scholarly journals Displacement Analysis of Spherical Mechanisms Having Three or Fewer Loops

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Wampler

Spherical linkages, having rotational joints whose axes coincide in a common center point, are sometimes used in multi-degree-of-freedom robot manipulators and in one-degree-of-freedom mechanisms. The forward kinematics of parallel-link robots, the inverse kinematics of serial-link robots and the input/output motion of single-degree-of-freedom mechanisms are all problems in displacement analysis. In this article, loop equations are formulated and solved for the displacement analysis of all spherical mechanisms up to three loops. We show how to solve each mechanism type using either a formulation in terms of rotation matrices or quaternions. In either formulation, the solution method is a modification of Sylvester’s elimination method, leading directly to numerical calculation via standard eigenvalue routines.

Author(s):  
David A. Perkins ◽  
Andrew P. Murray

This paper presents a method of selecting joints relative to a fixed and moving (coupler) frame that can be used to actuate a single degree of freedom planar mechanism using a revolute-prismatic-revolute (RPR) chain or a spherical mechanism via a spherical-prismatic-spherical (SPS) chain. Given a single degree of freedom mechanism, a moving reference frame attached to any link has a motion that can be described with a single parameter. A point relative to this moving frame is sought such that it either continually increases or decreases in distance from a point in the fixed frame over the entire motion. The mechanism can then be moved by placing an actuated prismatic joint between the two points. Moreover, the singularities relative to the joints in the original mechanism are not a concern and the dimensional synthesis can focus on creating the set of circuit-defect free solutions. From this analysis, a unique fixed point is determined relative to two positions and their velocities with the following characteristic. All points in the moving reference frame that are moving away from it in the first position are approaching it in the second position, and vice versa.


Author(s):  
Liangyi Nie ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Kwun-Lon Ting ◽  
Daxing Zhao ◽  
Quan Wang ◽  
...  

Branch (assembly mode or circuit) identification is a way to assure motion continuity among discrete linkage positions. Branch problem is the most fundamental, pivotal, and complex issue among the mobility problems that may also include sub-branch (singularity-free) identification, range of motion, and order of motion. Branch and mobility complexity increases greatly in spherical or spatial linkages. This paper presents the branch identification method suitable for automated motion continuity rectification of a single degree-of-freedom of spherical linkages. Using discriminant method and the concept of joint rotation space (JRS), the branch of a spherical linkage can be easily identified. The proposed method is general and conceptually straightforward. It can be applied for all linkage inversions. Examples are employed to illustrate the proposed method.


Author(s):  
Raffaele Di Gregorio

In spherical-mechanism kinematics, instantaneous pole axes play the same role as, in planar-mechanism kinematics, instant centres. Their locations only depend on the mechanism configuration when spherical single-degree-of-freedom mechanisms are considered. Such a property makes them a tool to visualize and/or to analyse the instantaneous kinematics of those mechanisms. This article addresses the singularity analysis of single-degree-of-freedom spherical mechanisms by exploiting the properties of instantaneous pole axes. An exhaustive enumeration of the geometric conditions which occur for all the singularity types is given, and a general analytical method based on this enumeration is proposed for implementing the singularity analysis. The proposed analytical method can be used to generate systems of equations useful either for finding the singularities of a given mechanism or to synthesize mechanisms that have to match specific requirements about the singularities.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Hodgins ◽  
Dan Zhang

This paper presents an evolutionarily design change for the Delta parallel robot. The proposed design change increases the useful workspace of the robot and aids in permanently avoiding singularities on the workspace. This is accomplished by means of a new intermediate parallel link. This also simultaneously increases the total workspace volume and the stiffness at the outer limits of the workspace. The design is analyzed and the inverse kinematics, stiffness and dexterity relations are formulated. Subsequently, an optimization problem is formulated that aims at taking advantage of the new attributes and illustrate its benefits to the robotic design. The results are clearly illustrated by comparing the robot with the new link to an equivalent robot without it. Lastly, the developed design is 3D modeled to test and verify functionality.


Author(s):  
Kaustubh H. Sonawale ◽  
J. Michael McCarthy

This paper presents a design system for planar and spherical six-bar linkages, which is integrated with a solid modeler. The user specifies a backbone 3R chain in five task configurations in the sketch mode of the solid modeler and executes the design system. Two RR constraints are computed, which constrain the 3R chain to a single degree-of-freedom six-bar linkage. There are six ways that these constraints can be added to the 3R serial chain to yield as many as 63 different linkages in case of planar six-bar linkages and 165 in case of spherical six-bar linkages. The performance of each candidate is analyzed, and those that meet the required task are presented to the designer for selection. The design algorithm is run iteratively with random variations applied to the task configurations within user-specified tolerance zones, to increase the number of candidate designs. The output is a solid model of the six-bar linkage. Examples are presented, which demonstrate the effectiveness of this strategy for both planar and spherical linkages.


2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Zarkandi

A single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) indeterminate spherical mechanism is defined as a mechanism for which it is not possible to find all the instantaneous poles by direct application of the Aronhold-Kennedy theorem. This paper shows that a secondary instantaneous pole of a two DOFs spherical mechanism lies on a unique great circle instantaneously. Using this property, two geometric methods are presented to locate secondary instantaneous poles of indeterminate single DOF spherical mechanisms. Common approach of the methods is to convert a single DOF indeterminate spherical mechanism into a two DOFs mechanism and then to find two great circles that the unknown instantaneous pole lies on the point of intersection of them. The presented methods are directly deduced from a work done for indeterminate single DOF planar mechanisms.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jme.v41i2.7471


1988 ◽  
Vol 110 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kohli ◽  
Soo-Hun Lee ◽  
Kao-Yueh Tsai ◽  
G. N. Sandor

In this paper, a new type of two-degree-of-freedom actuator called the rotary-linear (R-L) actuator is described. The R-L actuator permits a rotation and a translation along the axis of rotation, thus simulating a cylinder pair. The R-L actuators are then used in type synthesis of mechanical manipulator chains. Closed-loop three-, four, five, and six-degree-of-freedom chains containing four to nine links, R-L actuators, revolute pairs (R), prismatic pairs (P), cylindrical pairs (C), and spheric pairs (S) are then obtained. A class of manipulator configurations where the hand is connected to the ground via six-degree-of-freedom dyads or triads and containing three grounded R-L actuators is treated for inverse kinematics. Since all the actuators are on the ground in this configuration, higher payload capacities and smaller actuator sizes can be expected from these configurations. In addition, generally, the computations required for inverse kinematics are also significantly less than those required for serial link open-loop manipulators. The direct kinematics, however, is much more involved and computationally intensive for these manipulators than for serial-link manipulators. The direct kinematics of an example manipulator is derived and requires solution of a 16th-order polynomial equation. Numerical examples are presented for illustration.


Author(s):  
Kevin S. Giaier ◽  
Andrew P. Murray ◽  
David H. Myszka

This paper presents a method for designing serial chains of spherical four-bar mechanisms that can achieve up to five design helices. The chains are comprised of identical copies of the same four-bar mechanism by connecting the coupler of the prior spherical mechanism to the base link of the subsequent spherical mechanism. Although having a degree of freedom per mechanism, the design methodology is based upon identically actuating each mechanism. With these conditions, the kinematic synthesis task of matching periodically spaced points on up to five arbitrary helices may be achieved. Due to the constraints realized via the spherical equivalent of planar Burmester Theory, spherical mechanisms produce at most five prescribed orientations resulting in this maximum. The methodology introduces a companion helix to each design helix along which the intersection locations of each spherical mechanisms axes must lie. As the mechanisms are connected by rigid links, the distance between the intersection locations along the companion helices is a constant. An extension to the coupler matches the points along the design helices. An approach to mechanically reducing the chain of mechanisms to a single degree of freedom is also presented. Finally, an example shows the methodology applied to three design helices.


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