This paper proposes a novel concept for reducing driving torque fluctuations of planar linkages by the application of non-circular gears. The circular gears normally used in gear linkage mechanisms are replaced by a pair of non-circular gears. The design method includes two individual stages: linkage synthesis and gear ratio synthesis. An optimization model is developed for determining the appropriate transmission ratio function of the non-circular gear pair to meet user-specified requirements and constraints. Two examples are given to demonstrate this method and to verify its feasibility.
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