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# Complaint constant force mechanism using variable stiffness leaf-spring-like beam: Design and experiment

• *Corresponding author: Guangwei Wang
• This research provides a design for a complaint constant-force mechanism employing a leaf-spring-like beam with variable stiffness to address the negative stiffness stroke underutilization issue of the bistable beam. By designing the compression of the leaf-spring-like beam at each given displacement and the compression ramp slope, this technique allows the constant force mechanism to potentially take full utilization of the bistable beam's negative stiffness component. Innovative design of a complaint constant force mechanism based on positive and negative stiffness is shown in this study. In addition, we conduct simulation analysis and experimental verification. The experimental results illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Mathematics Subject Classification: Primary: 58F15, 58F17; Secondary: 53C35.

 Citation:

• Figure 1.  Stress contour of bistable beam's deformation

Figure 2.  Schematic diagram of establishing a coordinate system

Figure 3.  The force analysis of beam

Figure 4.  The bistable beam and its force

Figure 5.  Schematic diagram of the spring-like beam

Figure 6.  Force analysis on the spring-like beam

Figure 7.  The model of the proposed constant force mechanism

Figure 8.  Force-displacement curves before and after optimization. A: preload strok. B: constant force stroke. C: failure stroke

Figure 9.  The experimental setup

Figure 10.  Force-displacement experimental results. A: preload strok. B: constant force stroke. C: failure stroke

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