Synthesis of Double-Rocker Mechanisms for Motion

Generation Using Fourier Descriptor

Cheng-Yuan Hsieh1 Win-Bin Shieh2 Ching-Kong Chen3 and Jyh-Jone Lee1*

1
National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
2
Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei, Taiwan
3
National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract. Dimensional synthesis of a double-rocker linkage using the discrete

Fourier transform (DFT) is presented. The coupler point curve of a double-rocker
linkage is open and cannot be expressed by the Fourier series with periodic coef-
ficients. Hence, in this study, a procedure is first proposed to transform such an
open curve into a closed curve such that the DFT can be applied. Subsequently,
the relations between the path of a coupler point and the design parameters of
linkage are established and the motion generation problem is formulated as two
prescribed paths having a constant distance. Finally, a least-square based optimi-
zation scheme is used to synthesize the design parameters and two numerical
examples are illustrated for the procedure.

Keywords: Fourier Descriptor, Discrete Fourier Transform, Motion Genera-

tion, Double-Rocker Mechanisms.

1 Introduction

The path synthesis of a four-bar linkage has been usually solved by using dyad and
vector loop closure methods. The method presumes an unknown point on the coupler
and finds the relations of link length and the given path. However, such an approach is
limited by the number of precision points. On the other hand, it is well known that in
the image process field, using Fourier descriptor to represent the image has the ad-
vantage of preserving the invariant properties of the targeted pattern in rotation, scaling
and translation. There have been a few studies for mechanism synthesis using Fourier
descriptor. Freudenstein [1] was the pioneer who used Fourier transform for the analy-
sis of mechanism. It was then followed by Nie and Krovi [2], Ullah and Kota [3], Cor-
tese and Dyre [4], Bloom et al. [5], and Shu and Wu [6]. McGarva [7] found that the
contour of an original plane closed-curve could be rebuilt by few harmonic terms. Wu
et al. [8] used Fourier series to synthesize planar four-bar linkages for path generation
in open and closed curves. Li et al. [9] enhanced the accuracy of path generation using
non-discrete Fourier transform. Meanwhile, it is also known that it is difficult to directly

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Mechanisms and Machine Science 73,
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1286 C.-Y. Hsieh et al.

apply Fourier descriptor to synthesize open paths since an open path is not periodic.
Uesaka [10] developed a method to apply Fourier Descriptor for the synthesis of open
curves. Ding et al. [11] found a way to transform the open curve into a closed one. This
approach eliminated most of the high-frequency terms in the original non-closed seg-
ment and improved the accuracy of the rebuilt segment. Wandling et al. [12] used Fou-
rier Descriptor to synthesize mechanism for function, path, and motion generation. Li
et al. [13] extended the research of Wu et al. [8] to motion generation. Shama et al. [14]
presented a nonuniform parametrization scheme associated with a cost function that
better fits the harmonics of the four-bar coupler.
In this paper, the motion generation of a four-bar linkage based on Fourier descriptor
is investigated. Since the motion generation is usually performed for a specific segment
of path, synthesis of double rocker mechanism tracing an open curve will be considered.
An algorithm for the synthesis process will then be established.

2 Fourier Descriptor for Non-closed Segment

Let the curve z(t) be a function of t, and specified by coordinates x(t) and y(t). Then,
z(t) is
z(t ) x(t )  jy(t ) (1)

where j=ξെͳ. If z(t) has N data points and all the points are sampled with equal dis-
tance, the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) is
N 1
2S n  j 2NS n k
Zk ¦ z(
n 0 N
)e (2)

and the inverse DFT of Zk is

2S n
2S n 1 N 1 j k
z(
N
) ¦
Nk 0
Zk e N (3)

The shape of original curve boundary can be rebuilt only by a few low-frequency coef-
ficients [7]. Nonetheless, DFT could hardly be applied to non-closed curves since non-
closed curves are not periodic. For a non-closed segment, the shape could not be re-
stored by only low-frequency coefficients due to the discontinuity of the end points.
Ding et al. [11] showed that by using linear offset (L.O.) and anti-symmetric extension
(A.S.) preprocessing steps, an open curve can be transformed to a closed one such that
DFT could be applied. The linear offset first transforms the open segment into a closed
curve with a cusp at the origin. Then an anti-symmetric extension process smoothes the
warped curve and reduces the effect of high-frequency coefficients in the original non-
closed curve. The process of L.O. and A.S. is summarized as follows. As shown in Fig.
1(a), consider an open curve P(n) with N points expressed by x-y coordinate as P(n)=
xn+ jyn, n=0, 1, …, (N-1). The curve after linear offset (see Fig. 1(b)), PW(n)=xn'+jyn', is
then defined as
Synthesis of Double-Rocker Mechanisms for Motion… 1287

­ xn' xn  x0  {( xN 1  x0 ) u n / ( N  1)}
® '
¯ yn yn  y0  {( y N 1  y0 ) u n / ( N  1)} (4)
for n 0, 1, 2, ..., ( N  1)

Adding an anti-symmetric segment to PW(n) yields a new curve as shown in Fig. 1(c):

­ PW ( n) , for n=0, 1, ..., (N -1)

PW  E ( n) ® (5)
¯ PW (2 N  2  n) , for n=N , ..., (2N -3)

(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 1. Process of linear offset and anti-symmetric extension of an open curve (a) Original
curve (b) Linear offset of (a) (c) Anti-symmetric extension of (b)

3 Solving Motion Generation by Path Generation

Shown in Fig. 2, a rigid body PAPB is guided by the four-bar linkage A0ABB0 from one
position (dash-dot line) to the other position (solid line). Thus, a point on the rigid body,
PA, will trace prescribed positions. Similarly, another point, PB, will trace prescribed
positions and maintain a constant distance with PA at every position. In this work, the
motion generation is treated as two path generations with constraint on the distance
between two coupler points. In what follows, the derivation of the trajectory equation
of a coupler point on a four-bar linkage will be adopted from Wu et al. [8] for later use.
Fig. 2 also depicts the parameters for the four-bar linkage A0ABB0 where A0 and B0 are
the fixed pivots and A0 is at (x0, y0). l1, l2, l3, and l4 are respectively the lengths of links
A0B0, A0A, AB, and B0B. θi (i=1~4) is the link angle of the corresponding link meas-
ured from x axis. Angles ϕ, λ, and ψ are respectively the joint angle formed by link A0A,
AB, and B0B with ground link A0B0. Points PA and PB are two points with length rA, rB
and angle αA, αB on the coupler link with respect to AB. Also, it is assumed that the
curve is drawn from the positions in-between the limit positions of the input link A0A.
Writing the position equations for PA and PB yields:

PA A0  l2e jT1 e jI  rAe j (T1 D A ) e jO (6)

PB A0  l2e jT1 e jI  rB e j (T1 DB ) e jO (7)

1288 C.-Y. Hsieh et al.

Fig. 2. Parameters setting for the four-bar linkage

It has been shown in [8] that by loop-closure equation, angle λ can be related to link
parameters as

 B(I ) r '1 (I )' 2 (I )

e jO (8)
2 A(I )
 jI
where A(I ) l3 (l2e / l1  1) / l1 , B(I ) 1  (l2  l3  l4 ) / l1  2l2 cosI / l1 ,
2 2 2 2

'1 (I ) 1  l22 / l12  (l3  l4 )2 / l12  2l2 cosI / l1 ,

'2 (I ) 1  l22 / l12  (l3  l4 )2 / l12  2l2 cosI / l1 , and the sign r represents the two
branched configurations of the four bar linkage. In addition, '1 (I ) and ' 2 (I ) must
satisfy the feasibility condition as

'1 (I ) ' 2 (I ) d 0 (9)

The input link could be a crank or rocker depending on the operation range of ϕ. Ac-
cordingly, if ϕ satisfies Eq. (9) with full revolution, the input link is a crank; otherwise,
it is a rocker. Assume there are N points in the segment, the input angles can be discre-
tized equally as

k (Iend  Iini )
Ik Iini  , k= 0, 1, 2, …, (N-1) (10)
N 1

where Iini and Iend are respectively the beginning and ending input angles. Since PA,
PB, ejλ, and ejϕ have N points, by employing L.O. and A.S. to the paths described in Eq.
(6) and (7), the discrete points on the paths can be written as

PAL l2e jT1 AL  rAe j (T1 D A ) C L (11)

PBL l2 e jT1 AL  rB e j (T1 DB )C L (12)

Synthesis of Double-Rocker Mechanisms for Motion… 1289

where PAL ( k ) PA ( k )  PA (0)  k > PA ( N  1)  PA (0)@ / ( N  1) ,

PBL ( k ) PB ( k )  PB (0)  k > PB ( N  1)  PB (0)@ / ( N  1) ,
AL (k ) e jIk  e jI0  k (e jIN 1  e jI0 ) / ( N  1) , and
C L ( k ) ck  c0  k (cN 1  c0 ) / ( N  1) , k=0, 1, .., (2N-3), and where ck is the value of
ejO at the kth point. After performing DFT on Eq. (11) and (12), the results become

­
° PAL_k l2 e jT1 AL_k  rAe j (T1 D A ) C L_k
® (13)
°̄ PBL_k l2 e jT1 AL_k  rB e j (T1 DB ) C L_k

where k=0, 1, .., (2N-3). Here, PAL_k, PBL_k, AL_k, and CL_k are coefficients of DFT. Note
that, after performing anti-symmetric extension, the ith coefficients of the DFT are ex-
actly anti-symmetric with respect to the (N–i)th ones and the 0th term is 0. Thus, the
shape of curve could be faithfully rebuilt by p sets of low-frequency coefficients [7].

4 Separation of Design Variables

As shown in Fig. 2, eleven scalar design variables {l1, l2, l3, l4, A0, θ1, rA, αA, rB, αB} are
included in the motion generation problem of this four-bar linkage. Among them, two
groups of parameters {l2, θ1, rA, αA, rB, αB} and {l1, l3, l4, A0} are divided. Let TA and
TB be the desired curves, each having N points. TAL_k and TBL_k (k=0, 1, …, (2N-3)) are
the DFT coefficients after performing L.O. and A.S. of TA and TB. It is desired to match
the synthesized curves with the desired ones. That is,

­ PAL _ k TAL _ k
® (14)
¯ PBL _ k TBL _ k

Substituting Eq. (14) into (15) and arranging in a matrix form gives

ª l2 e jT1 º
ª AL _ k CL _ k 0 º « j (T1 D A ) » ªTAL _ k º
«A » « rAe » «T » (15)
¬ L _ k 0 CL _ k ¼ « r e j (T1 D B ) » ¬ BL _ k ¼
¬B ¼

One could take p terms that define the harmonic terms in the DFT, i.e., k=p. There-
fore, variables in the left side of Eq. (15) can be solved by linear least squares method.
Now, the unknown variables left are {l1, l3, l4, A0}. Replace variables {l1, l3, l4} with
{l2/l1, l3/l1, l4/l1} so that Eq. (8) can be calculated. The overall problem can be formu-
lated as an optimization problem where the design variables are {l2/l1, l3/l1, l4/l1} as:
p 2
Minimize I ¦T
k 1
AL _ k  l2 e j (T1 ) AL _ k  rA e j (T1 D A ) CL _ k
p
(16)
2
 ¦ TBL _ k  l2 e j (T1 ) AL _ k  rB e j (T1 D B ) CL _ k
k 1
1290 C.-Y. Hsieh et al.

Subject to Ej,low_b d lj/l1 d Ej,upper_b (j=2, 3, 4)

where Ej,low_b and Ej,upper_b are respectively the lower bound and upper bound of lj/l1.
Finally, once {l2/l1, l3/l1, l4/l1} are found, A0 can be obtained by Eq. (7) as

A0 PA  (l2e jT1 e jI  rAe j (T1 D A ) e jO ) (17)

In summary, the algorithm based on the DFT can be stated as:

1. Input the desired curves TA and TB. Perform L.O., A.S., and DFT to get TAL_k and
TBL_k. Note that the distance between TA and TB must remain constant. Take the first
p terms of DFT coefficients.
2. Start optimization procedure given in Eq. (16).
3. Input design variables {l2 /l1, l3/ l1, l4/ l1} and check if this four-bar linkage obeys the
constraint and feasibility condition for all the operating positions.
4. Calculate ejϕ and ejλ. Perform L.O., A.S., and DFT to obtain AL_k and CL_k. Since ejλ
has two values, choose one for further optimization.
5. Inside the optimization procedure, use Eq. (15) to calculate l2ejθ1, rAej(θ1+αA), and
rBej(θ1+αB).
6. Finally, use Eq. (17) to obtain A0.

5 Examples and Discussion

In this work, the positions of two points on the rigid link are prescribed first, then the
four-bar linkage is to be found such that the coupler link can trace the trajectories of the
two points while the distance between the two points remains constant. Two examples
are given to illustrate the procedure. In the first example, a linkage of known dimen-
sions is given to verify the algorithm. Two coupler positions are given by the known
linkage. Table 1 lists the given and synthesized data of the mechanism. Fig. 3 shows
the synthesized mechanism at its first position and the synthesized coupler curves in
comparison with the given ones. From Table 1, it can be observed that the precision of
the synthesized data is as accurate as up to the second decimal places. In the second
example, nine positions, 1 through 9, of a rigid body PAPB are given as shown in Fig.
4. The numerical values of the positions are also listed in Table 2. Note that PAPB is
assumed to have a length of 6.36 first such that positions of PB can be obtained. Posi-
tions PA and PB are then used for mechanism synthesis. The beginning and ending input
angles, Iini and Iend, are respectively as -2.135 and 2.135 rad. As a result, the synthe-
sized four-bar linkage is obtained and listed in Table 3. The positions of PA and PB
traced by the synthesized linkage are also listed in Table 4. Fig. 5 shows the comparison
of the traced positions of synthesized linkage with the desired positions. From Table 4,
it can be seen that the maximum difference between the coordinates of the desired po-
sitions and those of the synthesized ones is less than 0.2. We have also tested this algo-
rithm with other examples. It is found that the results may be affected by the local
optimal issue in the optimization as well the initial guess of the design parameters since
the command ‘fmincon’ and sequential quadratic programming in MATLAB are used
Synthesis of Double-Rocker Mechanisms for Motion… 1291

for optimization. Nonetheless, the two examples show the effectiveness of the algo-
rithm for synthesizing the double-rocker mechanism for motion generation.

Fig. 3. Comparison of given and synthesized paths along with the synthesized four-bar linkage
of the 1st example

Fig. 4. Nine given positions of the 2nd example

1292 C.-Y. Hsieh et al.

Fig. 5. Comparison of given and synthesized paths along with the synthesized four-bar linkage
in its first and last positions, 2nd example

Table 1. Given and synthesized double-rocker four-bar linkage of the 1st example (angle in rad)

Given mechanism Synthesized mechanism

x0 -2 -2.082
y0 -3 -2.948
l1 5 5.077
l2 12 12.061
l3 4 4.046
l4 9 9.012
θ1 0.2 0.200
αA 2.6 2.599
rA 5 5.007
αB 1 1.001
rB 6 6.017
I -- 3.390
Synthesis of Double-Rocker Mechanisms for Motion… 1293

Table 2. Prescribed positions of PAPB of the 2nd example

Length of PAPB = 6.36

No. of position PA coordinates Angle of PAPB PB coordinates
(x, y) w.r.t. real axis (rad) (x, y)
1 (18.8, 12.1) -0.9 (22.75, 7.12)
2 (13.3, 18.1) 0 (19.66, 18.1)
3 (6.3, 19.8) 0.7 (11.16, 23.9)
4 (-0.4, 17.1) 1.5 (0, 23.44)
5 (-2.7, 10.3) 2.8 (-8.7, 12.4)
6 (-1.1, 6) -2.3 (-5.34, 1.26)
7 (0.2, 1.7) -2 (-2.45, -4.08)
8 (3.4, -2.2) -1.9 (1.34, -8.22)
9 (7.8, -4.9) -2.1 (4.59, -10.39)

Table 3. Synthesized design variables of the 2nd example (angle in rad)

x0 y0 l1 l2 l3 l4
6.402 7.259 6.638 9.832 7.537 6.972
T1 αA rA αB rB I
2.447 -2.516 3.545 -3.48 7.678 1.443

Table 4. Positions of PA and PB traced by synthesized linkage of the 2nd example

No. of position PA coordinates PB coordinates

(x, y) (x, y)
1 (18.8, 12.1) (22.768, 7.12)
2 (13.321, 18.121) (19.688, 18.23)
3 (6.308, 19.841) (11.114, 24.018)
4 (-0.391, 17.156) (-0.03, 23.513)
5 (-2.745, 10.35) (-8.778, 12.386)
6 (-1.129, 6.033) (-5.524, 1.425)
7 (0.197, 1.748) (-2.44, -4.048)
8 (3.453, -2.125) (1.39, -8.149)
9 (7.805, -4.81) (4.458, -10.227)

6 Conclusion

In this paper, an algorithm for the motion synthesis of double rocker linkage based on
discrete Fourier transform is developed. The linear offset and anti-symmetric extension
techniques are utilized to transform the open curve into closed one and then the DFT is
1294 C.-Y. Hsieh et al.

applied for the synthesis of a four-bar linkage for motion generation. Two examples are
used to demonstrate the procedure and the satisfactory accuracy of the synthesized
mechanisms. Results show that the effectiveness of such algorithm in the synthesis of
a double-rocker linkage for motion generation. Further studies can involve the genera-
tion of mechanisms with open curve that has cusp and mechanisms that can trace a
designated open segment in a closed curve with and without double point.

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