DESIGN METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO A NEW WHEELCHAIR MOTORIZATION CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

The design methodology have been proved its effectiveness concerned to new products development, and due to the systematic approach it allows great variety of solutions and concepts developed in the early concept design phase. This paper shows two efficient methods in concepts generation, they are: the brainstorm and the morphologic chart. Both were successfully used and the result was a new concept of wheelchair motorization which the electric motors are activated only when the force applied over the propulsion ring exceeds a preset value. This new concept was registered at INPI as an invention patent.