In either a gravity balancer or spring balancer, the forces required to move a weight in the direction of gravity consist of inertia force and frictional force generated in the system. This report derives a general equation of inertia force for both a gravity balancer and spring balancer and compares the two. It also clarifies the conditions for decreasing inertia force and achieving a compact and light configuration in a spring balancer. In addition, a general equation of frictional force is derived for each type of balancer enabling frictional force to be predicted at the design stage.

Issue Section:
Technical Papers
Keywords:
design engineering, balances, friction
Topics:
Gravity (Force), Inertia (Mechanics), Springs, Weight (Mass), Pulleys, Ropes
1.
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2.
Kobayashi
,
K.
,
1998
, “
New Design Method of the Spring Balancer
,”
ASME J. Mech. Des.
,
123
, No.
4
, pp.
139
–
146
(in Japanese).
3.
Kobayashi, K., 1999, “New Design Method for Spring Balancers,” ASME J. Mech. Des. (submitted).
4.
Parker, S., 1984, McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 3rd Edition, 158, 839, McGraw-Hill Book Company.
5.
Hind, E. C., 1963–64, “Wire Rope Transmission Losses,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng., 178-1-30, pp. 815–828.
Copyright © 2001
 by ASME
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