Static Analysis and Design of Extendable Mechanism Inspired by Origami Structure Based on Non-overconstrained Kinematically Equivalent Mechanism

When a deployable origami structure is kinematically modelled as a link mechanism by replacing the creases by revolute joints, the obtained mechanism is generally overconstrained. In practice, devices and machines originated from overconstrained mechanisms need in-situ adjustments for assembly, and even encounter difficulty in assembly since they are sensitive to geometric errors. In some cases, smooth motion cannot be generated. To develop a high performance extendable arm inspired by an overconstrained origami while solving the problems above, this paper introduces the non-overconstrained kinematically equivalent mechanism (NO-KEM) of an origami structure in the design. Generation and confirmation scheme of NO-KEM is introduced based on the velocity relationship. Numerical examples on the static analysis of NO-KEMs of an origami as a determinate problem are shown and a practical design of an extendable arm based on the concept of NO-KEM having superior static characteristics is shown. Finally, experimental observations based on this design are shown to support the proposed method.