An Offset Panel Technique for Thick Rigidily Foldable Origami

Abstract

A technique for thickness accommodation in origami-inspired mechanism design is introduced. Mathematically, origami panels are generally assumed to be planar with zero thickness. Origami models can be viewed as kinematic mechanisms where folds are revolute joints and panels are links. An origami-inspired mechanism can achieve the same kinematic motion as the paper origami source model if all joints lie along the folds in the zero-thickness plane. The panels are stacked in sequence in the closed (stowed) position. A joint plane is chosen and each panel is given extensions connecting each panel to the chosen plane. The extensions from the stacked panels allow each panel to be rigidly connected to its revolute joint in the chosen plane with all other joints. The accommodation technique utilizes origami models that are rigidly foldable. The height of the extensions are determined by the sum of the thicknesses of all panels between its stowed panel and the chosen joint plane. Any panel thickness can be accommodated, including multiple panel thicknesses within the same mechanism. Process steps for offset panel design of origami-inspired mechanisms are presented.