IOSR Journal of Engineering May. 2012, Vol. 2(5) pp: 1071-1074 ISSN: 2250-3021 www.iosrjen.org 1071 | P a g e Design and Fabrication of a Motorized Prototype Tricycle for the Disable Persons Abdulkadir Baba Hassan Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria Abstract This project design is embodied on a motorized tricycle for disabled Persons. The tricycle was specifically designed to suit wheelchair occupants of healthy Upper torso with pelvic to foot restraint. It is also designed to suit a commonly available Wheel chair. The level of relationship between the disabled people in the society has highly being jeopardized; therefore this project was designed to correct the difficulties in mobility of the wheelchair users. The main aim of the project design is to ease mobility for the physically challenged and also provide adequate comfort they desire. Existing tricycles for the disables requires the disabled person to dismount from the wheelchair onto the tricycle. The motorized tricycle in this project is designed to overcome this problem by allowing the disabled person to wheel up or down his wheelchair onto or down the tricycle. This is achieved using a specially designed platform that allows the wheel chair to be wheeled up or down. The prototype of this tricycle has been fabricated. The anthropometrics data that need to be considered in the design of the platform and frame of the tricycle have been taken into consideration at the design stage of the tricycle. Keywords: Motorise, Prototype, Tricycle, and Wheel chair. Introduction In the time past before the invention of vehicles, men traveled on foot, and horse drawn carriages (either donkeys, dogs of the wolf breed, and camels) were used. Transportation being a major means of communication was very essential for the peaceful coexistence of the human race and empire depended on it for mobility. Mobility is an important requirement in providing motor- disabled adults opportunities for independent living and working. There have been many published examples of the disabled contributing to the workforce not just in service sector but also in industrial sector (Kochan, 1996, and Burke 1999). A successful effort to include motor-disabled employees into the workforce not only involved adjustments to the workplace and work environment but also the issues of facilitating the transportation of these employees to and from work. Many specially designed vehicles have been built for this purpose. This project aims to design and fabricate a prototype tricycle to improve mobility of the motor-disabled with healthy upper torso but pelvic to foot restraint. Tricycle became highly acceptable, in Nigeria for instance, where disabled and wheelchair users are less privileged they in their own way put in place things for the pleasure of life and its environment. Due to the fact that a disabled person may not generate the same power to its counterpart. This project is aim at providing a motorized tricycle for the disabled (physically challenged) wheel chair users. The physical anthropometrics data of the disable person is used to determine the relative component of the tricycle that will abate the effect of the biomechanical stresses that arises due to excessive postural deviation factor. A tricycle that is for the wheel chair users, which has an engine mounted to a frame and platform for the movement in and out the frame. It also consists of a hand brake, hand gear lever, a footrest on the platform of the tricycle. Design Considerations In building the prototype tricycle many design factors need to be considered. However this paper will only focus on the anthropometrics considerations in the design of the frame, handle, platform, ramp and footrest of the tricycle. Refer to figure 1 below. .