Control system with customizable menu structure for personal mobility vehicle

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in FIG.
1 a diagrammatic representation of an electronic control system 10 for a personal mobility vehicle, such as power wheelchairs, scooters, and the like.
The control system 10 includes various modules, such as hand control modules 12, motor control modules 14, power seat control modules 16, light control modules 18, environmental control modules 20, specialty input control modules 22, and specialty input devices 24, such as pneumatic input devices and groupings of switches designed for access by users with limited body control.
The modules are connected together by electrical cables 26 that carry command signals from module to module within the control system 10 and/or carry electronic power to the various parts of the electrical system of the vehicle.
The control system 10 is adapted to be custom-configured by a healthcare professional for a specific user to match the user's physical and cognitive skills, and may not contain all the aforementioned modules, but only those modules needed by that specific user.
For example, if the intended user is a spinal chord injury paraplegic with normal arm and hand function and normal cognitive skills, the control system 10 might include only a hand control module 12, which may include a joystick and various switches, and a motor control module 14 to accept input signals from the hand control module 12, accept power from a battery pack 30, and output power to drive motors 28.
These two modules 12, 14 may be connected by electrical cables 26 that carry command signals from the hand control module 12 to the motor control module 14 and carry electronic power to the various parts of the electrical system of the vehicle.
The hand control module 12 could be physically positioned on the vehicle armrest, near the user's hand, and the motor control module 14 could be positioned underneath the seat (not shown) near the battery pack 30 and the motors 28 that drive the wheels 31.
As another example, a less physically capable user, such as a high level quadriplegic spinal chord injury user with no arm and hand function and only limited ability to move the head, but with normal cognitive skills and ability to suck and blow lightly into a plastic tube, might have a specialty input control module 24, a display module 32, a motor control module 14, and a power seat control module 16