Leg Mechanism

Leg mechanism
A leg mechanism (walking mechanism) is

an assembly of links and joints (a linkage)
intended to simulate the walking motion of
humans or animals. Mechanical legs can
have one or more actuators, and can
perform simple planar or complex motion.
Compared to a wheel, a leg mechanism is

potentially better ﬁtted to uneven terrain,
as it can step over obstacles.[1]
Design goals
horizontal speed as constant as
possible while touching the ground
(support phase)[1][2]
while the foot is not touching the
ground, it should move as fast as
possible
constant torque/force input (or at least
no extreme spikes/changes)
stride height (enough for clearance, not
too much to conserve energy)
the foot has to touch the ground for at
least half of the cycle for a two/four leg
mechanism[1] or respectively, a third of
the cycle for a three/six leg mechanism
minimized moving mass
vertical center of mass always inside
the base of support[1]
the speed of each leg or group of legs
should be separately controllable for
steering[2]
the leg mechanism should allow forward
and backward walking[2]
Another design goal can be, that stride

height and length etc. can be controlled by
the operator.[2] This can relatively easily be
achieved with a hydraulic leg mechanism,
but is not practicable with a crank-based
leg mechanism.[2]
The optimization has to be done for the
whole vehicle – ideally the force/torque
variation during a rotation should cancel
each other out.[1]
History
Richard Lovell Edgeworth tried in 1770 to
construct a machine he called a "Wooden
Horse", but was not successful.[3][4]
The Plantigrade Machine by Pafnuty

Chebyshev was shown at the Exposition
Universelle (1878).
Gallery
Stationary
Jansen linkage
Klann linkage
Eight-bar leg mechanism [5]
Tokyo Institute of Technology walking

chair[6]
2 DOF pantograph leg mechanism[7]
2 DOF leg mechanism of the RPRPR

type.[8]
Strandbeest (applied Jansen linkage)
Ghassaei Linkage[1]
Tchebyshevs plantigrade machine[9]
TrotBot Linkage (without heel linkage)[10]

TrotBot without Heel Linkage[10]
One Corner of 12-leg TrotBot[11]

Strider Linkage - One Corner of 12 Leg
Robot[11]
Strider Linkage[12]
Strider Linkage with Toes[12]
Foot-Paths of Strandbeest, TrotBot, Strider

and Klann Linkages
Walking
* 4 legs 6 legs
Strandbeest
Ghassaei
Klann linkage 1
Klann linkage 2
Plantigrade
Mechanism
Trotbot[13]
Strider Linkage[12]
Complex mechanism
Shown above are only planar mechanisms,
but there are also more complex
mechanism:
See also
Jansen's linkage
Kinematics
Kinematic pairs
Klann linkage
Chebyshev's Lambda Mechanism
Linkage (mechanical)
Machine
Mobile robot
Hexapod (robotics)
References
1. Ghassaei, Amanda (20 April 2011). The
Design and Optimization of a Crank-Based
Leg Mechanism (PDF) (Thesis). Pomona
College. Archived (PDF) from the original
on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 July
2016.
2. Shigley, Joseph E. (September 1960). The
Mechanics of Walking Vehicles: A
Feasibility Study (PDF) (Report). University
of Michigan Department of Mechanical
Engineering. Archived from the original on
27 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
3. Giesbrecht, Daniel (8 April 2010). Design
and optimization of a one-degree-of-
freedom eight-bar leg mechanism for a
walking machine (Thesis). University of
Manitoba. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
4. Uglow, Jenny (2002). The Lunar Men: Five
Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the
World . New York, New York: Farrar, Strauss
and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-19440-8. Retrieved
27 July 2016.
5. Simionescu, P.A.; Tempea, I. (20–24 June
1999). Kinematic and kinetostatic
simulation of a leg mechanism (PDF). 10th
World Congress on the Theory of Machines
and Mechanisms. Oulu, Finland. pp. 572–
577. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
6. Funabashi, H.; Takeda, Y.; Kawabuchi, I.;
Higuchi, M. (20–24 June 1999).
Development of a walking chair with a self-
attitude-adjusting mechanism for stable
walking on uneven terrain. 10th World
Congress on the Theory of Machines and
Mechanisms. Oulu, Finland. pp. 1164–1169.
7. Simionescu, P.A. (21–24 August 2016).
MeKin2D: Suite for Planar Mechanism
Kinematics (PDF). ASME 2016 Design
Engineering Technical Conferences and
Computers and Information in Engineering
Conference. Charlotte, NC, USA. pp. 1–10.
Retrieved 7 January 2017.
8. Simionescu, P.A. (2014). Computer Aided
Graphing and Simulation Tools for AutoCAD
Users (1st ed.). Boca Raton, Florida: CRC
Press. ISBN 978-1-4822-5290-3.
9. http://en.tcheb.ru/1
10. Vagle, Wade. "TrotBot Linkage Plans" .
DIYwalkers.
11. "Shigley's Study Applied" . DIYwalkers.
12. Vagle, Wade. "Strider Linkage Plans" .
DIYwalkers.
13.
https://www.diywalkers.com/trotbot.html
External links
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of:
Comparison of crank based leg mechanism
Media related to Leg mechanism at

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A leg mechanism (walking mechanism) is

Compared to a wheel, a leg mechanism is

Another design goal can be, that stride

The Plantigrade Machine by Pafnuty

Tokyo Institute of Technology walking

2 DOF leg mechanism of the RPRPR

TrotBot Linkage (without heel linkage)[10]

One Corner of 12-leg TrotBot[11]

Foot-Paths of Strandbeest, TrotBot, Strider

Media related to Leg mechanism at

Last edited 2 months ago by WadeV…

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless

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