Abstract
A pantographic structure, capable of forming a conic shape while deployed, is presented in this paper. It can be used as the backbone of a foldable tent or other mobile shelters. Different from most of the existing deployable structures, its deployment process induces no strain in the structural components. The geometric conditions given, together with a design for the joints, guarantee that the structure has only one internal degree of freedom. The concept has been successfully demonstrated by a small scale model. The same approach could be adopted while attempting to design other domed three-dimensional foldable pantographs.
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