Mechanism Link Rotatability and Limit Position Analysis Using Polynomial Discriminants

Abstract

A theory is proposed for algebraically determining the limit positions of single-degree-of-freedom mechanisms. The absence of limit positions indicates that the link being considered is a fully rotating crank. This theory is applied in the present paper to the RSSR and RRSS spatial mechanisms. Conditions for spatial mechanisms analogous to Grashof’s law should be attainable using this theory. A numerical example is given to illustrate the theory.