SOLUTIONS OF EXERCISE PROBLEMS

1. a.
𝑠 = 4.4 cm (shortest link length), 𝑙 = 9.5 cm (longest link length), 𝑝 = 𝑞 = 5 cm (intermediate link lengths).
With these values,
𝑙+𝑠 >𝑝+𝑞
So, this mechanism doesn’t obey the Grashof’s rule and therefore it is a double-rocker mechanism.

For the limiting case, at 𝛾 = 180o

B
r3
C
r2
r4 

r1
A D

(𝑟3 + 𝑟4 )2 = 𝑟1 2 + 𝑟2 2 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 cos⁡(𝜃)

cos(𝜃) = 0.28

sin(𝜃) = 𝜎√1 − 0.282 = 0.96𝜎

𝜃 = 𝑎𝑡𝑎𝑛2 (0.96𝜎, 0.28)

𝜎 = +1  𝜃 = 73.74o (shown above in the figure)

𝜎 = −1  𝜃 = −73.74o (mirror image as reflected about AD)

So,

−73.74o ≤ 𝜃 ≤ 73.74o  𝜃 ∗ = 73.74o

b.

With 𝜃 = 50° , the cosine theorem leads to the following equation:

𝑟1 2 + 𝑟2 2 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 cos(50o ) = 𝑟3 2 + 𝑟4 2 − 2𝑟3 𝑟4 cos⁡(𝛾)

Hence,

cos(𝛾) = −0.223  𝛾 = 102.88o

Minimum and maximum transmission angles can be determined as below:
Recall from the lectures that, for a crank-rocker mechanism, 𝛾𝑚𝑖𝑛 and 𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑥 occur when sin 𝜃 = 0, i.e., when
𝜃 = 0° or 𝜃 = 180° . However, for the mechanism considered here, which is a double-rocker mechanism, 𝜃 can
never reach 180° . It can at most be 𝜃 ∗ = 73.74o as seen in Part (a). Hence, it is also seen that 𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑥 occurs when
𝜃 = 𝜃 ∗ = 73.74o with the following value

𝛾𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 180°

On the other hand, it is possible to have 𝜃 = 0° , which leads to 𝛾𝑚𝑖𝑛 as follows through the cosine theorem:

𝑟32 + 𝑟42 − (𝑟1 − 𝑟2 )2

cos 𝛾𝑚𝑖𝑛 =
2𝑟3 𝑟4
c.
B

r3
r2
C 
r4

r1
A D

As illustrated above, the folded toggle position with 𝛽 = 0o is possible if the link lengths are such that

𝑟1 − (𝑟2 − 𝑟3 ) < 𝑟4 < 𝑟1 + (𝑟2 − 𝑟3 )

With the link lengths of our mechanism, this inequality fails on the left-hand side. That is,

8.5 < 5 < 10.1

Therefore, the folded toggle position with 𝛽 = 0o is not possible for our mechanism.

r3
r4
B 

r2 
 
r1

A D
On the other hand, as illustrated above, the extended toggle position with 𝛽 = 180o is possible if

(𝑟2 + 𝑟3 ) − 𝑟4 < 𝑟1 < (𝑟2 + 𝑟3 ) + 𝑟4

For our mechanism, the above inequality is satisfied on both sides. That is,

4.4 < 5 < 14.4

Therefore, the extended toggle position with 𝛽 = 180o is possible for our mechanism.

The corresponding angles 𝜃 and 𝛿 can found as follows by using the cosine theorem:

𝑟4 2 = (𝑟2 + 𝑟3 )2 + 𝑟1 2 − 2 ∗ (𝑟2 + 𝑟3 ) ∗ 𝑟1 ∗ cos⁡(𝜃) 

𝜃 = 30.67o

(𝑟2 + 𝑟3 )2 = 𝑟1 2 + 𝑟4 2 − 2 ∗ 𝑟1 ∗ 𝑟4 ∗ cos⁡(𝛿) 
𝛿 = 73.56o
For our mechanism, there is only one toggle position. However, the swing angle is definable if there are two
toggle positions. Therefore, for our mechanism, the swing angle is not definable.
2.

The required time ratio can be obtained if we assume that

5π 3π
α= and α′ =
4 4

Indeed,
α 5
TR = α′ = 3

For the sake of convenience, let

π
α′′ = α − π = 4

Let's apply the cosine theorem for the angle α′′:

s 2 = (b1 + b2 )2 + (b2 − b1 )2 − 2(b1 + b2 )(b2 − b1 )cos⁡(α′′)

By inserting 𝑠 = 50⁡𝑐𝑚 and α′′ = 𝜋/4, the above equation reduces to

(2 + √2)b1 2 + (2 − √2)b2 2 = 2500 (1)

On the other hand, for the existence of the triangle with the edge lengths (𝑏1 + 𝑏2 ), (𝑏1 − 𝑏2 ), and 𝑠, we must
have

(𝑏1 + 𝑏2 ) − (𝑏2 − 𝑏1 ) < 𝑠 < (𝑏1 + 𝑏2 ) + (𝑏2 − 𝑏1 ) 

𝑏1 < 25 < 𝑏2 (2)

In order to satisfy Inequality (2), let’s take

𝑏1 = 20⁡𝑐𝑚
Then, from Equation (1), we get

𝑏2 = 44.005⁡𝑐𝑚,
Note that 𝑏2 also satisfies Inequality (2).

With the knowledge of 𝑏1 and 𝑏2 , we can find the angle 𝛿 by means of the cosine theorem. That is,

(b2 − b1 )2 = 𝑠 2 + (b2 + b1 )2 − 2𝑠(𝑏2 + 𝑏1 ) cos 𝛿 

𝛿 = 19.85o
Finally, we can find the offset 𝑐 as follows:

𝑐 = (𝑏1 + 𝑏2 )sin⁡𝛿 
𝑐 = 21.73⁡𝑐𝑚
As the conclusion, we have designed the required slider-crank mechanism with the following parameters:

𝑏1 = 20⁡𝑐𝑚
𝑏2 = 44.005⁡𝑐𝑚
𝑐 = 21.73⁡𝑐𝑚