A NOVEL DEPLOYABLE MECHANISM WITH TWO DECOUPLED DEGREES OF FREEDOM

This paper presents a novel deployable mechanism. Unlike most deployable structures, which have one degree of freedom, the proposed device can be deployed and compacted independently in two directions. This widens the range of its potential applications, including flexible industrial fixtures and deployable tents. The mechanism’s basic deployable unit is assembled by combining a scissor linkage and a Sarrus linkage. The kinematic properties of the two component linkages and the combined unit are analyzed. The new deployable mechanism is obtained by linking the deployable units. The Mobility and kinematics are analyzed. The relationship between the degree of overconstraint and the number of deployable units is derived. The magnification ratio is calculated as a function of the geometry of the link and the number of deployable units. Finally, kinematic simulations are performed to validate the proposed design and analysis.