Home > Published Issues > 2020 > Volume 9, No. 9, September 2020 >

Design and Test of Quad Cane Structure

Fang-Lin Chao, Yu-Che Huang, and Wen-Jie Xiao
Department of Industrial Design, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taiwan

Abstract—Degradation of body function makes older adults move slowly; use a cane to share joints weight and eliminate the imbalance caused by sudden interference. Physicians do not recommend using two-handed assistive devices to ascend or descend stairs, and patients in good condition should use one-handed assistive devices. In addition to the lateral movement, the up and downstairs also include height changes. When the width of the ladder is limited, there is not enough space for the cane base, and the sudden movement and change of center of gravity can easily cause the sliding. Therefore, we propose two improved designs so that the cane shaft is perpendicular to the contact when ascending and descending the stairs. This study suggests modification design of the quad cane and obtains feedback through user testing to select its design parameters. Based on safety and strength considerations, an iron sheet was also selected. Type A provides a recessed area of the base that can be adjusted; Type B included a collapsible base. As part of the design process, seniors were invited to try it out and evaluate its feasibility. Both designs can be finalized based on the elderly’s specific condition.

Index Terms—quad cane, structure design, stair, folding structure

Cite: Fang-Lin Chao, Yu-Che Huang and Wen-Jie Xiao, "Design and Test of Quad Cane Structure," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 9, No. 9, pp. 1294-1299, September 2020. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.9.9.1294-1299

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.