Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

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Mechanism and Machine Theory

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mechmt

Kinematic synthesis of cam-controlled planetary gear trains

Wen-Hsiang Hsieh *
Department of Automation Engineering, National Formosa University, No. 64, Wunhwa Road, Huwei, Yunlin 632, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history:
Received 25 February 2008
Received in revised form 5 May 2008
Accepted 1 July 2008
Available online 5 September 2008
Keywords:
Kinematic synthesis
Cam-controlled
Planetary gear train
Cam design
Variable speed mechanism
Motion design

a b s t r a c t
In this work, a systematic approach for the kinematic synthesis of cam-controlled planetary gear trains (CCPGTs) is proposed. First, structural synthesis of (4, 5) kinematic chains
is performed. Furthermore, kinematic analysis is conducted from its geometry. Moreover,
the B-spline-based motion design approach is presented. Finally, cam prole equations
for the new design are derived. In addition, two design examples are illustrated. The results
show that the output speed trajectories designed by using the proposed approach agree
well with their motion requirements.
2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Cam-controlled planetary gear trains (CCPGTs) are planetary gear trains with cam pairs. Rothbart [1] illustrated three
CCPGTs, and called them epicyclic gears and moving (or xed) cam, one of them is shown in Fig. 1a. Chironis [2] also
illustrated a CCPGT in his book, which is shown in Fig. 1b. Although they have different names, both of them are structurally identical. Fig. 2 shows the exploded view of CCPGT shown in Fig. 1b, it consists of a cam groove (the frame), a sun
gear (the output), a planetary gear and an arm (the input). In general, the planetary arm rotates at constant speed, and the
planetary gear is driven to revolve around the sun gear, and to spin around itself simultaneously. At the same time, the
planetary gear produces an oscillatory motion due to the contact of the attached roller and the cam groove. Therefore, the
sun gear can produce a non-uniform motion by engaging with the planetary gear. The main advantage is that it can produce a wide range of non-uniform output motions. In addition, it has the advantages of higher reliability, lower cost, faster response, and higher power transmission due to its mechanical nature. It is now used in lm drives, such as the web
feeding of paper, automatic die cutting and creasing machine. However, the design and the analysis of CCPGTs are not
easy due to their complex structure. In addition, systematic investigations on the kinematic synthesis of CCPGTs are
not found in the literature.
In general, a mechanism is driven by a motor at a uniform speed. The state of output motion is determined once its kinematic dimensions are synthesized. If a mechanism can be driven at a non-uniform speed, it is called a variable speed mechanism. Since there are more free choices for altering the output motion to meet the different motion requirements, they can
be applied to the precision forming or cutting processes, and others industrial applications. Variable input speed mechanisms were seldom investigated before 1990. Rothbart [1] designed a cam mechanism driven by a quick return mechanism
at a non-uniform speed. Tesar and Matthew [3] derived the equations of the follower motion under the case that the cam is
driven by a variable input. Hsieh [4] rstly presented a novel approach to improve the state of the motion of the follower by
* Tel.: +886 5 6315368; fax: +886 5 6314486.
E-mail address: allen@nfu.edu.tw
0094-114X/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechmachtheory.2008.07.001

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Fig. 1. Cam-controlled planetary gear train.

varying the input speed using a servomotor. After that, Yan et al. [5,6] and Du and Guo [7] contributed to improve the output
motion characteristics of a mechanism by a servomotor solution. Although the method is effective, there are still some disadvantages which exist due to the utilization of a servomotor, for instance, higher cost, requirement of a specially designed
servomotor, slow response, and limited output power. Hsieh [8] veried the feasibility of employing the CCPGT as the driving
mechanism for a variable speed mechanism by an experimental study. According to the review of the above literature, further studies about the kinematic and dynamic design of CCPGTs are open topics to be investigated.
Kinematic synthesis is the process of designing a mechanism to accomplish the desired motion requirements, it comprises structural synthesis (type and number syntheses) and dimensional synthesis [9,10]. Kinematic synthesis of mechanisms is a major challenge in the eld of mechanism design, and many research studies have been carried out on this
topic, e.g. Russell and Sodhi [11], Hsu [12], and Lou and Dai [13]. The objective of this work is to perform the kinematic synthesis of CCPGTs, including structural synthesis, kinematic analysis, motion design, and cam design. First, the structural synthesis of CCPGTs is carried out. Then, the geometry of a new CCPGT is examined, and the kinematic analysis of the new
design is performed. Furthermore, the motion design for the CCPGT is presented. Moreover, the equations of cam proles
are derived. Finally, two design examples are illustrated.

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Planetary gear

Sun gear
(output)

Roller

Arm (input)
Cam
(frame)

Fig. 2. Exploded view of a CCPGT.

2. Structural synthesis
The structural synthesis of CCPGTs will be performed based on the creative design methodology, and Fig. 3 shows the
ow chart for the approach. For further details of the approach, it is advisable to consult Refs. [14,15]. The synthesis proceeds
as follows:

Fig. 3. Creative design methodology.

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

2.1. Existing mechanism

The CCPGT illustrated in Chironiss book [2] is selected as the existing mechanism for structural synthesis. Figs. 4a and b
show its structural sketch and the corresponding kinematic chain, respectively. It consists of four links and ve joints, denoted as (4, 5) chain, including 3 revolute pairs, 1 cam pair, and 1 gear pair. Based on the characteristics of the mechanism,
the design requirements and design constraints of CCPGTs are summarized as follows:
2.1.1. Design requirements
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)

It
It
It
It
It
It

must
must
must
must
must
must

have
have
have
have
have
have

one degree of freedom, therefore one input is required.

four links and ve joints.
at least one cam pair to generate a non-uniform output speed.
at least one gear pair to provide and alter the uniform output speed.
a frame to support or constrain other links.
one output link.

1
3

1
(a) Structure sketch

d0 (A)

4 (o)
c
(G)

e0
(R)

a0 (R)

2(i)
(b) Generalization chain
Fig. 4. The existing design.

b (R)

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2.1.2. Design constraints

(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)

The frame must be a link with three joints or more in order to have a rm support.
The input link must be adjacent to the frame with a revolute joint in order to apply a rotational motor easily.
The input link, the output link, and the frame must be assigned on different links.
The input link must be assigned to the arm in order to drive the planetary gear to move around the sun gear.
The arm must be adjacent to a planetary gear with a revolute joint to produce a uniform output rotation.
The output link must be adjacent to the frame with a revolute joint to produce a rotational output motion.
The input link and the output link must be in different loops.
Apart from the input and the output link, the other intermediate links must be a link with three or more joints.

2.2. Generalization and number synthesis

Based on the generalization theory [14,15], the generalized kinematic chain of the existing design, shown in Fig. 4b, is
transformed from that shown in Fig. 4a. According to the design requirements (1) and (2), the new designs must have one
degree of freedom, four links, and ve joints. Moreover, their corresponding kinematic chains are found and denoted as
(4, 5) chain based on the theory of number synthesis. Since a graph is more concise to represent the topology structure and
easier to distinguish isomorphs than a kinematic chain, it is adopted here for the synthesis. Furthermore, the graphs of
(4, 5) geared kinematic chain has been generated by Hsu [16], therefore it is not necessary to nd the atlas of the generalized
graphs by number synthesis. In addition, the number of graphs for the atlas of (4, 5) generalized graphs is 3, as shown in Fig. 5.
2.3. Specialization
The objective of specialization is to obtain the whole atlas of specialization chains (graphs) by assigning various types of
members and joints to each available generalized chain (graphs) subject to the design requirements and design constraints
specied above.
According to these design requirements, the specialized joints and members comprise cam pairs, gear pairs, the frame,
the input, and the output. Their symbols and representations are listed in Table 1. The whole process proceeds as follows:
2.3.1. Assigning cam pairs and gear pairs
As indicated in design requirements (3) and (4), there must be one or more cam pairs, and it is the same for gear pairs. By
assigning them to those shown in Fig. 5, three specialized (4, 5) graphs are obtained, respectively, which are shown in Fig. 6.
2.3.2. Assigning the frame (member f)
As stated in design requirement (5) and design constraint (1), there must be a frame, and it must be a link with three
joints or more, respectively. By specifying the frame to the chains shown in Fig. 6, three specialized graphs shown in
Fig. 7 are obtained, which meet the above requirement and constraint.

(4-1)

(4-2)

(4-3)

Fig. 5. Atlas of graphs of (4, 5) geared kinematic chains.

Table 1
Graph representations
Symbols

Denitions

-----(f)
(i)
(o)

Revolute pair
Cam pair
Multiple joint
Gear pair
The frame
The input
The output

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

(4-1-1) (4-2-1)

(4-3-1)

Fig. 6. Atlas of specialized graphs cam pairs and gear pairs assigned.

(4-3-1-1)

(4-3-1-2)

(4-3-1-3)

Fig. 7. Atlas of specialized graphs the frame assigned.

2.3.3. Assigning input link (member i)

According to design requirement (1) and constraints (2) and (3), respectively, there must be an input link, it must be
adjacent to the ground link with a revolute pair, and it must be a different link with the ground link. Moreover, from design
constraints (4) and (5), the arm must be the input link, and must be incident to a planetary gear with a revolute pair. Two
specialized graphs, shown in Fig. 8, are obtained by assigning the input link to those shown in Fig. 7.
2.3.4. Assigning output link (member o)
Based on design requirement (5), there must be an output link. Furthermore, the input link and the output link, as well as
the ground link, must be assigned on different link, the output link must not be adjacent to the ground link with a revolute
joint, the input link and the output link must be in different loops, according to design constraints (5)(7), respectively. In
addition, according to design constraint (8), the other intermediate links, except the input and the output links, must be a
link with three or more joints. Two specialized graphs, shown in Fig. 9, are generated by assigning the output link to those
shown in Fig. 8.
2.4. Particularization
The next step of the creative design methodology is to particularize each feasible specialized graph, by applying the generalizing rules backwards to obtain the corresponding skeleton drawing of the CCPGT. The atlas of the corresponding mechanisms shown in Figs. 10a and b is generated from the feasible specialized graph shown in Fig. 9. The input link and the
output link are denoted as link 2 and link 4 in Fig. 10.
2.5. Atlas of new designs
The atlas of new designs can be obtained by removing the existing mechanism from the feasible mechanism. Since the
design shown in Fig. 10a is the same as the existing design in Fig. 4, the mechanism shown in Fig. 10b is the new design
synthesized from (4, 5) graphs.

(4-3-1-1-1) (4-3-1-2-1)
Fig. 8. Atlas of specialized graphs the input assigned.

(4-3-1-1-1-1) (4-3-1-2-1-1)
Fig. 9. Atlas of specialized graphs.

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879

2
1

(a) (4-3-1-1-1-1)
4
1
2

1
(b) (4-3-1-2-1-1)
Fig. 10. Feasible mechanisms.

3. Kinematic analysis
The kinematic analysis of the (4-3-1-1-1-1) mechanism has been performed and presented in Ref. [8], therefore it will not
be repeated here. However, the (4-3-1-2-1-1) mechanism is a new design, and its kinematic analysis is investigated in this
work.
Fig. 11 shows the geometry of the new design, where Os, Op, and Of are the centers of the sun gear, the planetary
gear, and the roller, respectively. Moreover, the sun gear (link 1) is the frame, the arm (link 2) is the input, and the follower (link 4) is the output. In addition, the cam is attached to the planetary gear, therefore they are kinematically the
same link, and are labeled with link 3. By applying the Cosine law to the triangle MOsOpOf, formed by the three centers,
we have
2

lr c2 r 2  2c r cos d

r c lr  2c lr cos k

where d = \OsOpOf, k = \OpOsOf, and lr Os Of (the length of the follower). Moreover, the center distance between the sun
gear and the planetary gear is

mT s T p
2

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

of
4

lr
op

3
c

2
os

Fig. 11. New CCPGT geometry.

where Ts and Tp are, respectively, the number of teeth for the sun gear and the planetary gear, and m is the modulus of both
the gears. Eq. (3) is a well-known result and can be found in most of the textbooks on kinematics of mechanisms, therefore
the proof will not be given here. Also, the position vector of the roller center is

Os Of Os Op Op Of

In addition, the sum of the lengths of the two sides in a triangle must be greater than the length of the other. That is

c r > lr

c r lr

If

then an uncertain state exists such that the follower will possess two different paths. The uncertain state of a mechanism is
called the change point, and the conguration is called the uncertainty conguration. The CCPGT is then called a change
point mechanism, and it should be avoided in the mechanism design in general. Furthermore,

/hk

where / and k are the angles that makes with the positive x-axis and the arm, respectively, and h is the angular displacement
of the arm, all the angles are measured counterclockwise.
The new CCPGT with an input of displacement h is shown in Fig. 12. Initially, the arm is in position 0, and the two pitch
circles of the sun and the planet gears are meshing at point P. Let the arm rotate with an angle h about Os, and then it will
drive both the sun gear and the planetary gear to position 2. Since the kinematic relationship between the input and the
output of a CCPGT is linear, this displacement can be resolved into two displacements based on the theorem of superposition.
Firstly, let the sun gear and the planetary gear be xed to the arm, and the constraint between the cam and the roller be
temporarily released. Let the arm turn around Os by an angle h, then all the three members will move to position 1. Secondly,
let the arm be xed, since the sun gear is the frame, it has to rotate around Os by an angle h to its original position. Due to
the meshing with the sun gear, the planetary gear as well as the cam will be forced to spin around Op through an angle g and
move to position 2. At the same time, the follower will spin about Os by an angle n due to the meshing with the cam. Adding
these two displacements, we obtain

hp h g

hs h h 0

and

D/ h n

10

where hp, hs, and D/ are the angular displacements of the planetary gear, the sun gear, and the follower, respectively. g is the
spinning angle of the planetary gear produced by the meshing with the sun gear. n is the displacement of the follower produced by the cam. Moreover, g can be obtained by

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Y
of

of

Positon 2

Positon 1
r

of

Positon 0

lr
4

r b+
rf

op

3
o

c 2

op

os

Fig. 12. Displacement of new design.

gk

Ts
h
Tp

11

where k equals 1 for outer gearing and 1 for inner gearing. Substituting Eq. (11) into Eq. (8), we have



Ts
hp h 1  k
Tp

12

Moreover, k can be obtained from the displacement shown in Fig. 12, by

k k0 n

13

where k0 denotes k in position 0. Substituting Eq. (13) into Eq. (7), the angle of the follower is

/ h k0 n

14

By differentiating Eqs. (12) and (14) with respect to time, respectively, we have the equations of angular velocity

xp x 1  k

Ts
Tp


15

and

x/ x 1


dn
dh

16

where xp, x, and x/ are the angular velocities of the planetary gear, the arm, and the follower, respectively. Moreover, dn/dh
is determined by the cam prole, therefore it is a function of cam parameters. After the cam has been designed, dn/dh can be
obtained. Furthermore, the angular velocities xp of the planetary gear can also be found from Eq. (15). Finally, the output
angular velocity x/ can be computed from Eq. (16), if the input angular velocity x has been given. By differentiating Eqs.
(15) and (16) with respect to time, respectively, we obtain the equations of angular acceleration

ap a 1  k

Ts
Tp


17

and

a/ a 1


2
dn
d n
x2 2
dh
dh

18
2

where ap, a, and a/ are, respectively, the angular accelerations of the planetary gear, the arm, and the follower; ddh2n is the second derivative of the followers displacement with respect to h. Similarly, ap and a/ can be found, respectively, from Eqs. (17)
2
and (18), if a and ddh2n have been found.

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

4. Motion design
Motion design for a mechanism is to synthesize the motion relationship (curve) between the input and the output according to the specied motion requirement.
There are two main approaches for motion design, one uses the standard analytical functions, and the other employs the
spline functions methods. The former synthesizes motion curves by modifying or combining convention functions dened by
harmonic, cycloidal, modied trapezoidal, and polynomial functions. The latter is more general and practical when numerous constraints must be met. Among spline functions, B-spline functions and Bezier spline functions are most popular. When
the order k of a B-spline function equals its number of control points n, it becomes a Bezier spline function. In addition, a Bspline function can be locally adjusted its control points or added new ones without changing its order, hence it will be
adopted here for motion design in this study. In addition, for a motion curve, the following general design guidelines have
to be met [1]:
1. To lower the inertial force, the acceleration of the follower must be kept to the minimum.
2. To have better dynamic properties, the jerk of the follower must be nite.

4.1. B-spline curves

B-spline curves (or functions) were rst introduced by Schoenberg [17] in 1946. They have been widely applied in computer graphics and computer-aided design, due to their versatility, computational convenience, and superior characteristics.
There are a number of important properties for B-spline curves. First, the degree of a B-spline curve is separated from the
number of control points. More precisely, we can use lower degree curves and still maintain a large number of control points.
Second, we can change the position of a control point without changing the shape of the whole curve (local modication
property). Third, B-spline curves satisfy the strong convex hull property, hence they have a ner shape control. Fourth, there
are other techniques for designing and editing the shape of a curve such as changing its knots or order. The general form of a
B-spline curve B(x) can be expressed as [18]

Bx

n
X

Ai Ni;k x;

xmin 6 x 6 xmax

19

i1

where Ni,k(x) is the B-spline basis function or blending function, k is the order of the basis function (or the order of the
B-spline curve), n is the number of the basis function, and Ai is the undetermined coefcient determined by control points.
Moreover, all the basis functions are linearly independent on the given interval [xmin, xmax]. In addition, a B-spline curve can
be fully dened by (k, T, n, Ai), where T is the knot sequence. A basis function of order k can be dened by the CoxdeBoor
recursion formula [1821]. For k = 1, it is

Ni;1 x

1; T i 6 x < T i1

20

0; otherwise

For k P 2, it is

Ni;k x

x  Ti
T ik  x
Ni;k1 x
Ni1;k1 x
T ik  T i1
T ik1  T i

21

In addition, the recurrence equation for the jth derivative of a basis function can be expressed as [18]
j

Ni;k x

k1
kj1



x  Ti
T ik  x j
j
N
x
N
x
T ik  T i1 i1;k1
T ik1  T i i;k1


22

4.2. Design process

The approach of applying B-spline curves to motion design is simple and straightforward. Its detailed design process [18],
shown in Fig. 13, can be summarized and modied as follows:
1. Specify the numerical values of the output angular velocity xs(h) corresponding to each input angle hi (i = 1  n), and nd
the total number of kinematic constraints (control points) n.
2. Determine the order k of B-splines used. A B-spline curve is continuous up to the (k  2)th derivative, therefore when
synthesizing angular velocity, at least k = 3 has to be used in order to assure the continuity in acceleration.
3. Generate the knot sequence T. A knot sequence of n + k points, with k points repeated at the end of the interval, has to be
specied.
4. Calculate the values of the basis functions Bi (i = 1  n) and their derivative Ci (i = 1  n) at the control points.
5. Substitute all the constraints into Eq. (19), a linear system of equations will be formed and can be expressed as

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883

Fig. 13. B-spline curve-based motion design process.

A1 E1;1 A2 E2;2    An En;1 F 1

..
..
..
.
.
.

..
.

23

A1 E1;n A2 E2;n    An En;n F n

where Ei,j and Fj are the values of each basis function and constraints, respectively. Moreover, Eq. (23) can be written in the
matrix form as

EA F

24

6. Solve Eq. (24) to nd the coefcients Ai. The B-spline curve for the specied constraints can be determined if Ai are found.

5. Cam design
The envelope theory method [22,23] and the conjugate surface method [24,25] are widely used in cam prole design.
Since the former is easier to understand, and the designers need not have advanced mathematical background, it will be used
here to synthesize the cam proles. The key point of the envelope theory method is to derive the equation of the curve family, however, for rollers with different shapes, the equations have to be derived additionally according to the geometry of the
roller.
The cam design for the (4-3-1-1-1-1) mechanism has been presented in Ref. [8]. Therefore, only that of the new design is
derived in this work. It can be seen from Fig. 14, that the cam is attached to the planetary gear, and the follower with a roller

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Y
Positon 2 of
(x, y)

Positon 0

op

of

r b+
rf

lr

rb

c 2

op

os

Fig. 14. Cam geometry of new design.

will swing about Os if the planetary gear turns around the sun gear. Assume rb is the base circle radius, rf is the roller radius,
and k0 is the angle of k at the initial position. Substituting k0 into Eq. (2) and rearranging it, we have

k0 cos1

"
#
2
c2 lr  r b r f 2
2  c  lr

25

In addition, let the angular displacement of the follower be

/ /h

26

where / and h are, respectively, the angle of the follower (output) and the angle of the arm (input), as stated in Eq. (7).
Since the distance between the center of the roller and the contact point is equal to the roller radius, the family of the
curves for the roller generated by the relative motion between the cam and the roller is

Fx; y; h x  xf 2 y  xf 2  r2f 0

27

where x and y are the coordinates of the cam prole, and xf and yf are the coordinates of the roller center, all are measured in
the xy coordinate system attached to the cam. Also, xf and yf can be found through the coordinate transformation from the
XY xed coordinate system to the xy coordinate system, that is

xf

Xf

6 7
6 7
4 yf 5 M 4 Y f 5
1
1

28

where Xf and Yf are the coordinates of roller center in the X-Y xed coordinate system, and can be found from the geometry
shown in Fig. 14, to be

X f lr  cosh k0 n

29

Y f lr  sinh k0 n

30

and

In addition, the coordinate transformation matrix from system XY to system xy can be expressed as [24]

cosh g  sinh g c  cosh

6
M 4 sinh g
0

cosh g
0

7
c  sinh 5
1

31

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

885

Therefore, by substituting Eqs. (29)(31) into Eq. (28), we obtain

3
3 2
xf
lr  cos c  c  cos h
7
6 7 6
4 yf 5 4 lr  sin c  c  sin h 5
1
1

32

c 2h g k0 n

33

where

By substituting Eq. (11) into Eq. (33), we obtain

c 2h  k

Ts
h k0 n
Tp

34

Furthermore, by differentiating Eq. (34) with respect h, we obtain

dc
T s dn
2k
dh
T p dh

35

Substituting Eq. (32) into Eq. (27), we have

Fx; y; h x  lr  cos c c  cos h2 y  lr  sin c c  sin h2  r 2f 0

36

Based on the envelope theory, the rst partial derivative, with respect to the family parameter of the family of curves, has to
be zero. That is





oF
dc
dc
2x  lr  cos c c  cos h lr  sin c 
 c  sin h 2y  lr  sin c c  sin h lr  cos c 
c  cos h
oh
dh
dh
0

37

By solving Eqs. (36) and (37) simultaneously, the coordinates of the cam prole can be expressed as

rf
x lr  cos c  c  cos h  r

1

y lr  sin c  c  sin h  M

p
Q

P
Q

38

39

where

dc
 c  sin h
dh
dc
c  cos h
Q lr  cos c 
dh
M x  lr  cos c c  cos h

p lr  sin c 

40
41
42

The sign in Eq. (38) means that there are two solutions for the cam proles, one is the inner prole and the other is the
outer prole. By specifying the parameters and the motion curve, the cam proles can be obtained from Eqs. (38) and (39).

6. Design examples
Two examples are given in this section to illustrate the proposed design process. Example 1 uses the same design of the
mechanism given in Ref. [8] in order to verify the correctness of the proposed method. Example 2 performs a new motion
design for the mechanism (4-3-1-1-2-1) to verify its kinematic analysis and cam design.
6.1. Example 1
To validate the proposed approach of kinematic design, it is assumed that the motion and geometrical parameters are the
same as for the example given in Ref. [8], that is the numbers of teeth for the sun gear and the planetary gear are Ts = 30 and
Tp = 15, respectively, and the modulus for the two gears is m = 2. The type of follower motion is rise and fall (R-F), i.e., it has a
rise followed by a return immediately, and no dwell occurs during the motion. The cycloid motion curve is adopted here for
the displacement curve of the follower due to its continuous acceleration, its equations are

 3
sin 2pb h
h
5 for 0 6 h 6 b
gh h4 
2p
b
2

43

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W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

and

h
i3
2
sin 2phb
b
h

b
5 for b 6 h 6 2b
gh h  h4

b
2p

44

Moreover, let the oscillating stroke of the follower be h = p/6, and both the cam angles for total rise and total return be b = p.
In addition, by substituting both Eqs. (43) and (44), into Eq. (15) given in Ref. [8], we have

xs

11 cos2h
6

xs

13  cos2h  b
6

for 0 6 h 6 p

45

and

for

p 6 h 6 2p

46

Since the two angular velocities in Eqs. (45) and (46) are symmetrical to h = p, only the trajectory of Eq. (45) is illustrated
here, the trajectory of Eq. (46) can be obtained in a similar way.
1. Assume there are 13 kinematic constraints (n = 13) to be specied, then the output angular velocities corresponding to
each constraints are obtained by substituting each h into Eq. (45), which are shown in Table 2.
2. To ensure the continuity in acceleration, at least k = 3 is required. In this example, the order k is assumed to be 4 in order
to have better performances in high speed transmission.
3. Since the knots at the endpoints must be repeated for k times each, a total of 17 knots (n + k) have to be generated. The
equal spaced knot sequence is adopted here, and the knot sequence T is shown in Table 3. For n control points, n B-spline
basis functions must be used to synthesize the spline curve. Moreover, each basis function with order k is established on
k + 1 consecutive knots. The basis functions and their corresponding knot sequences are listed in Tables 3 and 4,
respectively.
Table 2
Control points of xs Example 1
h

xs

0
1.0000

15
0.9888

30
0.9583

45
0.9166

60
0.8750

75
0.8445

90
0.8335

105
0.8445

120
0.8750

135
0.9166

150
0.9583

165
0.9888

180
1.0000

Table 3
Knot sequence T Example 1
hs

Knots

18

36

54

72

90

108

126

144

162

180

T1
T2
T3
T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10

T11

T12

T13

T14
T15
T16
T17

Table 4
Basis functions and their corresponding knot sequences Example 1
Basis functions
B1
Knots

T1
T2
T3
T4
T5

B2
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6

B3

T3
T4
T5
T6
T7

B4

T4
T5
T6
T7
T8

B5

T5
T6
T7
T8
T9

B6

T6
T7
T8
T9
T10

B7

T7
T8
T9
T10
T11

B8

T8
T9
T10
T11
T12

B9

T9
T10
T11
T12
T13

B10

T10
T11
T12
T13
T14

B11

T11
T12
T13
T14
T15

B12

T12
T13
T14
T15
T16

B13

T13
T14
T15
T16
T17

887

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Table 5
Numerical values of basis functions Example 1
h

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

B6

B7

B8

B9

B10

B11

B12

B13

0
15
30
45
60
75
90
105
120
135
150
165
180

1.0000
0.0046
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.3877
0.0093
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.5112
0.3673
0.0208
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0968
0.5741
0.4792
0.0494
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0494
0.4792
0.5741
0.0965
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0208
0.3704
0.6412
0.1667
0.0008
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0062
0.2616
0.6667
0.2616
0.0062
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0008
0.1667
0.6412
0.3704
0.0208
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0965
0.5741
0.4792
0.0494
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0494
0.4792
0.5741
0.0965
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0208
0.3673
0.5112
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0093
0.3877
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0046
1.0000

4. Each B-spline basis function and its derivatives can be obtained by substituting k, n, and T into Eqs. (20)(22), and few of
them are shown in Table 5, where Bi denotes the ith basis function and its derivative, respectively.
5. By substituting each control point into Eq. (24), we get the linear system of equations as

B10

6 B115
6
6
6 B130
6
6 B145
6
6
6 B160
6
6
6 B175
6
6 B190
6
6
6 B1105
6
6 B1120
6
6
6 B1135
6
6 B1150
6
6
4 B1165
B1180

B20



B215
B230




B245



B260



B275



B290



B2105   
B2120   
B2135   
B2150   
B2165   

B130

32

A1

1:0000

76 A 7 6 0:9888 7
7
76 2 7 6
7
76
7 6
76 A3 7 6 0:9583 7
7
76
7 6
7
7 6
6
B1345 7
76 A4 7 6 0:9166 7
7
6
7
7
6
7
7 6
6
B1360 7
76 A5 7 6 0:8750 7
7
6
7
7
6

B1375 76 A6 7 6 0:8445 7
7
6
7
7
6
7
7 6
6
B1390 7
76 A7 7 6 0:8335 7
7
7 6
 76
B13105 76 A8 7 6 0:8445 7
7
76
7 6
 76
6
7
B13120 76 A9 7 6 0:8750 7
7
7
76
7 6
B13135 76 A10 7 6 0:9166 7
7
76
7 6
7
7 6
6
B13150 7
76 A11 7 6 0:9583 7
7
76
7 6
B13165 54 A12 5 4 0:9888 5
B1315
B1330

B2180    B13180

A13

47

1:0000

6. By solving the linear system of equations in Eq. (47), the coefcient vector A can be easily found by the matrix algebra as

A1

1:0000

6 A 7 6 0:9997 7
7
6 2 7 6
7
7 6
6
6 A3 7 6 0:9889 7
7
7 6
6
6 A 7 6 0:9441 7
7
6 4 7 6
7
7 6
6
6 A5 7 6 0:8892 7
7
7 6
6
7
7 6
6
6 A6 7 6 0:8445 7
7
7 6
6
7
7 6
A6
6 A7 7 6 0:8280 7
7
7 6
6
6 A8 7 6 0:8445 7
7
7 6
6
6 A9 7 6 0:8892 7
7
7 6
6
7
7 6
6
6 A10 7 6 0:9441 7
7
7 6
6
6 A11 7 6 0:9889 7
7
7 6
6
7
7 6
6
4 A12 5 4 0:9997 5
A13

1:0000

Once the Ai has been determined, the B-spline curve can be obtained. Fig. 15 shows the synthesized output trajectory, which
is drawn by MATLAB software. Moreover, to perform the cam design, the B-spline curve of dg/dh can be found by substituting the B-spline curve of xs into Eq. (15) given in Ref. [8], which is shown in Fig. 16. In addition, the value of g can be obtained by numerical integration with respect to h.
After the B-spline curves of dg/dh and g have been obtained, the cam prole can be synthesized by the prole equations.
Let the length of the rocker be lr = 42.78 mm, the radii of the roller and the base circle be rf = 6.5 mm and rb = 68.5 mm,

888

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Fig. 15. B-spline curve of xs Example 1.

Fig. 16. B-spline curve of dg/dh Example 1.

respectively. Similarly, the cam design can be proceeded as that outlined in Ref. [8]. Fig. 17 shows a comparison between the
cam prole designed by this example and that given in Ref. [8]. Apparently, the two proles fairly agree with each other,
therefore the validity of the proposed method for the motion design is veried. Fig. 18 depicts the kinematic simulation
of the design. Fig. 19 shows the comparison of the required and the generated motions, it can be found that they agree closely. Therefore, the proposed design is validated.
6.2. Example 2
In this example, a new motion design for the mechanism (4-3-1-2-1-1) is conducted to verify its kinematic analysis and
cam design.

889

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

120.00
Ref. [8]
Example 1

80.00

40.00

0.00

-40.00

-80.00

-120.00
-120.00

-80.00

-40.00

0.00

40.00

80.00

120.00

Fig. 17. Comparison of cam proles Example 1.

Fig. 18. Kinematic simulation Example 1.

1. Assume there are 17 kinematic constraints (n = 17) to be specied. Their values are shown in Table 6. It is noted that the
accelerations at its two ends are set as zero to have a continuous acceleration.
2. To ensure the continuity in acceleration, at least k = 3 is required. In this example, k is assumed to be 3.
3. Since the knots at the endpoints must be repeated for k times each, a total of 20 knots (n + k) have to be generated. The
equal spaced knot sequence is adopted here, and the knot sequence T is shown in Table 7. For n control points, n B-spline
basis functions must be used to synthesize the spline curve. Moreover, each basis function with order k is established on
k+1 consecutive knots. The basis functions and their corresponding knot sequences are listed in Table 8.
4. Each B-spline basis function and its derivative can be obtained by substituting k, n, and T into Eqs. (20)(22), and few of
them are shown in Table 9. Bi (i = 1  n) denotes the ith basis function and its derivative, respectively.

890

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

36.00

Requirement
Simulation

Angular Velocity (deg/sec)

34.00

32.00

30.00

28.00

26.00

24.00
0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

Time (sec)
Fig. 19. Comparison Example 1.
Table 6
Control points of xs Example 2
hs

xs

0
60

5
60.6

22.5
68.6

33.75
72.7

45
74.9

56.25
75.2

67.5
73.8

78.75
71.1

90
67.2

101.25
62.9

112.5
60.2

123.75
59

135
52.8

150
33.6

165
53

170
57

180
60

Table 7
Knot sequence T Example 2
hs

Knots

12

24

36

48

60

72

84

96

108

120

132

144

156

168

180

T1
T2
T3

T4

T5

T6

T7

T8

T9

T10

T11

T12

T13

T14

T15

T16

T17

T18
T19
T20

Table 8
Basis functions and their corresponding knot sequences Example 2
Basis functions
B1
Knots

T1
T2
T3
T4

B2
T2
T3
T4
T5

B3

T3
T4
T5
T6

B4

T4
T5
T6
T7

B5

T5
T6
T7
T8

B6

T6
T7
T8
T9

B7

T7
T8
T9
T10

B8

T8
T9
T10
T11

B9

T9
T10
T11
T12

B10

T10
T11
T12
T13

B11

T11
T12
T13
T14

B12

T12
T13
T14
T15

B13

T13
T14
T15
T16

B14

T14
T15
T16
T17

B15

T15
T16
T17
T18

B16

T16
T17
T18
T19

B17

T17
T18
T19
T20

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

B6

B7

B8

B9

B10

B11

B12

B13

B14

B15

B16

B17

0
5
22.5
33.75
45
56.25
67.5
78.75
90
101.25
112.5
123.75
135
150
165
170
180

1.0000
0.3403
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.5729
0.0078
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0868
0.6094
0.0176
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.3828
0.6523
0.0313
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.3301
0.6875
0.0488
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.2813
0.7148
0.0703
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.2363
0.7344
0.0957
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.1953
0.7461
0.1250
0.000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.1582
0.7500
0.1582
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.1250
0.7461
0.1953
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0957
0.7344
0.2363
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0703
0.7148
0.2831
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0488
0.6875
0.1250
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0313
0.7500
0.0313
0.0000
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.1250
0.6875
0.3472
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.2813
0.6250
0.0000

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0278
1.0000

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

Table 9
Numerical values of basis functions Example 2

891

892

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

5. By substituting each control points into Eq. (24), we obtain the linear system of equations as

3
32
3 2
A1
60:00
B10:00
B20:00

B170:00
7
7 6
6 B15:00
6
B25:00

B175:00 7
76 A2 7 6 60:60 7
6

 76
7 6 68:60 7
6 B122:50
B222:50




B1722:50

A
3
7
76
7 6
6
7
7 6
6 B133:75
6
B233:75    B1733:75 7
76 A4 7 6 72:70 7
6
7
6
7
7
6
6



74:90

B245:00




B1745:00

A
B145:00
7
76 5 7 6
6
7
7 6
6


 76
B256:25    B1756:25 76 A6 7 6 75:20 7
6 B156:25
7
6
7
7
6
6



6 B167:50
B267:50    B1767:50 76 A7 7 6 73:80 7
7
6
7
7
6
6
7
7 6
6 B178:75
6
B278:75    B1778:75 7
76 A8 7 6 71:10 7
6



76 A9 7 6 67:20 7
6 B190:00
B290:00




B1790:00

7
76
7 6
6
6 B1101:25 B2101:25    B17101:25 76 A10 7 6 62:90 7
7
76
7 6
6
7
6
6 B1112:50 B2112:50    B17112:50 76 A 7
76 11 7 6 60:20 7
6
6 B1123:75 B2123:75    B17123:75 76 A 7 6 59:00 7
7
76 12 7 6
6
7
76
7 6
6
6 B1135:00 B2135:00    B17135:00 76 A13 7 6 52:80 7
7
6
7
7
6
6
6 B1150:00 B2150:00    B17150:00 76 A14 7 6 33:60 7
7
76
7 6
6



6 B1165:00 B2165:00    B17165:00 76 A15 7 6 53:00 7
7
6
7
7
6
6
4 B1170:00 B2170:00    B17170:00 54 A16 5 4 57:00 5
60:00
B1180:00 B2180:00    B17180:00
A17
2

48

6. By solving the linear system of equations in Eq. (48), the coefcient vector A can be easily found by matrix algebra as

3
3 2
60:0000
A1
6 A2 7 6 60:0333 7
7
7 6
6
6 A3 7 6 66:7010 7
6 A 7 6 71:8110 7
7
6 4 7 6
6 A5 7 6 74:7764 7
7
7 6
6
6 A6 7 6 75:5453 7
7
7 6
6
6 A7 7 6 74:2431 7
7
7 6
6
6 A8 7 6 71:5056 7
7
7 6
6
A 6 A9 7 6 67:2858 7
6 A 7 6 62:3797 7
7
6 10 7 6
6 A11 7 6 59:7059 7
7
7 6
6
6 A12 7 6 59:3059 7
7
7 6
6
6 A13 7 6 51:1051 7
7
7 6
6
6 A14 7 6 27:7086 7
7
7 6
6
6 A15 7 6 51:2642 7
4 A 5 4 60:0532 5
2

16

A17

60:0000

Fig. 20. B-spline curve of xs Example 2.

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

893

Fig. 21. B-spline curve of dn/dh Example 2.

Fig. 22. Kinematic simulation Example 2.

Once Ai has been determined, the B-spline curve can be synthesized, which is shown in Fig. 20. Moreover, to perform the cam
design, the B-spline curve of dn/dh can be found by substituting the B-spline curve of xs into Eq. (16), which is shown in
Fig. 21. In addition, the value of n can be obtained by numerical integration with respect to h. After the B-spline curves of
dn/dh and n have been obtained, the cam prole can be synthesized by using the prole equations derived in Section 5.
Let the modulus for two gears be m = 2, the numbers of teeth for the sun gear and the planetary gear be Ts = 30 and
Tp = 15, respectively. Also, let the length of the rocker be lr = 42.78 mm, the radii of the roller and the base circle be
rf = 6.5 mm and rb = 68.5 mm, respectively. Substituting the given data into Eqs. (3) and (25), we have c = 45 mm and
k0 = 2.060 rad, respectively. Then, substituting Ts, Tp, k0 and n into Eqs. (34) and (35), c and dc/dh can be calculated. Moreover,
P, Q, and M can be found by substituting c, lr, c, and dc/dh into Eqs. (40)(42), and then by substituting them into Eqs. (38)
and (39), the x and y coordinates of the cam prole can be obtained, respectively. Finally, the solid model of the new design is
drawn, and introduced into ADAMS for simulation. Fig. 22 depicts the kinematic simulation of the design, and Fig. 23 shows

894

W.-H. Hsieh / Mechanism and Machine Theory 44 (2009) 873895

80.00

Requirement
Simulation

Angular Veclocity (deg/sec)

70.00

60.00

50.00

40.00

30.00
0.00

60.00

120.00

180.00

240.00

300.00

360.00

Time (sec)
Fig. 23. Comparison Example 2.

the comparison between the required and the simulation of the design, it can be found that they agree closely. Therefore, the
motion design and the cam design proposed for the mechanism (4-3-1-2-1-1) are validated.
7. Conclusions
In this study, a systematic approach for the kinematic synthesis of CCPGTs has been proposed. The structural synthesis of
(4, 5) kinematic chains has been performed by the creative design methodology. A new CCPGT has been synthesized. Also,
the kinematic equations of the new design have been derived from its geometry. Moreover, the B-spline-based motion design process has been addressed. Furthermore, the cam prole equations for the new design have been derived. Finally, two
illustrative designs have been given to validate the correctness and feasibility of the proposed method. The results show that
the proposed approach can be effectively applied to the kinematic synthesis of CCPGTs.
Acknowledgement
The support of the National Science Council, Republic of China (Taiwan), under Grants NSC 91-2212-E-150-023 and NSC
92-2212-E-150-035 is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1]
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