| Through the use of dual graphs, a powerful new representation of the kinematic structure of mechanisms has been developed. An algorithm was then developed to enumerate these dual graphs. A further algorithm was developed for generating the conventional graph representations of the kinematic structures from their dual graphs. These algorithms form the basis of a highly efficient, completely automatic computer-aided mechanisms design procedure. The kinematic structures of one, two, and three-degree-of-freedom plane bar linkages with up to four independent loops have been generated on a personal computer as an example of this procedure.; An algorithm was developed for the generation of various classes of kinematic structures directly from a "parent" class. This approach greatly facilitates the enumeration of structures with mixed joint types. As a example of this technique, the algorithm was used to enumerate on a personal computer the kinematic structures of one, two, and three-degree-of-freedom gear trains with up to four independent loops. |
