Improving the mechanical design of new staircase wheelchair

Purpose – This paper aims to present a new stair‐climbing wheelchair that tries to solve adaptability problems of previous prototypes. Design/methodology/approach – A new prototype has been built using a new strategy. The climbing process is splint into two subproblems: climbing a single step and positioning the wheels on the staircase. Findings – An optimized solution has been found for each subproblem, due to this the presented prototype is able to climb any staircase built according to standards, has a high capacity load and its stable equilibrium is always guaranteed. Research limitations/implications – The presented prototype is able to climb a parallel staircase; future works will try to solve the non parallel staircase climbing problem. Practical implications – The practical application is to build an industrial new model of wheelchair that allows handicapped people to increase their mobility. Originality/value – The principal value of the paper consists in using two independent mechanical solutions to solve the subproblems that appear when the stair‐climbing problem is split.