The synthesis method of series-based bistable compliant mechanisms for rigid-body guidance problem based on geometrical similarity transformation of pole maps

Abstract

Abstract Designing guidance mechanisms using bistable mechanisms with two stable positions is a common low-power solution for maintaining the guidance position without continuous external energy input. However, the coupling between kinematics and statics in compliant bistable mechanisms poses a challenge for their application in mechanism synthesis. To address this issue, this paper introduces the pole similarity transformation theory into the synthesis of compliant mechanisms and proposes a general synthesis method for planar serial-based compliant bistable mechanisms. This method models the compliant mechanism using the strain energy method and analyzes the bistable characteristics of the mechanism within its motion plane using the saddle point searching method. By doing so, the proposed method can identify stable positions without predetermined motion trajectories, making it more suitable for designing compliant bistable mechanisms with general planar motion. Additionally, this method utilizes the pole map to describe the stable positions of the rigid components in the compliant mechanism and establishes an information database for compliant bistable mechanisms. Through leveraging the pole similarity transformation, the pole maps of the mechanisms in the information database are matched with the pole map of the motion task, thus achieving the synthesis of planar serial-based compliant bistable mechanisms for the rigid-body guidance problem. The paper provides a detailed explanation of the mechanism synthesis process and demonstrates its application through a case study.