Spherical Mechanical Linkage for Balanced Irregular Payloads
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current spherical mechanical linkages face challenges in accommodating long, wide, or irregularly-shaped payloads and can become unbalanced when holding payloads due to the lack of counterweights.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a yoke, crank, deflecting member, and rocking frame with symmetrical components that allow for balanced movement and the placement of irregularly-shaped payloads, using bearings for smooth operation and a multi-axis tracking system that adjusts to track the sun's position for solar tracking applications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If current spherical mechanical linkages are used, then the structure is simple, but long, wide, or irregularly-shaped payloads cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical mechanical linkage is divided into multiple independent components including a yoke with first and second axes, a crank rotatable about the first axis, and a deflecting member coupled to the crank. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall functionality, enabling accommodation of diverse payload shapes without requiring a completely new linkage design.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a deflecting member that deflects the payload axis from the second axis by a deflection angle, adding a dimensional transformation capability to the linkage. This allows the system to accommodate payloads with various orientations and shapes by changing the angular relationship between the linkage axes and payload axis, thereby improving adaptability without significantly increasing structural complexity.
2Stability of the object's composition
If current spherical mechanical linkages hold a payload, then the linkage can support the payload, but the linkage becomes unbalanced without counterweights
Solution Approach 1:
The invention incorporates a counterweight coupled to the yoke that balances the linkage when holding a payload. The counterweight is positioned and dimensioned to compensate for the uneven weight distribution created by the payload, maintaining the center of gravity within the yoke and preventing the linkage from becoming unbalanced during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The counterweight is integrated with the yoke structure, merging the balancing function with the existing structural component. This combination approach provides the necessary balance without adding completely separate balancing mechanisms, thereby minimizing the increase in device complexity while achieving stable payload support.
3Adaptability or versatility
If symmetrical components are used in the linkage, then balanced movement is achieved, but irregularly-shaped payloads cannot be accommodated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs asymmetrical component designs, particularly in the deflecting member and its coupling to the rocking frame, to accommodate irregularly-shaped payloads. The deflecting member can be positioned at various angles and has an asymmetric geometry that allows it to work with payloads of different shapes and orientations while the counterweight compensates for the resulting imbalance, maintaining stable operation.
Data Source
AI summary
Spherical mechanical linkages may include a yoke defining a first axis and a second axis, a crank rotatably coupled to the yoke about the first axis; a deflecting member that defines a plane and that is coupled to the crank along a third axis, and a rocking frame slideably coupled to the yoke in the plane defined by the deflecting member and rotatably coupled to the yoke about the second axis. One or more components of the spherical mechanical linkage may be symmetric about an axis. A payload, such as a mirror or a camera, can be mounted on the linkage as part of a multi-axis tracker.