Abstract
A gravity equilibrator is a statically balanced system which is designed to counterbalance a mass such that any preferred position is eliminated and thereby the required operating effort to move the mass is greatly reduced. Current spring-to-mass gravity equilibrators are limited in their range of motion as a result of design limitations. An increment of the range of motion is desired to expand the field of applications. The goal of this paper is to present a compact one degree of freedom mechanical gravity equilibrator that can statically balance a rotating pendulum over an unlimited range of motion. Static balance over an unlimited range of motion is achieved by a coaxial gear train that uses non-circular gears. These gears convert the continuous rotation of the pendulum into a reciprocating rotation of the torsion bars. The pitch curves of the non-circular gears are specifically designed to balance a rotating pendulum. The gear train design and the method to calculate the parameters and the pitch curves of the non-circular gears are presented.
A prototype is designed and built to validate that the presented method can balance a pendulum over an unlimited range of motion. Experimental results show a work reduction of 87 % compared to an unbalanced pendulum and the hysteresis in the mechanism is 36 %.
A prototype is designed and built to validate that the presented method can balance a pendulum over an unlimited range of motion. Experimental results show a work reduction of 87 % compared to an unbalanced pendulum and the hysteresis in the mechanism is 36 %.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 40th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference |
Subtitle of host publication | ASME 2016 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference |
Place of Publication | New York, NY, USA |
Publisher | ASME |
Pages | 1-11 |
Volume | 5A |
ISBN (Print) | 978-0-7918-5015-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Event | 40th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference - Charlotte, North Carolina, United States Duration: 21 Aug 2016 → 24 Aug 2016 |
Publication series
Name | ASME Conference Proceedings |
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Conference
Conference | 40th Mechanisms and Robotics Conference |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Charlotte, North Carolina |
Period | 21/08/16 → 24/08/16 |
Bibliographical note
Paper No. DETC2016-59549Keywords
- Gravity (Force)
- Design