A Compliant Mechanism as Rocker Arm with Spring Capability for Precision Engineering Applications

In precision engineering escapement and ratchet mechanism are often used to keep an element in a non-operating state e.g. in chronometers. Such mechanisms have a pivoted and spring-loaded pawl locking a ratchet. For miniaturized applications reducing the number of elements and functional integration is recommended. Spring clip mechanisms as rocker arms combine the rocker itself with a spring. Therefor a special formed wire is mounted in a frame by two shifted revolute joints. The spring capability is once determined by the geometry and the material and twice by the shifting of the axes and the deflection of the clip. In this contribution the force-deflection behavior of such mechanisms for different shiftings is focused utilizing the finite element method. Spring clip mechanisms realize a wide range of motion and due to a shifting of axes and the asymmetry the force-deflection behavior is influenced. Finally some precision engineering devices with a spring clip mechanism are suggested.