Compliant toggle-linkage mechanisms: A new type of displacement/force amplification principle

Abstract A compliant toggle-linkage mechanism with the functions of displacement amplification/reduction is proposed. A series of compliant amplification mechanisms are examined by permuting flexure toggle linkages, showcasing a flexible design by combining flexure toggle-linkage building blocks. A compliant toggle-lever mechanism is emphatically investigated as both displacement amplifiers and reducers for piezoelectric actuators by exchanging the input and output ports. Its kinetostatics and dynamics are captured by an improved dynamic stiffness modeling procedure with high prediction accuracy, which shifts the nodes of all adjacent flexure members to being coincident to deal with irregular connection of flexure building blocks. It is theoretically and numerically demonstrated that the forward and reverse motion directions can be simultaneously achieved based on the proposed compliant toggle-lever mechanism just by changing its structural parameters. At last, the relationship between the ratios of displacement amplification and reduction in-between input and output ports is clarified, analyzed and summarized based on the theoretical model, finite element simulation and experimental testing.