LU , Shengnan

The paper proposes a family of novel deployable prism mechanisms based on the Hoekens straight-line linkage. The prism can be deployed and compacted in a single dimension. First, a novel planar deployable unit is described, and its kinematics, statics, and singularities are analyzed. The magnification ratio is calculated as a function of the...

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This paper presents a novel deployable mechanism. Unlike most deployable structures, which have one degree of freedom, the proposed device can be deployed and compacted independently in two directions. This widens the range of its potential applications, including flexible industrial fixtures and deployable tents. The mechanism's basic...

This paper proposes a multi-unit mechanism, which can be used to approximate, with two independent degrees of freedom, the shape of the geometric outline of an arbitrarily large area. The new device is a variant of a recently introduced planar deployable mechanism with two uncoupled degrees of freedom, built from identical units, each combining...

A novel family of deployable mechanisms (DMs) is presented. Unlike most such devices, which have one degree-of-freedom (DOF), the proposed DM can be deployed and compacted independently in two or three directions. This widens the range of its potential applications, including flexible industrial fixtures and deployable tents. The mechanism's...

Reconfigurable or flexible fixtures, an important element in automotive body-welding assembly lines, can be designed as mechanisms with lockable joints. This paper proposes a new flexible fixture using stepless lockable joints allowing infinitely many configurations, and hence a broad application range and potential. Several conceptual designs...

On an automotive assembly line, different workpieces are jointed by respot welding. Modern car manufacturers need to be highly adaptive and able to switch to new products frequently within a short time frame. Hence, there is a high and constantly growing demand for the development of flexible and autonomous fixturing systems. A novel highly...

The paper describes an innovative fixture created within the AUTORECON project of the European Commission's 7th Framework Program. The fixture is designed to respond to the automotive industry's needs of high modularity and full flexibility, by allowing the secure multishape grasping of a very wide range of (often large and heavy) metal...

This paper presents the construction of a family of reconfigurable mechanisms composed of an unlimited number of doubly collapsible (type III) Bricard linkages. First, the geometries of these overconstrained six-hinge spatial loops are parameterized and their kinematics is investigated. The configurationspace curve is computed; its bifurcation...

The chapter presents a family of new deployable mechanisms obtained by conjoining an indefinite number of copies and variants of the same basic spatial linkage. The unit mechanism is an assembly of scissor and Sarrus linkages able to move in two or three independent directions. Unlike most deployable structures, which have one degree of...