The design of spherical 4R linkages for four specified orientations (Q1301136)

The paper describes theoretical foundations and practical applications of the software SPHINXPC, which provides a convenient means to design spherical four-bar linkages to guide a body through four specific orientations. The authors employ an extension of Burmester's planar theory. The spherical linkage design consists of three major phases: (1) tasks specification; (2) type-map generation, and (3) design selection. An animation dialog box provides an opportunity to animate the linkage in forward and reverse directions, with pause and fast forward. The design tool allows to construct spherical linkages for a wide variety of spatial reorientation tasks.