JP3004078B2 - Space structure attachment / detachment device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a space structure attaching / detaching apparatus used for detachably connecting structures such as a split mirror surface of an assembled antenna constructed in space.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, in the field of space development, the development of large space vehicles such as space stations has been promoted. By the way, as an antenna mounted on such a spacecraft, it is divided in advance on the ground, produced, transported to space in the divided state, and assembled and installed in space using a working manipulator. The assembly type is advantageous in terms of transportation and the like. As such an assembling antenna, for example, a split type antenna in which a central mirror surface is provided substantially at the center and a plurality of divided mirror surfaces are attached around the central mirror surface and assembled to form a mirror surface has been considered.

[0003] However, such an assembling type antenna is not simply divided so as to be assemblable, and the assembling work is performed by operating the working manipulator remotely in an extreme environment such as a space environment. Due to the necessity, the assembling and disassembling operations are very troublesome. Therefore, with a simple configuration that can satisfy the small size and weight reduction important in space development,
Moreover, there is a demand for the development of a detachable device for easily assembling with desired accuracy. In addition, such a situation is not limited to the assembly type antenna, but also applies to various assembly type space structures constructed in the space station.

[0004]

As described above, in the field of space exploration, an assembling type structure constructed in outer space is facilitated to realize high-precision coupling and separation. There is a strong demand for the development of a detachable device for space structures.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a space structure attaching / detaching apparatus having a simple structure and capable of realizing high-precision coupling and separation. The purpose is to do.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a space structure attaching / detaching apparatus in which structures are connected to each other at three points of generally inverted triangular vertices. One of the coupling portions is provided so as to protrude in a direction opposite to each other, and a pair of rotating shaft members forming two vertexes on the same straight line of the substantially inverted triangle shape, a mounting side of the structure and a cover. At one of the connecting portions on the mounting side, extending at the other vertex in the same plane as the pair of rotating shaft members in the connecting direction and rotatably provided around an axis substantially parallel to the connecting portion direction. A latch member provided with a locking groove at a distal end portion and an operating portion at a base end portion, and a latch member provided at one of the other connecting portions on the mounting side and the mounting side of the structure, and A shaft member is detachably mounted, and the rotating shaft member is substantially orthogonal to the coupling direction. A pair of pivotal members rotatably supported around, and a latch member provided at one of the coupling portions on the mounting side and the mounting side of the structure to which the latch member is detachably mounted. Holding means having a locking member provided so as to be able to come and go in opposition to the locking groove of the latch member, and a locking member of the holding means in a direction for locking the locking groove of the latch member. A biasing means for moving and biasing, the rotation of the latch member is restricted in a state where the latch member is detached from the holding member to allow the latch member to be mounted on the holding means, and the rotation operation of the latch member is permitted in the mounted state. A regulating means for moving and urging the locking member against the urging means to allow the latch member to be released;

[0007]

According to the above construction, the operating part of one of the latch members is gripped by the manipulator and the other is transferred to the coupling position, and the rotating shaft member is connected to the pivot supporting member. After that, one of the structures on the mounting side and the mounting side is rotated about the rotation shaft member, and the latch member is mounted on the holding means. At the time of this connection, the rotation of the latch member is restricted by the restricting means, the locking groove of which is locked by the locking member of the holding means, and the latch members are connected to each other. In this connected state, the restricting means is switched. The rotation restriction is released. Then, in this coupled state, the latch member
When rotated via the operating portion, the locking is released by pressing the locking member of the holding means, whose locking groove has been locked, against the urging force of the urging means. , After which, the connection operation is reversed and detached from the holding means,
Here, the rotating shaft member is separated from the shaft supporting member.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a space structure attaching / detaching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A mounting-side structure 10 and a mounting-side structure 11 have three points corresponding to substantially inverted triangular vertices. Are interconnected.

That is, a pair of rotating shaft members 12a and 12b for positioning are projected from opposite sides of the mounting-side structure 10 at two apexes of a substantially inverted triangular shape on the same straight line. The pair of rotating shaft members 12a, 12
At the other apex in the same plane as b, a latch member 13 is disposed so as to protrude in the coupling direction (the direction of arrows AB). As shown in FIG. 2, the latch member 13 is provided with a locking groove 13a at a distal end and a manipulator operating portion 13b at a proximal end thereof. The latch member 13 has a middle portion supported by a bearing member 14 so as to be rotatable about an axis substantially parallel to the coupling direction. Then, the latch member 13 is mounted on the bearing 1.
4 and the spring member 15 between the manipulator holding portion 13b.
Are attached so as to apply a predetermined torque in a certain direction, and the movement in the axial direction is restricted.

The latch member 13 has a lock pin 13
c is provided. The lock pin 13c is selectively engaged with, for example, a lock portion 16a of a lock lever 16 provided on the bearing member 14 so as to be movable in the directions of arrows A and B (a direction substantially parallel to the coupling direction) as shown in FIG. It is stopped to restrict the rotation of the latch member 13. The lock lever 16 has a spring member 17 at one end and a pressing portion 16b provided at the other end. When the pressing portion 16b is pressed against the urging force of the spring member 17, the locking portion 16a Is the lock pin 13c
To allow the latch member 13 to rotate.

On the other hand, a pair of support members 18a and 18b are provided at the joint of the structure 11 to be mounted on the mounting side.
Are provided corresponding to the rotating shaft members 12a and 12b. The shaft support members 18a and 18b form two vertices on a straight line having an inverted triangular shape (see FIG. 4), and are provided with substantially V-shaped guide portions 19a and 19b, respectively. A holding member 20 that forms a vertex on the same plane as the shaft supporting members 18a and 18b is provided at a joint portion of the attached-side structure 11 with the latch member 13.
Is provided in correspondence with. As shown in FIG. 5, the holding member 20 is provided with a fitting hole 20a corresponding to the latch member 13, and a locking portion 21 is provided in the fitting hole 20a in a direction substantially perpendicular to the coupling direction (that is, the latch member 13). 13 (in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction). One end of a spring member 22 is engaged with the locking portion 21.
And is projected into the fitting hole 20a. The rotating shaft members 12a and 12b are formed in a tube structure using, for example, a metal, a composite material, or the like, and a peripheral portion is subjected to a lubrication process.

In the above configuration, when the mounting-side structure 10 is to be connected to the mounting-side structure 11, first, a work manipulator (not shown) is operated to hold the manipulator operation portion 13b and to hold the mounting-side structure 10 Is transported,
The rotating shaft members 12a and 12b are mounted on the shaft supporting members 18a and 18b of the mounting-side structure 11. Here, the mounting-side structure 10 is provisionally positioned with respect to the mounting-side structure 11. Then, the mounting-side structure 10 is rotationally urged via a working manipulator (not shown), and the latch member 1
3 is a fitting hole 20a of the holding member 20 of the attached structure 11
Is inserted into. At this time, the lock pin 13c of the latch member 13 is locked by the lock portion 16a of the lock lever 16, and its rotation is restricted.
The locking portion 21 of the holding member 20 is locked to the mounting structure 10, where the mounting-side structure 10 is fixedly positioned on the mounting-side structure 11.

When the mounting-side structure 10 coupled as described above is detached from the mounting-side structure 11, first, the manipulator operating portion 13b of the latch member 13 is rotated. At this time, the latch member 13 is pressed against the urging force of the spring member 17 by the pressing portion 16b of the lock lever 16 that regulates the rotation of the latch member 13 coming into contact with the attached-side structure 11, and the lock pin 13c is locked. It is detachable from the part 16a and is rotatable, and is rotated in conjunction with the rotation operation. Then, the latch member 13 presses the locking portion 21 of the holding member 20 against the urging force of the spring member 22, and the locking portion 21 of the holding member 20 is released from the locking groove 13a.
The holding member 20 can be pulled out from the fitting hole 20a, and is separated in a procedure substantially opposite to the above-described connecting operation.

As described above, the mounting and dismounting device for the assembling type antenna includes the pair of rotating shaft members 12a and 12
member 1 having a b and a manipulator operating portion 13b
3 is disposed in a substantially inverted triangular shape, and a pair of shaft support members 18a and 18b and a holding member 20 are similarly disposed in a substantially inverted triangular shape on the mounting-side structure 11, and the manipulator operating portion 13b Is held, the rotating shaft members 12a, 12b are mounted on the shaft supporting members 18a, 18b and rotated, and the latch member 13 is mounted on the holding member 20 and latched by the holding member 20 to realize coupling. By operating the manipulator operating portion 13b, the latch member 13 is rotatably released from the latch by the holding member 20 to perform separation. According to this, in a state where the manipulator operating portion 13b of the latch member 13 is held by the work manipulator, the coupling and separating operations are realized, so that the handling operation as simple as possible is realized. It is suitable for high-precision assembly of various assembly-type structures in outer space.

In the above embodiment, the rotating shaft member 12
a, 12b and the latch member 13 are provided on the mounting-side structure 10, and the shaft support members 18a, 18b and the holding member 20 are provided on the mounting-side structure 11. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Shaft members 12a, 12b and latch member 13
Are provided on the mounting-side structure 11, and the support members 18a, 18b
It is also possible to provide the holding member 20 in the mounting-side structure 10. Therefore, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0017]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a space structure attaching / detaching apparatus capable of realizing high-precision coupling and separation with a simple structure and easily. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing a space structure attaching / detaching device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a latch member of FIG. 1 taken out;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of the latch member of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a coupling portion of the mounting-side structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view showing the holding member of FIG. 1 taken out.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: mounting side structure, 11: mounting side structure, 12a,
12b: rotating shaft member, 13: latch member, 13a: locking groove, 13b: manipulator operating portion, 13c: lock pin, 14: bearing member, 15, 17, 22: spring member, 1
6 Lock lever, 16a Lock part, 16b Press part, 18a, 18b Support member, 19a, 19b Guide part, 20 Holding member, 20a Fitting hole, 21 Lock part.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A space structure attaching / detaching device in which structures are connected to each other at three points of a substantially inverted triangular vertex, wherein one of the connecting portions on the mounting side and the mounting side of the structure is attached to the connecting portion. A pair of rotating shaft members that are provided so as to protrude in opposite directions to each other and form two apexes on the same straight line of the substantially inverted triangle, and one of the mounting side and the mounting side of the structure body The connecting portion extends at the other vertex in the same plane as the pair of rotating shaft members in the connecting direction and is rotatably provided around an axis substantially parallel to the connecting portion direction. A latch member provided with a groove and an operation portion provided at a base end portion, and the rotation shaft member provided at one of the other connecting portions on the mounting side and the mounting side of the structure so as to be detachably mounted. And the rotatable shaft member is supported so as to be rotatable around an axis substantially orthogonal to the coupling direction. A pair of shaft support members, and the latch member is provided at the other connecting portion on either the mounting side or the mounted side of the structure, and the latch member is removably mounted. Holding means having a locking member provided so as to be able to come in and out facing the stop groove, and urging means for moving and urging the locking member of the holding means in a direction for locking the locking groove of the latch member; The rotation of the latch member is restricted by detaching the latch member from the holding member to allow the latch member to be mounted on the holding means, and the latch member is allowed to rotate in the mounted state to urge the locking member. And a restricting means for allowing the latch member to be disengaged by moving and biasing against the means.