JP2003095198A - Foldable/developable structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To promote a foldable/developable structure to be larger while achieving highly reliable and stable folding/developing motion. SOLUTION: First to third split structures 11, 12, 13 independently foldable/ developable are continuously provided, folding/developing operation handles 191, 192, 193, 194 are provided for allowing the transfer of a robot arm 20 having an electric connector 202 electrically connected to the individual first to third split structures 11, 12, 13 and connected to an external, and a locking member 171 is provided for locking the first to third split structures 11, 12, 13 positioned at a development place and unlocking them in a selectively foldable manner.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a foldable unfolding structure suitable for use in a space structure such as an on-orbit platform constructed in outer space or a solar power generation satellite.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, in the field of space development, an on-orbit platform on which humans can reside is constructed in outer space, and this orbit platform is used as a space base for various researches and experiments in outer space. A plan to do so is underway. In such an on-orbit platform construction concept, it is considered that the transportation and assembling work of building materials is constructed in outer space by remotely operating a work robot arm on behalf of a human.

By the way, such a space structure such as an on-orbit platform has a folding and unfolding mechanism in which a large number of frame members such as beam members and wire members are laid on the ground, for example, in consideration of work safety. Folding and unfolding is freely connected to the frame structure, folded and accommodated, transported to outer space, and when it reaches outer space, the folding and unfolding mechanism is driven and controlled to unfold the frame structure and Constructed to the desired shape.

In such a folding and unfolding structure, during the unfolding, for example, the folding and unfolding mechanism fails and does not move, or otherwise, it is difficult to unfold the frame structure. In this case, the work robot arm is remotely operated to repair a failure portion of the folding and unfolding mechanism, etc., so that the folding and unfolding mechanism can be unfolded into a desired shape.

On the other hand, in recent space development, there is a strong demand for making the folding and unfolding structure larger, and it is being promoted.

However, in the above-mentioned folding and unfolding structure, the reliability of the folding and unfolding operation is not satisfactory, and in consideration of repair of failures at the time of assembling and unfolding and maintenance and inspection after construction, the entire structure is unfolded. It is difficult to secure the reliability during the folding and unfolding operation unless a relatively large work robot arm that can cover the robot is provided.

This problem is particularly serious in future space development because it is necessary to increase the size of the robot arm for work in order to increase the size of the folding and unfolding structure. It has become a challenge.

[0008]

As described above, in the conventional folding and unfolding structure, the unfolding operation is inferior in reliability, so that a large working robot arm having a sufficient working range must be provided. It has the problem of not becoming.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a structure that is simple, and can realize a highly reliable and stable folding and unfolding operation, and can promote the enlargement. An object is to provide a folding and unfolding structure.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a structure in which a frame member is frame-joined in a foldable and expandable polygonal column shape, and at least one structure is provided corresponding to the working robot arm. The robot arm is provided with an externally connected electric connector that is electrically connected to the robot arm when the robot arm is gripped, and a handle for folding and unfolding the robot arm and the structure. In the unfolded state, the foldable unfolded structure is configured by including locking means for positioning-locking the structure at the unfolding position and selectively releasing the positioning lock so that the structure can be folded.

According to the above construction, when the work robot arm holds the handle of the structure, they are electrically connected to each other through the electrical connector of the handle, and the structure is unlocked by the locking means. In this state, the handle is operated to deploy the structure, or the folded state is accommodated from the deployed state. In this state, when the work robot arm is transferred to the handle, the operation of the work robot arm is controlled through the electric connector.

As a result, the structure for unfolding the structure can be simplified, a highly reliable and stable folding and unfolding operation can be realized, and the structure can be achieved while satisfying the demand for downsizing of the working robot arm. Can be promoted.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of divided structures which are independently foldable and expandable are connected in series to each other, and the plurality of divided structures are electrically connected to each other. Provided is a handle for folding and unfolding operation to which the robot arm provided with an externally connected electric connector can be transferred, and locking means for positioning and locking the structure in a deployed position and selectively releasing the positioning lock so that the structure can be folded. Configured.

According to the above-mentioned structure, the structure body is first expanded when the handle of the divided structure body at the tip of the plurality of divided structure bodies is gripped by the work robot arm, and the work robot arm is in the expanded state. Is separated from the handle of the expanded divided structure, the handle of the next divided structure is grasped and expanded, and the whole is sequentially expanded. In the expanded state, each divided structure is positioned and held by the locking means. It When the work robot arm is transferred to the handle in the deployed state of the plurality of divided structures, the work robot arm is externally connected via the electrical connector of the handle at the transfer position, and can be operated with the transfer position as a base. it can.

As a result, a highly reliable and stable folding and unfolding operation of a large-sized structure is realized, and further, the working robot arm transfers the handles of the plurality of divided structures in order to perform maintenance and inspection of the structure. It is possible to perform various works including the above, and it is possible to easily promote the upsizing of the structure while satisfying the demand for downsizing of the working robot arm.

Further, according to the present invention, the locking means is provided with a robot arm operating section whose operation is controlled by the robot arm, and the structure is positioned and locked at the deployed position by operating the robot arm operating section, and the robot arm is folded. It is configured to release the positioning lock as much as possible.

According to the above construction, when the work robot arm operates the robot arm operating portion of the lock means in the unfolded state of the structure, the structure is positionally locked at the unfolded position or the positioning lock is released. Done. This allows reliable and safe folding and unfolding of structural members.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a folding and unfolding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. A space navigation body 10 such as a space station has, for example, first to third quadrangular prism shaped structures. The divided structures 11, 12, and 13 are independently arranged so that they can be folded and deployed independently.

That is, these first to third divided structures 1
Reference numerals 1, 12, 13 denote first to fourth frames 141, 142, 143, 144 in which beam members are formed into a substantially rectangular frame.
However, they are arranged so as to face each other so that they are shared by the adjacent structures, and the connecting beams 15 are respectively installed between the corners of the four corners and combined in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, both ends of these connecting beams 15 are flexibly connected to the corners of the first to fourth frames 141, 142, 143, 144 via expansion hinges 16, respectively. .

In a similar manner, for example, the intermediate portions of the connecting beams 15 are provided so as to be bendable via a hinge portion 17. As shown in FIG. 3, a lock member 171 constituting a lock means is rotatably provided on one side of the connecting beam 15 with the hinge portion 17 interposed therebetween. Lock member 1
71 is provided with a locking portion 172 at the tip thereof and the connecting beam 1
The lock operation handle 174 is formed corresponding to the lock pin 173 provided on the other side of the hinge portion 17 of No. 5 and forms the robot lock operation portion at the base thereof.

One end of a spring member 175 is attached to the tip of the lock member 171, and the spring member 175 is attached.
The other end is attached to one side of the connecting beam 15 which sandwiches the hinge portion 17 so as to apply a biasing force in the clockwise direction in FIG. As a result, the lock member 171 is locked by the handle
When 4 is gripped by the robot arm 20 described later and rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3 against the biasing force of the spring member 175, the locking portion 172 of the locking pin 1 of the connecting beam 15 is locked.
73 is locked. In this state, the lock member 171
The biasing force of the spring member 175 is applied in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3, and the lock pin 173 is positioned by the locking portion 172 to positionally lock the connecting beam 15 (see FIG. 3B). ).

When the handle 174 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by the robot arm 20 against the biasing force of the spring member 175 in the positionally locked state, the lock member 171 is engaged. The stopper 172 is separated from the lock pin 173 of the connecting beam 15. In this state, the lock member 171 receives the urging force of the spring member 175 in the clockwise direction in the figure, and the hinge portion 1 of the connecting beam 15 is locked.
The positioning lock of the connecting beam 15 is released so that 7 can be bent (see FIG. 3A).

The first to fourth frames 14 are also provided.
A frame member, for example, a wire member 18 called a tendon wire is stretched between the diagonal lines of the wire members 1, 142, 143, 144, and both ends of the wire member 18 are respectively the first to fourth frames 141. , 142, 1
43, 144 are connected to the corners. These first to fourth
The intersections of the wire members 18 installed between the diagonal lines of the frames 141, 142, 143, 144 of are connected, for example.

Further, the first to fourth frame members 141, 142, 143, 144 are provided with handles 191, 192 for folding and unfolding which can be transferred to the robot arm.
193 and 194 are provided, respectively. These handles 1
91, 192, 193, and 194 are similar to each other, for example,
As shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C, a locking hole 211 and an electric connector 212 are provided.

The spacecraft 10 is provided with a grip 101 for gripping a robot which constitutes a robot installation section. The handle 101 is, for example, substantially the same as the handles 191, 192, 193, 194 of the first to fourth frames 141, 142, 143, 144, and the locking portion 21.
1 and an electric connector 212 are provided, and electrically connected to a power source (not shown) and a robot controller in the spacecraft 10 via the electric connector 212. Grips 201 and 202 provided at both ends of the transfer-type robot arm 20 are detachably gripped and connected to the handle 101, and the electric connector 21 is gripped in the gripped state.
The robot arm 20 is electrically connected to the robot arm 20 through 2.

The handles 191, 192, 193, 19
Each of the electrical connectors 212 of Nos. 4 and 101 has a power supply line as shown in FIG.
Is electrically connected to the electric power source (not shown) in the space navigation system, and each signal line thereof is electrically connected to the robot control unit (not shown) in the spacecraft 10 via the branch processing unit 22. To be done. As a result, these handles 191, 192,
193, 194, and 101 have gripping portions 20 whose locking holes 211 are provided at both ends of the transfer-type robot arm 20.
When the robot arm 2 is grasped by one of the robot arms 1 and 202,
0 electrical connectors are handles 191, 192, 193, 1
The robot arm 20 is connected to the electric power source (not shown) through the electrical connectors 212 of the units 94 and 101 and selectively connected to the robot control unit (not shown) via the branch processing unit 22. It is possible to control the operation at the gripping position.

Further, the robot arm 20 is, for example, in a state where the grip 101 holds the handle 101,
The other grip portion 202 has handles 191, 1 other than those described above.
92, 193, 194 are gripped to fold and expand the first to third divided structures 11, 12, 13 and the locking member 17
1 or the other grip portion 202
Therefore, other desired work such as maintenance and inspection work can be performed.

Further, in the robot arm 20, one of the grips 201 holds one of the handles 191 (192, 1).
93, 194) while holding the other holding portion 2
At 02, the grips 192 (193, 194) other than the above are gripped, and the grip by one grip portion 201 is released,
With the one grip portion 201, another handle 193 (194)
By gripping the first to fourth frames 14
1, 142, 143, 144 can be sequentially transferred (see FIG. 6).

As described above, the robot arm 20 is moved at the desired transfer position while transferring so as to walk across the handles 191, 192, 193, 194 on the first to fourth frames 141, 142, 143, 144. Power source (not shown) through electrical connector 202
Connected to the robot controller (not shown)
Selectively connected to the first to third divided structures 11,
In addition to the folding and unfolding work of 12 and 13, various works in its movable range are possible.

In the above structure, the first to third divided structures 11, 12 and 13 are such that the lock member 171 of the connecting beam 15 of the first divided structure 11 and the handle 174 thereof are springs of the robot arm 20. When the connecting beam 15 is rotated and biased clockwise in FIG. 3 against the biasing force of the member 175, and the locking portion 172 thereof is separated from the lock pin 173 (see FIG. 3A). It is folded from the hinge portion 17. Here, the handle 192 of the first divided structure 11 is gripped by the robot arm 20 and is folded and accommodated in the spacecraft 10. In this manner, the second and third divided structures 12 and 13 are folded and housed so as to be stacked on the first divided structure 11 folded into the spacecraft 10 in a substantially similar procedure (Fig. 7).

The first to third divided structures 11, 12 and 13 folded and housed on the spacecraft 10 in this manner are
In the folded state, for example, it is positioned and held by a lock mechanism (not shown) and is transported to outer space, and when it reaches outer space, the positioning and holding by the lock mechanism (not shown) is released. Then, when deploying the first to third divided structures 11, 12, and 13, the robot arm 20 holding the handle 101 of the spacecraft 10 is remotely operated, and as shown in FIG. Robot arm 20
The open side of the fourth frame 14
The fourth divided structure 13 is expanded while holding the four handles 194.

In the unfolded state of the third divided structure 13, the robot arm 20 has its gripping portion 202 in the fourth position.
Is detached from the handle 194 of the frame 144, and grips the handle 174 of the lock member 171 of the connecting beam 15,
The lock member 171 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 3 against the biasing force of the spring member 175, and the locking portion 172 thereof is locked to the lock pin 173 (see FIG. 3B). In this way, in the third divided structural body 13, the locking portions 172 of the respective lock members 171 of the connecting beam 15 are locked by the lock pins 173 and are positionally locked in the deployed position.

In the unfolded state of the third divided structure 13, the robot arm 20 similarly unfolds the second divided structure 12 and the first divided structure 11 in that order with its gripping portion 202. When the lock member 171 is operated, the lock pin 1 is locked by the locking portion 172 as shown in FIG.
By locking 73, each coupling beam 15 is linearly positionally locked and positionally locked at the deployed position (FIG. 6).
reference). Here, the robot arm 20 has, for example, its first gripping portion 202 and the first to fourth frames 141, 142,
Handles 191, 192, 193, 19 of 143, 144
4 in the state of being gripped, the grip portion 201 on the base side thereof
By removing the handle from the handle 101 of the spacecraft 10, the first to fourth frames 141, 142, 14
The transfer operation is performed so as to walk over the handles 191, 192, 193, 194 of 3, 144 in order.

In this transfer state, the robot arm 2
Reference numeral 0 denotes an electric connector (not shown) of the grip portion 201 and an electric connector 2 of the handles 191, 192, 193, 194.
02 is electrically connected, and its handles 191, 19
It is electrically connected to a power source (not shown) and a robot controller (not shown) through electrical connectors 202 of 2, 193 and 194. As a result, the robot arm 20
The handles 191, 192, 193, 194 of the transfer destination,
The operation range is centered around 101, and desired work such as beam material assembling work, equipment mounting work, and maintenance inspection after completion of assembly are executed in this operation range.

The first to third divided structures 1 are also provided.
As the procedure for unfolding 1, 12, and 13, first, the robot arm 20 holds the handle 194 of the fourth frame 144 to deploy the third divided structure 13, and in this state, the robot arm 20 is moved to the fourth arm. Frame 144 handle 19
Transfer to 4. Next, the robot arm 20 holds the handle 193 of the third frame 143 with the handle 194 of the fourth frame 144 as the base side, and holds the second divided structure 12 with respect to the first divided structure 11. Then, it is transferred to the handle 193 of the third frame 143 of the expanded second divided structure 12. In the transfer state of the third frame 143 to the handle 193, the robot arm 20 uses the handle 193 of the third frame 143 as a base side to set the second frame 1 of the first divided structure body 11.
The handle 192 of 42 is gripped to deploy the first divided structure 11 with respect to the spacecraft 10.

As described above, the folding and unfolding structure has the first to third divided structures 1 which can be independently folded and unfolded.
A robot arm provided with an electrical connector 202, in which 1, 12, 13 are connected in series and electrically connected to each of the first to third divided structural bodies 11, 12, 13 and externally connected. 20 is provided with handles 191, 192, 193, 194 for folding and unfolding, which can be transferred,
The first to third divided structures 11, 12 and 13 are positioned and locked in the deployed position, and a locking member 171 that unlocks the positioning lock to be selectively foldable is provided.

According to this, the robot arm 20
To the handle 19 of the third divided structure 11, 12, 13.
The grips 191 and 1 of the first to third divided structures 11, 12 and 13 in which the robot arm 20 is expanded are held by sequentially grasping the grips 1, 192 and 193 and deployed.
92, 193, 194, in the transfer state, by external connection via the electrical connector 202 of the handles 191, 192, 193, 194 at the transfer position,
The remote control becomes possible.

As a result, a highly reliable and stable folding and unfolding operation using the robot arm 20 is realized, and the handles 191, 192, 193 of the first to third divided structures 11, 12, 13 are provided. Since various operations including maintenance and inspection of the first to third divided structures 11, 12, and 13 can be performed while transferring to 194, the robot arm 20 can be downsized and its movable range can be increased. Since it is possible to adopt a wide range, it is possible to easily perform reliable and stable folding and unfolding work of a large-sized structure and maintenance and inspection of other mounted devices.

In the above embodiment, the first to fourth
141, 142, 143 and spacecraft 10
The case where the handles 191, 192, 193, 194, 101 are provided one by one on the upper part has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and other structures such as the first to fourth frames 1 are provided.
A plurality of handles may be provided on the spacecraft 41, 142, 143, 144 and the spacecraft 10, or may be provided on the connecting beam 15.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first to fourth
Connect the frames 141, 142, 143, 144 to the connecting beam 1.
5 and the wire member 18 are used to form a skeleton connection in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a telescopic beam member may be used instead of the wire member 18, and various other types. It can be configured using a frame member. The skeleton structure is not limited to the rectangular parallelepiped shape described in the above-described embodiment, but may be a polygonal prism shape such as a triangular prism shape.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the lock member 171 provided with the handle 174 for locking operation is used as the locking means so that the robot arm 20 can lock or unlock the connecting beam 15. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the lock mechanism is operated and controlled in conjunction with the folding and unfolding of the first to third divided structures 11, 12 and 13. It can also be configured to release the lock.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the first to third divided structural bodies 11 are arranged so as to be independently foldable and expandable.
Although it has been described in the case of using 12 and 13, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to use a structure in which two or more divided structures are independently foldably and continuously connected,
Alternatively, it can be configured by using a single structure that is foldable and expandable, and substantially the same effect can be expected.

Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and in addition, various modifications can be carried out at the stage of carrying out the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, the embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements.

For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, the problem described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the effect described in the effect of the invention can be obtained. When the above is obtained, the configuration in which this constituent element is deleted can be extracted as the invention.

[0046]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a highly reliable and stable folding and unfolding operation with a simple structure and to promote the enlargement. A folding structure can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a folding and unfolding structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged configuration diagram showing a developed state of a second divided structure in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram shown for explaining an example of a locking means of the connecting beam of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing details of handles provided on the spacecraft and the first to third divided structures of FIG.

5 is a circuit block diagram showing a wiring example of the electric connector of the handle of FIG. 4. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing a developed state of first to third divided structures of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing a folded and accommodated state of the first to third divided structures of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing a process of developing the first to third divided structures of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Spacecraft. 101 ... Handle. 11 ... The 1st division structure. 12 ... 2nd division structure. 13 ... Third divided structure. 141 ... First frame. 142 ... Second frame. 143 ... Third frame. 144 ... Fourth frame. 15 ... Connecting beam. 16 ... Deployment hinge. 17 ... Hinge part. 171 ... Lock member. 172 ... Locking part. 173 ... Lock pin. 174 ... Handle. 175 ... A spring member. 18 ... Wire member. 191, 192, 193, 194 ... Handles. 20 ... Robot arm. 201, 202 ... A grip portion. 211 ... Locking hole. 212 ... Electrical connector. 22 ... Branch processing unit.

Continued front page    (71) Applicant 301072650             NEC Toshiba Space Systems Stock Association             Company             2-6-3 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku Ward, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture             issue (72) Inventor Shinichiro Nishida             1st Komukai Toshiba-cho, Sachi-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa             Ceremony Company Toshiba Komukai Factory (72) Inventor Shunichi Ebisaki             2-1, Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama RIKEN             Within (74) Agent 100071272             Attorney Yosuke Goto (1 outside) F-term (reference) 3C007 AS29 CS08 CS10 CY02 WA13                       WA21

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A structure in which a frame member is frame-joined in a polygonal column shape that is foldable and expandable, and at least one structure corresponding to a working robot arm is provided in the structure. A handle for folding and unfolding operation, which is provided with an externally connected electrical connector that is electrically connected to the robot arm in a gripped state, and a structure for unfolding the structure in the unfolded state of the structure. A folding and unfolding structure, comprising: locking means for positioning and locking at a deployed position, and unlocking the positioning lock so as to be selectively foldable. 2. The structure is formed by connecting a plurality of split structures which are independently foldable and expandable, and electrically connected to each other and externally connected to each of the plurality of split structures. A handle for folding and unfolding the robot arm provided with an electric connector and a lock means for positioning and locking the structure in a deployed position and selectively foldably releasing the positioning lock are provided. The folding and unfolding structure according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The lock means has a robot arm operation part whose operation is controlled by the robot arm, and the structure is positionally locked to a deployed position by the operation of the robot arm operation part, and the position locking is foldable. The folding expansion structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The folding and unfolding structure according to claim 1, wherein the electric connector is electrically connected to at least a power supply line and a signal line. 5. The folding and unfolding structure according to claim 1, wherein the frame member is a beam member and a wire member.