Abstract
Constant-force mechanisms can be used for gravity counterbalance and force regulation. While many constant-force mechanisms have been designed, most of them have a limited range of force adjustment, which brings very limited capability to maintain an equilibrium state when load changes. In this paper, a novel design of reconfigurable constant-force mechanism is proposed. The new design is inspired by a variable stiffness mechanism, which can work in a similar way as the hinged lever, but take a compact space. Moreover, the design allows to adjust the configuration parameters achieving a large range of the equilibrium state adjustment. Mathematical models are developed to simulate the equilibrium performance changed with configuration parameters. A prototype is constructed and validates the working principle of the design. A design case is included to show the application of the mechanism in a passive assistive upper-body exoskeleton.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science |
| Volume | 236 |
| Issue number | 18 |
| Pages (from-to) | 9941-9950 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISSN | 0954-4062 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Liu acknowledges the financial support from Chongqing University, China, for visiting study at AAU, where he participated the research work reported.
Publisher Copyright:
© IMechE 2022.
Keywords
- compliant joint
- Constant force mechanism
- equilibrium state
- multi-configuration
- passive exoskeleton
- variable stiffness mechanism