting exemplary screen menu instructions for setting up the control display to function as a universal remote control unit for an environmental device.  
       FIGS. 10A-10C  are diagrammatic representations depicting exemplary screen menu instructions for setting up the control display to function as a universal remote control unit for an environmental device using a multi digit code.  
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a remote control training the control display shown in  FIG. 7 .  
       FIGS. 12A-12B  are diagrammatic representations depicting exemplary screen menu instructions for programming functions of the control display to operate an environmental device.  
       FIGS. 13A-13F  are diagrammatic representations depicting exemplary screen-menu instructions for locating control functions of an environmental device.  
       FIG. 14  is a diagrammatic representation of an exemplary mode menu for controlling an environmental device. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1 a  power wheelchair, generally indicated at  10 . The wheelchair  10  may comprise a chassis, which may be inclusive of a frame  12 , and which may be supported for movement in relation to a supporting surface (i.e., the floor or the ground) by one or more ground engaging wheels, such as the driven wheels  14  and the non-driven caster wheels  16  shown. The driven wheels  14  may be driven by one or more drive motors  18 . The chassis is dimensioned and configured to support various wheelchair components, such as but not limited to a battery tray (not shown) for supporting one or more batteries for providing power to the wheelchair  10 , a wiring assembly for supplying power to, and providing communication between, various electronic components of a wheelchair control system and optional electronics, and a seat assembly  20  for supporting a wheelchair occupant. The seat assembly  20  may be of the type that tilts and/or lifts and reclines, and preferably has opposing armrests  22  for supporting the wheelchair occupant&#39;s arms and leg rests  24  for supporting the wheelchair occupant&#39;s legs. The armrests  22  may support for attachment one or more user input devices, such as the user input device  26  and the control display  28  shown. The various electronic components may include a motor control for controlling the drive motors  18  and various other general functions of the wheelchair  10 , a specialty input module for controlling switch-type inputs (e.g., Sip-and-Puff, ASL, Switch-It and Tash discrete switches, and a head control), a multi actuator control (MAC) for controlling one or more actuators (e.g., seat tilt, shear, lift and recline actuators and leg rest actuators), and an environmental control module (ECM) for interfacing with environmental devices, including but not limited to infrared devices, radio frequency devices, or other wireless devices, including but not limited to those using Bluetooth® technology, of Bellevue, Washington, USA.  
      In  FIG. 2 , there is illustrated an exemplary user input device  26 , which is in the form of a three-button joystick assembly having on/off, mode and horn buttons, although other user input devices, including switch-type inputs (e.g., Sip-and-Puff, ASL, Switch-It and Tash discrete switches, and a head control), may be employed. The description that follows will refer to the mode button, which represents one of many inputs with which the invention may be practiced, and joystick toggle directions or commands, such as the up (i.e., forward), down (i.e., reverse), left and right toggle directions shown. Similar toggle directions or commands may be achieved with other inputs (e.g., switches or buttons).  
      In  FIG. 3 , the front of the control display  28  is illustrated as having a power switch  30 , which turns on and off the control display  28  and preferably the power wheelchair  10 . When the control display  28  is turned on, there may appear a drive display that comprises a ready-to-drive screen. This screen may be like a dashboard that may indicate the current drive profile, the type of user input device being used in this case, a joystick, a speedometer, an odometer and a trip odometer, a battery indicator, and a speed tick mark (not shown), which indicates the maximum speed available in the current drive profile. When this screen is displayed, movement of the hand control  26  may cause the wheelchair  10  to move. The drive display may provide real-time feedback about the wheelchair&#39;s performance to allow the wheelchair occupant to more easily gauge the operation of the wheelchair. To move to a driver menu, simply press the mode button.  
      The driver menu, as is illustrated in  FIG. 4 , comprises a list of “shortcuts” to most commonly used non-driving related menu items or functions by the wheelchair occupant. From this menu, the wheelchair occupant can return to the drive display by simply pressing the mode button or quickly toggling the joystick to the left, or if the wheelchair is provided with a timed function, by waiting for a predetermined amount of time to lapse. To enter a main menu, toggle the joystick to the left and hold the joystick in this position for a predetermined period of time (e.g., five seconds).  
      The main menu, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , may be the starting point of the electronic menu tree and may contain all the available main menu selection items accessible through the control display  28 . The available menu selection items in the illustrated main menu include program, operate, monitor, information, and faults. To return to the drive menu, press the mode button, toggle the joystick to the left (or if a timed function is provided, wait for a predetermined amount of time to lapse).  
      The main menu may be the top menu in an expansive menu tree, as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . To navigate or move up or down the menu screen, simply toggle the joystick up or down. Similar up or down commands can be achieved with other hand controls or inputs. To move up and down a menu tree (illustrated in  FIG. 5 ), simply toggle the joystick left or right. The level in the menu tree may be indicated by a plus sign at the upper top or another location of the display screen, as illustrated in the drawings.  
      There may be different user access levels in the control display  28 . One level (i.e., driver and faults) may allow the wheelchair occupant to access the driver menu and fault codes. Another level (i.e., operate and faults) may allow the wheelchair occupant to operate the wheelchair seat as well as switch-type inputs (e.g., Sip-and-Puff, ASL, Switch-It and Tash discrete switches, and a head control). Another level (i.e., operate, monitor, information and faults) may allow wheelchair functions to be monitored. Yet another level (i.e., program, operate, monitor, information and faults) may allow basic and more advanced wheelchair functions to be programmed.  
      As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the back of the control display  28  may have a transceiver  32 , which by example is an infrared transceiver. Though the transceiver  32  is provided on the back of the control display  28 , it may be provided elsewhere on the wheelchair  10 . The transceiver  32  may permit the control display  28  to function as a universal remote control unit for emitting infrared command signals to infrared receptive devices, such as but not limited to audio visual (AV) devices, for example, televisions (TV), set top boxes (STB) (e.g., cable and satellite dish receivers), high fidelity equipment (e.g., tuners and amplifiers, receivers, etc.), digital versatile disk players (DVD), digital video recorders (DVR) (e.g., TIVO, trademark of TIVO, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., U.S.A.), video cassette recorders (VCR), and compact disk players (CD).  
      The infrared functions of the control display  28  work by broadcasting or emitting infrared control signals from the transceiver  32  to an infrared receptive device. The infrared control signals emitted from the infrared transceiver  32  preferably spread out at an angle of about 15 degrees, as illustrated in  FIG. 8 , and have a strong reception at distances up to 20 feet, although this may vary according to the transceiver employed.  
      In  FIGS. 9A-9G , there are illustrated exemplary screen menu instructions for setting up the control display  28  to function as a universal remote control unit for an infrared receptive device. In these screen instructions, the infrared receptive device is a television. In this example, the control display  28  is set up from the drive menu shown in  FIG. 9A  by first pressing the mode button. This would open the driver menu shown in  FIG. 9B , as described above. The wheelchair occupant would then, with the joystick, toggle down to the IR control menu selection item and toggle to the right. This would open the IR control sub-menu shown in  FIG. 9C . The wheelchair occupant would then toggle down to the IR AV control menu selection item and again toggle to the right. This would open the IR AV control sub-menu shown in  FIG. 9D . From the IR AV control sub-menu, the wheelchair occupant can toggle right to open the IR AV setup sub-menu shown in  FIG. 9E . The wheelchair occupant would then toggle down to the menu selection item corresponding to the device the wheelchair occupant wishes to set up, in this example, the TV menu selection item, and then toggle to the right. This would open the TV sub-menu shown in  FIG. 9F . In the TV sub-menu, remote operation of an IR receptive device is activated by toggling to the right at the enable menu selection item to change the enable status to “yes,” as indicated in  FIG. 9G . Once the enable status is changed, the wheelchair occupant may then toggle down to select either the TV setup menu selection item or the TV train menu selection item. To disable the remote operation, the enable status may be changed back to “no.” It should be appreciated that the labels and navigation scheme described above are provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced with other labels and navigation schemes.  
      In  FIGS. 10A-10C , there are illustrated exemplary screen menu instructions for setting up the control display  28  to function as a universal remote control unit for a television using a multi (e.g., four) digit code. Each manufacturer has its own four digit setup codes. Other environmental devices (e.g., set top boxes, high fidelity equipment, digital versatile disk players, digital video recorders, video cassette records, and compact disk players) can be set up with similar four digit codes. In the TV sub-menu shown in  FIG. 10A , toggle down to the TV setup menu selection item and then toggle to the right. This would open the TV setup menu shown in  FIG. 10B . The wheelchair occupant would then follow the instructions appearing on the display screen for entering the four digit code, as shown in the drawing. For example, toggling up increments a digit, toggling down decrements a digit, toggling left moves to the left to the next digit, and toggling right moves to the right to the previous digit. In the illustrated example, the four digit code is “4095.” Once the four digit code has been entered, the wheelchair occupant can escape from the TV setup menu by pressing the mode button, which is described above with reference to  FIG. 2 . Continue to press the mode button to return back to the drive menu, or if a timed function is provided, wait for a predetermined amount of time to lapse. It should be appreciated that the labels, instructions and navigation scheme described above are provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced by other labels, instructions and navigation schemes.  
      If the four digit codes do not work after going through the TV setup above, or if the device does not have a four digit code, the control display  28  may be trained. Most devices with infrared capability have a handheld infrared remote control. Training essentially programs the control display  28  to mimic infrared codes that are transmitted by the manufacturer&#39;s remote control.  
      Whenever a button on a remote control is pressed, the remote control transmits an infrared code corresponding to that button&#39;s function. The infrared transceiver  32  on the back of the control display  28 , or located elsewhere on the wheelchair  10 , may both transmit and receive infrared codes. Aiming a remote control at the back of the control display  28  and pressing the button for a particular function (e.g., Channel Up) transmits or beams that button&#39;s infrared code into the transceiver  32 , as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . These infrared codes can be logged as functions displayed on the control display TV train sub-menu. Once logged, any time these functions are selected in the control display menu, the infrared codes are transmitted from the control display  28 .  
      In  FIG. 12A , there are illustrated exemplary screen menu instructions for programming the control display  28 . Toggle right at the highlighted function to train that function (e.g., Ch Up). This will open a display screen for training that function. The display can provide by example instructions for logging an infrared code, as illustrated in  FIG. 12B . The instructions may, for example, prompt the wheelchair occupant to position the remote control in front of the transceiver  32 , preferably about 8-12 inches from the back of the control display  28 , as illustrated in  FIG. 11 . Quickly toggle the joystick to the right to prompt the transceiver  32  to receive an infrared signal. Press the channel up function button on the remote control to transmit the infrared code to the transceiver  32 . Once the control display  28  is programmed, toggle left to exit. An asterisk or other indicia may appear next to the programmed function to indicate that it has been “trained.” Press the mode button to exit the TV train menu when training is complete. It should be appreciated that the labels, instructions, and navigation scheme described above are provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced with other labels, instructions and navigation schemes.  
      Once an infrared receptive device has been set up for use, operation is simply a matter of toggling to the appropriate screen menu. For example, in  FIGS. 13A-13F  there are illustrated exemplary screen-menu instructions for locating the control functions of an infrared receptive device, in this example, control functions of the television. The drawings provide a roadmap that starts from at the drive menu (illustrated in  FIG. 13A ), which appears when the wheelchair  10  is turned on. To locate a list of television control functions, simply toggle down and right through the driver menu and IR menu to the IR AV control menu. In the IR AV control menu, toggle down to TV and then toggle right to open the TV menu selection item. Next, toggle down to TV list and then again toggle right to open the TV list menu selection item. This will open a list of television control functions (e.g., Power, Ch Up, Ch Dn, Vol Up, Vol Dn, Mute, etc.). Generic labels may be provided in the control list. These labels may be programmed to function as controls for control functions not found in the list. It should be appreciated that the labels, instructions, and navigation scheme described above are provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced by other labels, instructions, and navigation schemes.  
      To operate an infrared receptive device, such as the television, toggle right on a control function. For example, toggle right on the power control function to turn the television “on” and toggle right on the power control function again to turn the television “off.” Toggle right on the Ch Up control function to view the next television channel and toggle right on the Ch Dn control function to view the previous television channel. Toggle right on the Vol Up control function to turn the television volume up and toggle right on the Vol Dn control function to turn the television volume down. It should be appreciated that the labels described above are provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced by other labels.  
      An infrared receptive device, such as the television, may alternatively be controlled using a TV mode menu instead of the TV list menu described above by simply toggling right on the TV mode menu selection item in the IR AV control menu shown in  FIG. 13E . The mode menu or feature preferably provides the most common control functions for operating the infrared receptive device. In  FIG. 14 , only four control functions or commands are displayed, in the example of the television, these are Ch Up, Ch Dn, Vol Up and Vol Dn. These commands are provided in the form of screen arrows, though the commands may appear in other forms. Toggle in the direction of the screen arrows to activate any of the displayed commands. Press the mode button to exit the mode menu when finished. Although only four command choices are shown, it should be understood that fewer or more choices may be displayed. For example, the choices shown are displayed along the top, bottom, left and right of the menu screen. Additional choices can be displayed in the corners of the menu screen, resulting in the total of eight command choices. It should be appreciated that the labels and instructions described above are provided by example, and that other labels and instructions may be provided. It should also be appreciated that the navigation scheme described above is provided by example, and that the invention may be practiced by other navigation schemes.  
      An exemplary method for allowing a user to set up a control display so that the codes transmitted for a given infrared receptive device match those of the control display may be summarized, for example, as follows. For a multi digit code to be entered, the user may enter a digit of the multi digit code by incrementing or decrementing the value for each digit using, for example, forward and reverse commands on the control display. The next digit may be selected using, for example, right and left commands on the control display. Once all the digits have been entered or set, an escape command using, for example, the mode button may exit the screen. Alternatively, the screen may be exited, for example, if the wheelchair is provided with a timed function, after a period of time has lapsed, or after some other condition has been met.  
      An exemplary manner in which a user may more easily interact with an infrared receptive device may be summarized, by example, as follows. To make it easier to interact with the infrared receptive device, the control display may present a modal screen with a plurality of features or commands, such as buttons in the form of arrows pointing in a plurality of directions, such as in the four directions shown in  FIG. 14 . In  FIG. 14 , four arrows are shown pointing up, down, left, and right. The four arrows correspond to four directional inputs of a user input device, although other features or commands may be used. Each of the arrows may be tagged or otherwise associated with a common command associated with the infrared receptive device. When one of the directional inputs is selected, an infrared code associated with the tag is transmitted. For example, in TV mode, the display screen may present a screen as shown in  FIG. 14 . Selecting a forward (i.e., up arrow) command will cause a channel up infrared code to be transmitted to the television. In this way, the user need not break concentration from the infrared receptive device to scroll down a list of commands, as shown in  FIG. 13F , from which to select. This modal menu will remain on the screen until an escape command is issued using, for example, the mode button, or if the wheelchair is provided with a timed function and a period of time has lapsed, or some other condition is met. For less frequently used commands, the user can select from a list, as shown in  FIG. 13F , the infrared code to be sent.  
      The transceiver, command signal, receptive devices, functions and receiver mentioned above, are infrared by example. It should be appreciated that the invention may be practiced with other transceiver, command signal, receptive devices (i.e., environmental devices), functions and receiver.  
      The principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.