Reliability analysis of over-center locking of mechanism

Locking function of a mechanism plays a significant role in safety and reliability. The operating principles of over-center locking in typical mechanisms and influencing factors of reliability to mechanism over-center locking are illustrated. A universal reliability analytical model of over-center locking mechanism is built and the algorithm of over-center angles is proposed. The result shows that in a planar four-bar mechanism, the dimension of driven link and variation coefficients have prominent influence on the reliability of over-center locking. The models and methods proposed could provide helpful reference in designing over-center locking of mechanisms.