Switching among feedback-linearizing output sets (melds): Dwell-time and compatibility guarantees

We study switching among multiple square selections of output functions (melds) drawn from a deck of candidate outputs for nonlinear systems that are static feedback linearizable via outputs. Fixing an operating point, each meld induces a distinct feedback-linearizing coordinate chart defined on a common neighborhood. Switching between melds therefore produces state-dependent coordinate mismatches that are not represented explicitly in standard fixed-coordinate dwell-time formulations. We quantify this effect through Lipschitz bounds on the cross-chart maps over a compact safe set and introduce a reference-compatibility constant that measures mismatch among reference families across melds. We derive an explicit dwell-time condition depending on the controller decay rates, the reference-compatibility constant, and a bound on the desired-jet resets. The resulting condition guarantees exponential decay of the active-output tracking errors between switches, conditional seamless tracking of shared outputs whose desired jets do not reset, and uniform boundedness of the state error within the safe set. Safe-set invariance follows under an explicit margin condition. A planar 3R manipulator illustrates the results.