The Image Curve of the Coupler of a Special Spherical Four Bar Linkage

Abstract

This paper uses a kinematic mapping of spherical motion to derive an image curve which represents the coupler motion of a doubly folding spherical four bar linkage. The image curve of this linkage, the so called “kite” linkage, can be parameterized by rational functions. This parameterization is presented as well as formulas which allow the computation of its curvature and torsion at any point. These formulas provide a link between the global properties of the coupler motion as represented by the image curve itself and its instantaneous properties given by the curvature and torsion functions.