AN INTERMITTENT MOTION MECHANISM INCORPORATING A GENEVA WHEEL AND A GEAR TRAIN

Abstract

This paper presents a kinematic study of a mechanism incorporating a Geneva wheel and a gear train to achieve intermittent motion. The goal of this mechanism is to eliminate the acceleration jump at the beginning and end of the Geneva wheel motion. An epitrochoidal path replaces the circular path for the driving pin in a classical Geneva wheel drive. The epitrochoidal path is generated using a gear train and results in zero velocity, acceleration, and jerk at the beginning and end of the Geneva wheel motion. Presented is a comparison of the position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk between the classical Geneva wheel mechanism and the proposed mechanism. Subsequently, the motion of the Geneva wheel is modified by introducing a non-circular gear pair to adjust the timing of the epitrochoidal path. The motion of the non-circular gear pair is determined by reducing the extreme jerk of the Geneva wheel.