Active Compliant Parallel Mechanisms

In a novel compliant parallel mechanism, a motor and spring are arranged in a parallel fashion and are connected to a movable lever arm. The motor pushes and pulls on one attachment point and the spring stores and releases energy at a second attachment point. In a non-obvious choice, we do not attach the output link to the commonly thought of end-effector, but to the third link in the planar, parallel mechanism. The new mechanism allows the transmission ratio of the motor to be a function of the output angle and the force applied at the spring. For example, if there are no loads on the spring, the overall gear ratio is lowered, and the output speed can be increased. Conversely, if there are loads on the spring, the overall gear ratio is increased, and the output torque can be increased.