2009 Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 179-190
This work synthesizes the topological structures of the lost Zhang Heng's seismoscope, which was invented in ancient China in 132 AD, with cam-linkage mechanisms. Based on the study of the literature and seismology, the design specifications of Zhang Heng's seismoscope are defined and concluded. According to the concepts of generalization and specialization subject to the concluded design specifications, all feasible interior mechanisms with cams and links that meet science theories and techniques of the subject's time period are receated. Two examples, one with five members and six joints and the other with six members and eight joints, of the interior mechanism of Zhang Heng's seismoscope are derived with 2 and 11 feasible designs, respectively.
