SPLIT-VERTEX TECHNIQUE FOR THICKNESS-ACCOMMODATION IN ORIGAMI-BASED MECHANISMS

摘要

A novel thickness-accommodation technique for origami based mechanisms is introduced. This technique modifies a zero-thickness pattern by splitting each vertex along the minor folds into a system of two vertices. The modified fold pattern then has thickness applied to it and the resulting mechanism is kinemat-ically equivalent to the modified fold pattern. Origami patterns that are rigid-foldable and only have two panels that stack between folds are utilized in the technique. The technique produces thick origami mechanisms where all panels lie in a plane in the unfolded state without any holes or protrusions and maintain a single degree of freedom. Steps for synthesizing split-vertex mechanisms are presented and examples of split-vertex mechanisms are shown. Advantages and potential applications of the technique are discussed.