A Compliant On/Off Connection Mechanism for Preloading Statically Balanced Compliant Mechanisms

Static balancing is an important contribution to compliant mechanisms enabling low operating force, thus allowing high mechanical efficiency. Preloading is generally needed in statically balanced compliant mechanisms, which at smaller scales presents a significant challenge. Physical handling of zero-force structures without causing damage also becomes difficult. This paper presents a solution to both of these issues. A novel compliant connection mechanism based on bistable beams was used to precisely preload the system in the direction of motion without backlash. Once this bistable mechanism is engaged by loading beyond its threshold, the system is in operating condition, i.e. the ON position. When the connection mechanism is disengaged (OFF position), it is much stiffer than it is in the statically balanced state and therefore more robust for handling purposes. As a demonstrator, we present the first statically balanced gripper with a fully compliant ON/OFF-connection mechanism allowing pre-loading collinear with the direction of motion. The combination of a pre-loaded bistable mechanism (i.e. negative stiffness) and a voluntary closing gripper (i.e. positive stiffness) is used for static balancing (i.e. zero stiffness and zero actuation force). The results show that the actuation force is reduced by at least 91% when the preload is engaged. The proposed ON/OFF connection shows a promising method for pre-loading compliant mechanisms or related devices.