{"id":14614,"date":"2021-12-10T16:57:17","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T21:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.ideate.cmu.edu\/60-223\/f2021\/work\/?p=14614"},"modified":"2021-12-10T16:57:17","modified_gmt":"2021-12-10T21:57:17","slug":"automated-umbrella-by-team-pomegranates-final-documentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.ideate.cmu.edu\/60-223\/f2021\/work\/automated-umbrella-by-team-pomegranates-final-documentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Automated Umbrella by Team Pomegranates: Final Documentation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew Wagner, Serena Ying, Yuqi (Alice) Zhou for Brenda<\/h3>\n

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1. Introduction<\/h3>\n

For our final project, we were tasked to work with a client to develop a personal assistive device which would help improve an aspect of their lives. Our client, Brenda, uses a power chair and spends the majority of her time with it due to limited mobility. One problem she was very enthusiastic about solving was using an umbrella that would cover the electronics on her power chair if it was raining, and which could also be used as a sunshade when she participates in protests in the summer. So, for our project, we decided to realize the idea that Brenda proposed– an automated umbrella opener and closer which could be mounted on the back of her chair and activated easily without having to hold the actual umbrella. For more details and interview documentation with Brenda, please see here:<\/p>\n

Interview Documentation Team Pomegranates<\/a><\/p>\n

2. What We Built<\/h3>\n

Our project works very simply. The umbrella and the control boxes are to be mounted to a power chair, utilizing the existing interface of the back of the chair. The device has three buttons the user operates to control the umbrella. The power button allows the other buttons to be activated, so the umbrella isn’t accidentally raised or lowered when not desired. The device plays a little jingle to alert the user that the device is on. From there the user uses the other two buttons to raise and lower the umbrella respectively. The buttons activate a motor which pulls a string attached to the top of the umbrella, to pull it to the open position.<\/p>\n

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Since Brenda wasn’t able to make it to our final critique, we weren’t able to mount the device on her wheelchair. However, we look forward to connecting in the future.<\/p><\/div>\n

\nhttps:\/\/courses.ideate.cmu.edu\/60-223\/f2021\/work\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/20211202_003859_1.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Final working video – button presses engage motor either CW or CCW to pull rope through pulleys mounted in the base box and at the umbrella apex and tension or release the umbrella<\/em><\/p>\n

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The Control Box houses the buttons that Brenda uses to power on\/off (green) the device as well as raise and lower the umbrella. The box is mounted such that the two white buttons are aligned vertically, where “raise” is on top of “lower”.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The box hosting the wiring, motor and pulley system.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The box as well as the umbrella itself are mounted to an aluminum extrusion beam.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The aluminum extrusion beam attaches to Brenda’s chair using the black clips that pin to cylindrical components of the chair. The pole of the umbrella is also connected similarly to where Brenda’s headrest is, to prevent the umbrella from wanting to rotate.<\/p><\/div>\n

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An inside look at the box shows the orientation of the motor amidst the wires and battery pack used to power the device. The motor spins the pully to wind and release the string used to raise and lower the umbrella. The worm gear inside the motor, prevents rotation of the axel when the motor is shut off or when the umbrella is raised so that it stays raised during use.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The string goes up the pole of the umbrella and around another pully fixed at a bearing at the top of the umbrella. This bearing is bolted into the umbrella pole allowing the string to pull up the “runner” which slides up the pole to open the umbrella. Typically, the runner is moved manually, but our device automates this procedure.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Umbrella at a open position<\/p><\/div>\n

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Umbrella at a close position<\/p><\/div>\n

Brenda spends most of her waking hours sitting in her wheelchair, so accessibility is super important. On a given rainy or very sunny day, Brenda would decide to use our assistive device to protect her from the elements. With some help attaching the mount to the back of her power chair, Brenda is ready to be outside and go about her journey without any additional assistance. With the press of a button that is easily in reach on her left arm rest, Brenda powers the device, allowing her to control raising and lowering the umbrella by pressing and holding the adjacent buttons. The umbrella is able raise and lower while not obstructing Brenda’s vision in front of her and protects the entirety of the power chair due to the large diameter when raised.<\/p>\n

On a particular rainy day, Brenda doesn’t worry about driving her chair through the rain because the umbrella will protect the controls and electrical components of the chair that are susceptible to water damage. The umbrella will protect her from the rain, and she is able to raise and lower the umbrella freely to accommodate her busy work schedule.<\/p>\n

In the summer, Brenda chooses to attend a protest but is worried her chair’s stature will cause her to get lost in the crowds. To both protect her from the sun and help the people she is with to identify her in a crowd, Brenda uses our device to stay safe and be independent while fighting for what she believes in.<\/p>\n

3. Prototypes and Process<\/h3>\n

This prototype was designed to help answer one question: does the motor we decided to use to pull the umbrella open have enough torque to lift the runner of the umbrella due to the umbrella’s size and weight.<\/p>\n

For our prototype, we only utilized the top half the umbrella pole and attached the motor, pulley assembly to the pole using duct-tape. Using a borrowed motor driver and a lever switch, we were able to control up, then down of the umbrella using a single press for each. At this stage the switch activated the motor to rotate for a fixed amount of time. We had to hold the umbrella upright as no mount was created at this point. Additionally, we designed and 3-D printed a bearing for the top of the umbrella which held a pully, allowing the string to raise the umbrella. The motor wounds the string in tension to pull up, and releases that tension, relying on gravity to bring the umbrella back to the lowered position.<\/p>\n

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We grounded the motor to the base of the umbrella pole using duct-tape. This ensured consistency in the raising and lowering as the motor was only set to rotate for a specific amount of time.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The first iteration of the bearing we made was too big for the width of the pole. This happened because we had to send the part to the 3D printers before the umbrella was delivered. We were able to use a piece meant to lock the runner in place to rest the bearing on during the prototyping phase. The same design was updated with a smaller diameter for the final product.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Figuring out the wirings for the motor<\/p><\/div>\n