A Derivation of the Pole Curve

Equations in tlie Projective Plane

M. Brady
Captain. Traditional four-position mechanism synthesis focuses on the poles corresponding to
U.S. Airforce Academy, four displacements of a rigid body. From these poles equations for the center-point and
Colorado Springs, CO 80840 circle-point curves are developed. However, if a pole is infinite (the associated
displacement is a pure translation), the established derivations for the pole curve
equation break down. One can eliminate this problem by expressing the pole curve
S. Peterson equation in the projective plane, because all points, including points at infinity, have
Vanderbilt University, finite homogeneous coordinates. In this paper, the pole curve equation is derived in the
Box 1592, Stations, projective plane. This projection derivation is an analytic expression of Alt's graphical
Nashviile.TN 37235-1592
iVIem. ASiVIE
construction of the pole curve. The pole curve is the intersection of a pair of projective
pencils of circles (one pencil for opposite sides of the opposite-pole quadrilateral) which
are defined by the homogeneous coordinates of the poles. The resulting equations are
applied to several problems in the synthesis offour-bar linkages. In addition the rotation
curves, the locus of displacement poles for a four-bar linkage, are computed for linkages
with sliding joints.

Introduction
Pole curves are important geometric objects used in syn-
thesizing and analyzing the kinematics of planar systems of
rigid bodies. In synthesis, the four poles determined from the
precision points generate curves describing the loci of feasi-
ble locations for ground and moving pivots—the center-point
and circle-point curves. In analysis, the ground and moving
pivot locations of a four-bar linkage generate the rotation
curve which describes the displacement of the coupler
throughout its range of motion.
This paper describes an analytical method for obtaining
pole curves in projective space. It provides a method for
obtaining pole curves in projective space, and provides a
method of computing these curves when the generating poles
go to infinity. In most formulations certain arrangements of
the motion poles must be handled as special cases. This
projective technique provides a general expression for the
pole curve that treats all cases in the same manner.
There are a variety of methods to obtain pole curves.
Graphical methods are based upon the fact that opposite
sides of the opposite-pole quadrilateral subtend equal angles
from a point on the pole curve. These methods include those
developed by Alt (Hartenberg and Denavit, 1964) and Beyer
(1963). In these constructions, pole curves are the locus of
intersections of a series of circles, called a pencil of circles.
Analytic expressions for these circles and their intersections
can be developed from the pole locations. Several expres-
sions based on the distances between poles are known when
all four poles of the opposite-pole quadrilateral are finite
(Bottema and Roth, 1979; Hunt 1978). However, since these
Contributed by the Mechanism Committee for publication in the JOUR-
NAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received Nov. 1993; revised
Aug. 1994. Associate Technical Editor: B. Ravani.
derivatives use distances between the poles, they fail when
poles go to infinity.
Algebraic techniques for computing the pole curves are
based on fitting curves to the precision point data. Suh and
Radcliff (1978) use transformation matrices to describe the
displacement of rigid body. Constraint equations are used to
determine points on the moving body which move in circles
(revolute joints) or along straight lines (prismatic joints).
These points define the moving pivots of a linkage. The fixed
pivots are determined by locating the center of the circle.
The method uses Newton-Raphson iteration to solve the
nonlinear constraint equations.
Another approach, described by Ravani (1982), uses kine-
matic mappings to represent the displacements of the rigid
body. Polynomial equations expressing kinematic mappings
of four-bar linkages are expressed in terms of the linkage
design parameters. Least squares methods are then used to
fit these equations to specified design positions. This method
is similar to those described by Suh and Radcliff (1978).
Perhaps the most popular method of synthesizing planar
mechanisms is based upon vector dyads (Sandor, 1959, and
Sandor and Erdman, 1984). In this method complex numbers
define vectors connecting the joints of the linkage. Rotation
or stretch operators are used to relate the initial configura-
tion to each of the design positions. When designing four
positions of the linkage, the compatibility linkage determines
the solutions of the nonlinear dyad equations. The center
and circle point curves computed in this fashion are
parametrized with respect to the input angle of the compati-
bility linkage.
Pole curves are also useful analysis tools. The rotation
curve, originally developed by Lohse (1975), describes the
locus of poles defining the continuous displacements of a
rigid body referenced to an initial configuration. Veldkamp

Journal of Mechanical Design MARCH 1995, Vol. 117/123

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Fig. 1 The anharmonic ratio described by points and lines
(1967) described a method of calculating the rotation curve
from the ground and moving pivot locations using methods
similar to those described by Bottema and Roth (1979) and
Hunt (1978) for synthesis problems.
The new projective method implements the geometric
constructions described by Alt in projective space. This
method employs the pole coordinates, not distances between
poles. The coordinates dependence facilitates the derivation
of an analytic expression for the pole curve when poles lie at
infinity. Computing the pole curve using this method is
applied to both synthesis and analysis problems.
An Overview of Projective Geometry
Several features of projective geometry are important in
the derivation of the pole curve equations. First, points at
infinity are represented with finite coordinate values. As a
result, geometric objects constructed using these points de-
generate in a well-defined manner. Second, a circle can be
represented as the product of two involutoric pencils of lines.
These relationships will be used to express the circles in Alt's
construction. Finally, a quartic curve is generated by the
product of two projective pencils of conies. This product
expresses the intersections of these circles. In kinematic
problems, this product degenerates to a focal cubic, the pole
curve.
Projective space has the advantage over Euclidean space
of inherently including points and lines at infinity (Penna and
Patterson, 1986). For example, parallel lines in the Euclidean
plane do not intersect; in the projective plane, parallel lines
are concurrent at an ideal point, or point at infinity. All these
ideal points lie on the ideal line^—the line at infinity.
A general point in the projective plane is expressed in
terms of homogeneous coordinates {x, y, z). This point
corresponds to the point (x/z, y/z) in Euclidean space. As a
result, the points (x, y, z) and (ex, cy, cz), where c is a
constant, are equivalent. A finite point in the real projective
plane is (x, y, 1). The point at infinity on the line y/z
= mix/z) + b i& (1, m, 0).
A line in the projective plane is given by
I = ax + by + cz = Q (1)
In this form, the equation of the ideal line is z = 0. Each line
can be expressed as an ordered triple («, b, c), in which a, b,
and c are not all zero.
Points and lines are dual elements in projective geometry.
Any theorem stated in terms of points can be stated in its
dual form using lines, and vice versa. For example, the dual
theorem to two distinct lines meet in one point is two distinct
points lie on one line (Penna and Patterson, 1986).
In the projective plane the anharmonic ratio (cross or
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s
^
/l2 ^ ^
vA/'^
Hy
''Jf B \JD
\ Vf
- ^ ^ 3
•^
T
Fig. 2 A circle described by involutoric pencils of lines
double-ratio) of four collinear points, shown in Fig.
defined as
(AC)(BD)
k='R(A,B,C,D) (2)
(AD)(BC)
in which AC, BD, etc. are directed distances between points
(Emch, 1905). The anharmonic ratio is also defined for a set
of coincident, coplanar lines (a pencil). The anharmonic ratio
of the four lines, a, b, c, and d, in Fig. 1 is given by
sm(ac)sin(bd)
k = R(a,b,c,d)= . J ) ; (3)
in which ac is the included angle between lines a and c, hd
is the included angle between b and d, etc. The directions of
these angles are important, and are defined by the normals
to each line.
A pencil of lines with vertex S can be represented as a
linear combination of any two lines, /, and /j (in the form of
Eq. (1)), through S. The equation
/, + A/2 = 0 (4)
describes any line of the pencil. All the lines can be gener-
ated by varying A from — <» to + oo. Let a second pencil with
vertex T be described by
Z3 + /tA/4 = 0 (5)
The two pencils are said to be projective because they are
governed by the same parameter A. The projectivity is char-
acterized by the anharmonic ratio, k. The product, or inter-
section, of the two pencils is found by eliminating A between
Eqs. (4) and (5):
/j/j - it/,/4 = 0 (6)
This product is a curve of degree 2, a conic, in homogeneous
coordinates x, y, and z. Every conic can be represented as
the product of two projective pencils of line (Emch, 1905).
In Fig. 2 points S and T define a vertical chord of a circle.
The horizontal diameter of the circle is the line CD, and the
intersection of lines ST and CD is point B. The tangents to
the circle at S and T intersect at a point A, which also lies
on the line CD. The anharmonic ratio of points A, B,C, and
D (or the lines SA, SB, SC, and SD) is - 1 . The line ST is
the polar of point A, and A is called the pole. In fact, any
line through A will intersect circle and the line ST in three
points that, with A, have an anharmonic ratio of — 1, even if
the intersections are imaginary (Emch, 1905).
Let the line SD be /j, SC be / j , TD be l^, and TC be l^.
These lines are displayed in Fig. 2. Because the diameter CD
subtends an angle of 90 deg. from every point on the circle, L
and l^ are perpendicular to /j and l^,, respectively. The
intersection of the projective pencils formed by these pairs of
lines is a circle if the lines are defined with normal vectors
oriented as shown in Fig. 2 and if the projectivity is charac-
Transactions of tlie ASME
 terized by an anharmonic ratio, k, equal to - 1 . Such a
projectivity is called an involution (Emch, 1905). The product
of two involutoric pencils is a circle (Emch, 1905).
The characteristics of pencils of lines extend to pencils of
higher order curves. A pencil of conies can be represented by
Mj + AMJ = 0 (7)
where u^ and Uj are intersecting conies of the form
u=Ax'^ + By^ + Cz^ + Z)xy + a:z + /^r = 0 (8)
Let a second pencil of conies be
Mj + AM4 = 0 (9)
for each value of A, Eqs. (7) and (9) give a pair of conies. The
pencils are projective, and the two conies correspond when
they are related by the same parameter A. The product of
these pencils is a curve of degree 4 (Emch, 1905),
M1W4 — M2M3 = 0 (10)
This curve is the locus of intersections of each pair of
corresponding conies for the two pencils.
Determination of Pole Locations in Projective Space
Any planar displacement of a rigid body from one position
to another can be represented as a rotation of the body about
a point in the plane, called the pole of the motion. A pure
translation of the body is a rotation about the point at
infinity, which lies on a line normal to the direction of
translation. The location of the pole for the motion from
position i to position ) (designated P,y) in the (th coordinate
system can be found by determining the point which does not
change during a planar transformation. A homogeneous point
which solves this equation is
'4' \tXi^/iym{4>,^/l) - (ry,./2)cos(<^,./2)
= (0',//2)sin( i,y2) + (tt,./2)cos( <A;/2) (11)
yij
b-' sin(</.,y2)
Notice that the pole becomes a point an infinity perpendicu-
lar to the translation direction when the transformation is a
pure translation (i.e., ^^ equals 0). The displacement param-
eters used in Eq. (11) are calculated from the precision point
data using the following relationships
</>,-/ = ^i - Oi
IXij = (oxJ - OX;) cos Of + (oyj - oyi)sin 0,
tyij = (oyj - oyi) cos 9,- - (oxj - ox,)sin 6, (12)
where d-, represents the orientation of the /th position, and
(oxi, oyi) represents its origin. The pole coordinates are
transformed into the base coordinate system using the ex-
pression
COS 61 - sin 9, OXj
(13)
ya sin (?, COS Oj oyi y'ij
0 0 1
.4j
An Analytical Expression for the Pole Curve
The pole curve is the intersection of two pencils of circles,
each pencil is associated with a pair of adjacent poles. The
pencil of circles represents the location of the pole resulting
from the sum of angular displacements about two poles. This
sum is described by the pole triangle (Hartenberg and De-
navit, 1964). If the sum of the two displacement angles is
held constant, the resultant pole location traces out a circle.
As the magnitude of this sum is varied, a pencil of circles is
generated. This pencil can be generated using two exemplars
from the set of pole triangles.
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Fig. 3 A circle described by involutoric pencils of lines that have
poles for vertices
To simplify the derivation of the pencil of circles each pole
pair is transformed into a coordinate system where one pole
is placed at the origin and the y axis lies along the vector
connecting the two poles. The transformation from this coor-
dinate system to the global system is given by the matrix
-(2l>'2-Z2}'l) (Z1X2-Z2XJ) (X^a)/Zi
1
(ZjXj-ZjXi) (Zi)'2-^2yi) (}'l«)Al (14)
0 Q a
where
v^ X2-Z2X^) + (Ziy2-Z2yi) (15)
and the poles generating the pencil of circles are designated
Pi, (xi, yi, 2i), and P2, (xj, y2, -Za)-
In the new coordinate system P^ and P2 are (0, 0, Zj) and
(0, fl/zj, 22). Figure 3 illustrates the location of the poles and
the lines which generate the pencil of circles. As described
previously, the pencil of circles is generated using two pole
triangles. The first of these triangles is represented by the
line nil. This line expresses the Aronold-Kennedy theorem
(Bottema and Roth, 1979), and represents the sum of all
possible infinitesimal displacements about the poles. The
second triangle is constructed using the lines mj, mj and m^.
This pole triangle expresses the theorem which states that if
the sum of the angular displacements is equal to 27r, the
resulting displacement is a translation (Bottema and Roth,
1979).
Equations for each of these lines are shown below.
nil ^ Z1Z2X' = 0
"^2 = -ZiZ2y' = 0
OT3 = ZiZ2y' — az' = 0 (16)
To obtain an involutoric parametrization, new lines are
formed which are members of the pencils generated by Wj,
m2, and m^. The lines Wj and Wj form the pencil of lines
li = AOT2 + "^1 (1^)
The line perpendicular to each l^ is
/j = W2 - Ami (18)
In a similar fashion, a second set of pencils is formed by Wj
and nil with the same parameter A. These are referenced by
I3 and I4.
The lines /j and l^ intersect at point D (see Fig. 3). The
three points P^, P2, and D define a circle, which can be
expressed as the product of a pair of involutoric pencils. This
product is determined by eliminating the parameter between
these pencils
'1/4 + Izh = 0 (19)
MARCH 1995, Vol. 117/125
 The equation of the pole curve can be determined by
eliminating the parameter (A - 1/A) between these equa-
tions. The resulting pole curve is
K = C,L„ - CjiL, = 0 (25)
Because this equation involves products of conies, the pole
curve could be a fourth degree curve. However, the x^ and
y^ terms of both L, and L,i are always zero; therefore, the
pole curve degenerates to a cubic.

Applications to Mechanism Synthesis

The utility of the pole curve represented in the projective
plane will be demonstrated by several synthesis examples. A
program implementing Eqs. (11), (12), (13), (23) and (25) was
written in Mathematica® (Wolfram, 1991). This program
generated all curves presented in this paper.
The first example is taken from Chase et al. (1985). It
establishes the correctness of the formulation. The Burmester
curves are shown in Fig. 4. These curves were drawn using
standard contour drawing methods (Wolfram, 1991). The
Fig. 4 The pole curves generated using the precision points given equations describing these curves are
in Chase et al. (1989). The solid dots represent coordinates ob-
tained by Chase. K, = 0.0846x^ -f 0.1304x^3; + 0M46xy^ + 0.1304y3
-9.3892x^2 - 4A7lly^z - 3.6221xyz - 39.560x2^
Substituting expressions for / j , / j , / j , and I4 in terms of m,, -82.873yz^ + 2829.32^ = 0
^ 2 , and m^ into this equation gives the expression and
[m? - m,m,] + (A - l/\)[{m,m, + m,m,)/2] =0 (20) K„ = 0-4089x-^ + 0.0229^^^ + 0.4089xy2 + o.0229y3
-f-0.1442x^2 - 1.6083^^2 - 9.0101xy2 - 66.618x2^
In this equation each term in brackets is a conic of the form
of Eq. (8), so the equation describes a pencil of conies -l-47.2835}'22-534.3752^ = 0 (26)
governed by the parameter (A - 1/A) which can be written as where K^ is the center point curve and K^ is the circle point
G', = C',+ { \ - I/k)L, = 0 (21) curve. The circle point curve is found by reflecting P23 ^"^
P24 about the lines Pi2^i3 and ^,3^41, respectively. The
where reflection is defined by the following homogeneous transfor
C;= -2{z,z^{x'^+y'^)-z'y'a) mation
']2 _ /2
and -2/,/2 - 2 / 1 / 3 " 'x''
1 /2 _ /2
U, = ca'z' (22) -2/,/2 M '2 — 2/2/3 y' (27)
li + li 0 0 ij + q \_z' \
Although technically a pencil of conies, Gj gives a circle for
each value of A. Notice that one of the circles, L',, degener-
ates to a line. where
This pencil can be transformed into a pencil in the global
[/1/2/3] [yiZi-yiZx X 2^1
2, - x,z
1^2 xiyi-Xiyi] (28)
coordinate system using the inverse of the transformation
given in Eq. (14). The resulting conies are and Xj, yi and 2, are the coordinates of the poles defining
C,= - 2 ( ^ 1 2 2 ( ^ ^ + 3 ' ^ ) - ZX(Z2X^ -t-Z]X2) the reflection line. If the line coordinates given by Eq. (28)
correspond to the ideal line, the reflection matrk becomes
-zy(22>'i + zj^j) + z^ix^x^ +yiy2)) the identity matrix.
The solid dots in Fig. 4 shows the data points given in
and Chase et al. (1985). The agreement between the two methods
L, = zx{z^y2 - Z2y{) + zy{z2X^ - 21^2) + z'^{x2y] - x^y2) verifies the development describes above.
(23) The curves contain information concerning the sliding and
concurrency points, Using Eqs. (26), the ideal points defining
These expressions are general and generate the appropriate the sliding directions can be determined by setting 2 to zero.
pencil even when a pole is an infinite point (i.e., when z^ or K, = 0.0846(x^ + y^)(x + 1.54Qly) = 0
2i equals zero).
Using Eqs. (21) and (23) a pencil of circles can be gener- and
ated for the opposite sides of the pole quadralateral K„ = 0.4089( Jt;2 + y^)(x + 0.559y) = 0 (29)
G, = C,+ {k~ l/X)L, This gives the directions of the sliders as
G„ = C„ + (A - 1/A)L„ (24) slide direction = (-0.8388,0.5444,0.0000)
Since each pair of poles represents a collection of pole concurrency direction = (-0.0558,0.9984,0.0000) (30)
triangles, their placement in these equations is important.
P12 ^I'l ^23 ^'•s the first and second poles for G,, and P^^ The associated moving or fked pivot can be determined
and P34 are the first and second poles in the pencil G^. using homogeneous versions of standard pole triangle con-
Keep in mind that the order in which the displacements are structions (Hartenberg and Denavit, 1964). The construction
performed is important. is begun by creating a line through the point on the pole

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 Fig. 5 The pole curves generated when P^2 >s placed at Infinity. Fig. 6 The pole curves generated when P,2 ^"'^ ^za ^'^ placed at
The arrowhead Indicates the direction of the pole at Infinity. infinity. The arrowhead indicates the direction of the pole at infinity.
curve and P,2 and rotating this line about the pole by half
the angle of rotation. The half angle transformation is per-
formed using the matrix
lx,j{l + cos(</>;/2)) + ry,.^.sin(./);/2)
cos(4>,j/2) -sin(V2)
2(l-^cos(V2))
ty,j{l + cos(<^,./2)) -
sin(</.,./2) cos(</.,/2)
2(1 +cos(</.;/2))
0 0 1
and the line transformation equation
I = l'D,T{^'D^' (32)
where /' is a row vector containing the coefficients of the line
through the center point, / describes the line through the
corresponding moving pivot and Z), is the transformation
from the first position to the base coordinate system (defined
by Eq. (13)). This process is repeated using Pj3 or P^^. The
intersection of the resulting lines determines the associated
moving or fixed pivot location. These equations are well-de-
fined even when the poles are infinite. The intersection of
the line equations is determined using standard calculations
(Emch, 1905; Penna and Patterson, 1986). The sliding and
concurrency points for the example are shown in Fig. 4.
Standard dyad approaches must treat these sliding and
concurrency points as special cases (Kaufman, 1973). Their
locations in the parametrization defined by the compatibility
linkage are known, and methods have been developed for
avoiding them (Chase et al., 1985). In these approaches the
compatibility linkage's Grashof type must be known to locate
the singularities. Since the singularities of the circle point
curve do not correspond to those of the center point curve,
additional code must be included to treat these cases. This
leads to a complicated program structure. The projective
geometric approach produces smaller, more efficient code
since there are not as many special cases. Figures 5 and 6
show the curves generated as successive poles are placed at
infinity. The poles go to infinity when the orientations of two
precision points are equal. In these cases, the only condi-
tional code required to compute the pole curves is that used
to generate reflections about the line at infinity (see eq. (27)).
If the pole at infinity is P12, P13, or P^^, additional problems
occur when computing the sliding and concurrency points. In
this case the pole at infinity is equal to the direction of the
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sliding joint, since all the poles are on the pole curve. As a
result, one of the lines used to compute the corresponding
tt,^.sin(</.,/2) (31)
pivot location will be undefined (i.e., all the coefficients of
the line will be zero). Fortunately, the finite pole locations
can be used to perform the calculation. When two poles are
at infinity, there are no sliding or concurrency points.
To test the behavior of the standard dyad approach under
the circumstances, a Mathematica® program was written
implementing the algorithm presented by Chase et al. (1985).
The standard dyad approach works well when one pole is
placed at infinity; however, when two poles are made ideal,
adjacent sides of the compatibility linkage have equal lengths.
As a result, an additional singularity is generated {^2~ ^rg
Al - arg A2). Additional code is required to test for this
singularity.
Applications to Mechanism Analysis
Pole curves are also useful in the displacement analysis of
four-bar linkages. The rotation curve is the locus of poles
describing the displacement of the coupler link from an
initial position to any other position attainable by the mecha-
nism. It represents the continuous motion of the coupler link.
Figure 7 shows the rotation curve of a typical four-bar
linkage. The curve is generated by the coordinates of the
ground and moving pivots. These points define the relative
poles between bodies of the linkage (Hartenberg and De-
navit, 1964). The intersection of the pencil of circles gener-
ated by each side of the linkage generate the rotation curve
(Veldkamp, 1967). The rotation curve provides useful infor-
mation for selecting solutions to linkage synthesis problems.
Using the algorithm presented in this paper, the rotation
curves of mechanisms with sliding joints can be calculated.
The sliding joints are represented by poles at infinity. Figure
8 shows the rotation curve of an elliptic trammel (Paul, 1979).
MARCH 1995, Vol. 117/127
 Fig. 7 The rotation curve for a four-bar linkage
Conclusion
As demonstrated, the derivation of the pole curve equa-
tion in the projective plane provides an expression for the
curve that is completely general. This expression accommo-
dates any arrangement of poles. It works even when one or
more of the generating poles is infinite.
The projective plane algorithm was compared to other
methods of generating the pole equations. The algorithm
compares favorably to the standard dyad approach (Sandor,
1959; Sandor and Erdman, 1984). The projective method
generates a description in the pole coordinate space, and
efficient methods are available for computing and displaying
the curve. The projective algorithm also contains information
concerning the locations of the sliding and concurrency points.
Using standard methods dyads modeling the sliding joints
(i.e., incorporating stretch operators) must be solved to ob-
tain these points. The calculation of the curves must avoid
these singularity points, and as a result more complex code is
required to compute the curves. Finally, the projective method
degenerates in a well behaved manner as poles are placed at
infinity. The standard dyad approach easily handles one
infinite pole; however when two poles are at infinity, an
additional singularity is introduced.
The projective algorithm is very similar to the algebraic
methods described by Suh and Radcliff (1978). The projec-
tive algorithm computes a polynomial representation of the
pole curve while the method described by Suh and Radcliff
relies on iterative solutions of nonlinear equations. As a
result the projective geometric approach can take advantage
of the pole curve geometry when performing design calcula-
tions. The importance of this characteristic cannot be
overemphasized. Geometric thinking enhances intuition.
The projective method can also be applied to the analysis
of four-bar linkages. Rotation curves generated using the
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Fig. 8 The rotation curve of an elliptic trammel
coordinates of the joints represent the continuous motion of
the coupler link. The method described here extends Veld-
kamp's work (1967) to mechanisms with sliding joints.
References
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H. Kuenzel, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Bottema, O., and Roth, B., 1979, Theoretical Kinematics, North-Hol-
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Chase, T. R., Erdman, A. G., and Riley, D. R., 1985, "Improved
Centerpoint Curve Generation Techniques for Four-Precision Position
Synthesis Using the Complex Number Approach," ASME Journal of
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ber, pp. 370-376.
Emch, A., 1905, An Introduction to Projective Geometry and Its Applica-
tions, Wiley, New York.
Hartenberg, R., and Denavit, J., 1964, Kinematic Synthesis of Linkages,
McGraw-Hill, New York.
Hunt, K. H., 1978, Kinematic Geometry of Mechanisms, Oxford Univer-
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