DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
Doornfontein Campus

Lab 1: Mechanisms
By

Mphahlele T.J
219080587

Theory of Machines (TMAMIB2)

B. ENG TECH (BENG(TECH))

Lecturer: P. Stachelhaus

Date: 10/09/2020

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Declaration
I declare that this assignment is my own, original work. All secondary material that I used,
whether from print or electronic sources, has been carefully acknowledged and referenced
according to the Mechanical Department requirements. I have not submitted this work for
credit previously. I understand that plagiarism is unacceptable, and I have studied the
department’s plagiarism and referencing policies as set out in the Learner guide.

Student’s signature:

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 Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Technology
for giving me the opportunity to conduct this lab and compile a report as a way of incorporating
theory into practice. I would like to further give thanks to the lecturer Mr P. Stachelhaus and
the module tutors for providing the necessary guidance, equipment, and information.

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Foot Pedal Hand Sanitizer

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Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 6
2. Assumptions ............................................................................................................. 6
3. Dimensions and calculations .................................................................................. 7
4. Configuration diagram ............................................................................................ 8
5. Mechanism ................................................................................................................ 9
6. Instantaneous positions of the mechanism ........................................................ 10
7. Mechanism description .......................................................................................... 10
8. Discussion and conclusion .................................................................................... 11

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1. Introduction

Hygiene has been an important part of life as a way of preserving health. Many initiatives,
equipment and products have been developed in this regard, one of which has played an
important role in the easing of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, is the Foot Pedal Hand
Sanitizer, figure 1.

The Foot Pedal Hand Sanitizer is a device that is used to convert linear motion of a foot to
rotary motion that facilitates the application of a force on spray head of an alcohol-based hand
sanitizer. A push force is applied at the pedal which then rotates the whole four bar mechanism
to apply a push force on the spray head of a hand sanitizer, figure 2. One can think of it as an
artificial arm that converts a leg into an extra hand.

2. Assumptions

• The shape and size of other components such as the fasteners, pedal width is assumed to be
negligible in this study.
• Instantaneous values were used as the mechanisms undergoes various load applications.
• A leg weight of 9 kg was assumed from the application of a certain operator. This facilitated
the assumption of a force which was chosen as the weight of the foot on the pedal.
• The angel of elevation of the pedal was assumed to be 30o to allow to sufficient rotation of
the mechanism and an instantaneous angel of 20o was measured.
• The force application by the foot, was assumed to be at an angel relative to the vertical of
9o as the manner in which it is applied is random like riding a bicycle and the instantaneous
value was measured as 12o.
• The output bar was assumed to be at angel of 40o to accommodate the spray head and the
instantaneous elevation was measured as 30o during the operation of the device.
• The negative sign of the angular velocity was neglected as it indicates that the mechanism
is accelerating.

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3. Dimensions and calculations
Link True values Scaled drawing values
member Length Velocity Acceleration Velocity Acceleration
(mm) (m/s) [Centripetal] [4000 mm:1 m/s] diagram
[Tangential] (mm) [10000 mm:1
(m/s2) m/s2]
(mm)
AB 100 0.0085 0.00073 34 7.3
0.0043 43
BC 90 0.0085 0.0008 34 8
0.0056 56
CD 870 0.0018 0.0000037 7.2 0.037
0.0009 9
DE 90 0.0093 0.00096 37.2 9.6
0.0057 57
EF 70 0.0075 0.0008 30 8
0.0046 46
Table 1: Dimensions and scales

Sample calculations
30 × 𝜋 20 × 𝜋
𝜃𝑓 = 30° = = 0.52 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠 , 𝜃𝑖 = 20° = = 0.35 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑠, ∆𝑡 = 2𝑠
180 180
∆𝜃 𝜃𝑓 − 𝜃𝑖 0.52 − 0.35
𝜔𝑎𝑏 = = = = 0.085 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠
∆𝑡 ∆𝑡 2
𝑣𝑎𝑏 = 𝜔𝑎𝑏 𝐴𝐵 = 0.085 × 0.1 = 0.0085 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝜔𝑎𝑏 0.085 − 0
𝛼𝑎𝑏 = = = 0.043 𝑟𝑎𝑑/𝑠 2
∆𝑡 2
𝑣𝑎𝑏 2 (0.0085)2
𝑐𝑎𝑏 = = = 0.00073 𝑚/𝑠 2
𝐴𝐵 0.1
𝑡𝑎𝑏 = 𝛼𝑎𝑏 𝐴𝐵 = 0.043 × 0.1 = 0.0043 𝑚/𝑠 2
• Force diagram Scale. 1 mm: 5 N
𝐹𝐴 = 𝑚𝑔 = 9 × 9.81 = 88.29 = 90 𝑁
Point of application True values Scaled drawing values
Force (N) Force [ mm: 5 N]
(mm)
A 90 18
B 520 104
CD 295 59
E 615 123
F 340 68
Table 2: Force diagram dimensions

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 4. Configuration diagram

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Figure 1: Configuration diagram

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5. Mechanism

Figure2: Drawings

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6. Instantaneous positions of the mechanism

Figure 3: Upper position Figure 4: Lower position

7. Mechanism description

Figure 5: Mechanism diagram

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8. Discussion and conclusion
The results obtained from the analysis of the mechanism, indicate a fulfilled objective. The
configuration, velocity, acceleration, and force diagrams have all been drawn to scale. In
conclusion, the objective of the lab was achieved as theoretical knowledge was applied to
practically through the drawing of a Foot Pedal Hand Sanitizer mechanism.

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