JP2011039159A - Equatorial telescope stand - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a Poncet mount type equatorial telescope stand capable of always maintaining the horizontal state of a table for placing an astronomical telescope even in adjusting the inclination of a polar axis in accordance with a difference in the latitude of an observation point. <P>SOLUTION: The equatorial telescope stand includes: the placing table comprising an under frame 4 and an upper frame 5; a polar axis adjusting mechanism 6 for adjusting the polar axis of the placing table; and a tracking mechanism 7 for rotating the placing table around the adjusted polar axis. The under frame 4, the upper frame 5 and the polar axis adjusting mechanism 6 are connected to each other with a link during the adjustment by the polar axis adjusting mechanism 6, the upper frame 5 is moved in parallel with the under frame 4, and the placing table forms a parallelogram in a cross-sectional shape. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an equatorial mount for observing with an astronomical telescope, and particularly to an equatorial mount of a ponset mount style.

  An equatorial mount is conventionally known as one of the mounts on which the astronomical telescope is mounted (see Patent Document 1). This equatorial mount mounts an astronomical telescope on a tripod, adjusts the two axes of the polar axis (red axis) and the declination axis, puts the desired astronomical object in the field of view with the astronomical telescope, and astronomical objects around the polar axis The desired celestial body is automatically tracked by rotating the telescope.

  However, since the equatorial mount described in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which an astronomical telescope is mounted on a tripod, the size of the telescope is limited, and a large-diameter astronomical telescope such as a Dobsonian telescope is mounted on a tripod. Was difficult.

  Therefore, recently, an equatorial mount of the ponset mount style that can mount a large-diameter astronomical telescope on a table has come to be known. This type of equatorial mount is easy to operate due to its simple structure because the rotation axis only needs to be a polar axis, and it is possible to automatically track celestial bodies, so it is strongly supported by amateur astronomers. It is a mount.

  By the way, even when observing the same celestial body, the inclination of the earth axis with respect to the horizontal plane differs depending on the latitude of the observation point. It is necessary to adjust the tilt angle of the polar axis of the equatorial mount according to the latitude of the observation point, but the horizontal table on which the astronomical telescope is placed is also tilted along with it. As a result, when the astronomical telescope is placed on the table, the astronomical telescope is tilted and is difficult to observe.

JP-A-8-201703

  Therefore, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an equatorial mount that can always keep the table horizontal even when the inclination of the polar axis is adjusted according to the difference in latitude of the observation points. It is in.

  An equatorial mount according to the present invention includes a mounting table on which a telescope is set, a polar axis alignment mechanism that adjusts the polar axis of the mounting table, and a tracking mechanism that rotates the mounting table around the adjusted polar axis. An equator frame provided, wherein the mounting table and the polar axis alignment mechanism are connected by a link.

  The equator frame according to the present invention includes an under frame and an upper frame in which the mounting table is connected by a link, and the upper frame is movable in parallel to the under frame when the polar axis alignment mechanism is adjusted. To do.

  Furthermore, the equatorial mount according to the present invention includes a slide mechanism for moving the position of the rotation center of the polar axis in the vertical direction in accordance with a change in the inclination angle of the polar axis with respect to the mounting table. Yes.

  In the equator mount of the present invention, since the mounting table on which the telescope is placed and the polar axis alignment mechanism are connected by a link, the mounting table can always be kept horizontal even when the tilt angle of the polar axis alignment mechanism is changed. Can be set on a horizontal mounting table, so that astronomical observation can be performed in an easy posture.

It is a perspective view of the equatorial mount according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view of the equator mount. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the drive means of the tracking mechanism of the said equatorial mount. It is a perspective view of the back surface side of the drive means of the tracking mechanism. It is a side view of an equatorial mount when operating the polar axis alignment mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which shows the rotation center at the time of rotating an upper frame around a polar axis. It is a perspective view when the astronomical telescope is placed on the equatorial mount. It is the front side of an equatorial mount which shows a motion of an upper frame when a tracking mechanism is operated. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the equatorial mount frame concerning the other Example of this invention.

  Hereinafter, an equatorial mount according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of an equator mount 1 according to the present invention. In these drawings, reference numeral 2 denotes a base plate, and a caster 3a for movement and an adjuster 3b for installation are installed at the four corners thereof. An under frame 4 is provided on the upper surface of the base plate 2, and an upper frame 5 is provided above the under frame 4. The underframe 4 and the upper frame 5 constitute a mounting table on which the astronomical telescope is mounted. The mounting table is connected by a link, and the upper frame 5 moves in parallel with the underframe 4 so that the underframe 4 and the upper frame 5 are connected. A parallelogram is always formed with the frame 5.

  The link is provided between the polar axis alignment mechanism 6 provided at the rear portion of the under frame 4 and the upper frame 5 and the mounting table, and the tracking mechanism 7 provided at the front portion of the under frame 4 and the upper frame 5 and the mounting table. Are provided respectively.

  The polar axis alignment mechanism 6 includes an under support member 8 attached to the under frame 4, a screw shaft 9 erected on the under support member 8, a rotation support member 10 attached to the upper frame 5, And a pair of guide shafts 11 erected on the rotation support member 10. Both ends of the under support member 8 are fixed to the left and right rear end portions 4 a of the under frame 4, and both ends of the rotation support member 10 are fixed to the left and right rear end portions 5 a of the upper frame 5, respectively. The side link is configured. That is, the inclination of the screw shaft 9 and the guide shaft 11 can be adjusted by loosening both the screws fixing both ends of the under support member 8 and the screws fixing both ends of the rotation support member 10.

  A screw member 12 that moves up and down while rotating is mounted on the screw shaft 9, and the screw member 12 is positioned by upper and lower stoppers 13a and 13b. A rotation center member 14 is slidably mounted on the guide shaft 11. The rotation center member 14 is rotatably mounted on the screw member 12 and moves the guide shaft 11 up and down together when the screw member 12 moves up and down the screw shaft 9. Further, the screw shaft 9 and the guide shaft 11 are kept parallel by the connection of the screw member 12 and the rotation center member 14.

  A polar shaft 15 is disposed on the front surface of the rotation center member 14. The polar shaft 15 is a kind of jig for adjusting the polar alignment mechanism 6, extends in a direction perpendicular to the screw shaft 9 and the guide shaft 11, and is provided on the front surface of the rotation center member 14. The base 15 a is inserted into the holder 16.

  The tracking mechanism 7 includes a guide cover 17 attached to the under frame 4 and an arcuate round guide 18 attached to the upper frame 5. A guide groove for sliding and guiding the radius guide 18 is provided in the guide cover 17, and the radius guide 18 performs an arc motion while sliding in the guide groove. Both ends of the guide cover 17 are fixed to the left and right front end portions 4b of the under frame 4 and both ends of the round guide 18 are fixed to the left and right front end portions 5b of the upper frame 5 with screws, so that the link on the front side of the mounting table Is configured. That is, the inclination of the guide cover 17 and the R guide 18 can be adjusted by loosening both the screws fixing both ends of the guide cover 17 and the screws fixing both ends of the R guide 18. The guide cover 17 and the round guide 18 are moved together via the upper frame 5 when adjusting the inclination of the polar axis alignment mechanism 6, so that the inclination angle is the inclination of the screw shaft 9 and the guide shaft 11. It is the same as the angle. In this embodiment, the upper frame 5 is formed such that the rear end portion 5a is narrow toward the inside, the front end portion 5b is wide toward the outside, and both ends of the rotation support member 10 are narrowly formed. The rear end portion 5a of the upper frame 5 is attached to the front end portion 5b of the upper frame 5 in which both ends of the round guide 18 are formed wide.

  The tracking mechanism 7 according to this embodiment includes a drive mechanism disposed on the front surface of the guide cover 17. This drive mechanism imparts rotational motion to the upper frame 5 and has a drive guide plate 25 fixed to the front surface of the guide cover 17 and drive means 26 disposed on the front surface of the drive guide plate 25. is doing. The drive guide plate 25 is for converting the constant velocity linear motion in the drive means 26 into a constant velocity circular motion, and guide surfaces 27 made of involute curves are formed at both ends so that force can be transmitted smoothly. ing.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the driving means 26 includes a pulse motor 28, a ball screw portion 29 containing a gear for converting rotation of the pulse motor 28 into a constant velocity linear motion, and a ball screw portion 29. A pair of guide shafts 31 a and 31 b extending in parallel with the screw shaft 30, and a pair of support members 32 that support both ends of the guide shafts 31 a and 31 b and the screw shaft 30. The support member 32 is integrally provided with a flange 33 projecting inward, and a roller 34 as a rolling element is provided on the back side of the flange 33. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of rollers 34 abuts on the guide surfaces 27 of the drive guide plate 25 and rolls on the guide surfaces 27.

  The driving means 26 is supported on the upper frame 5 by a vertically long rocking plate 35 fixed to the back surface of the ball screw portion 29. A bearing portion 37 is recessed in the center of the front arm 36 spanned between the left and right front end portions 5 b of the upper frame 5, and a protruding support portion provided on the bearing portion 37 at the upper end portion of the swing plate 35. 38 is fitted and both are connected by the support shaft. As shown in FIG. 4, a circular plate 39 that guides the rotational movement of the driving means 26 while contacting the curved upper side 25a and the curved lower side 25b of the drive guide plate 25 at the center and lower part of the back surface of the swing plate 35. Are arranged at predetermined positions.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the tracking mechanism 7 according to this embodiment has a polar axis adjustment jig that serves as a reference when adjusting the tilt angle of the polar shaft 15. The polar axis adjustment jig includes an adjustment shaft 40 whose lower end is inserted into a holder 41 provided on the back surface of the guide cover 17, and an adjustment box 42 attached to the upper end of the adjustment shaft 40. The adjustment box 42 is provided with a through hole 43 through which the polar shaft 15 is inserted in a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the adjustment shaft 40. Therefore, the polar shaft 15 and the adjustment shaft 40 intersect at a right angle in the adjustment box 42.

  Next, the operation of the equatorial mount 1 having the above configuration will be described. When the equatorial mount 1 is moved to observation points with different latitudes, it is necessary to adjust the inclination of the polar axis according to the latitude of the observation points. For example, when the observation place is moved from a low latitude place to a high place, it is necessary to increase the inclination angle of the polar shaft 15 with respect to the horizontal plane as shown in FIG. In this case, the polar axis alignment mechanism 6 is adjusted by loosening the fixing of the mounting table link described above. First, the movement of the link is achieved by loosening the screws 20 and 21 fixing the front and rear end portions 4a and 4b of the under frame 4 and the screws 22 and 23 fixing the front and rear end portions 5a and 5b of the upper frame 5, respectively. go free. Accordingly, the polar axis alignment mechanism 6 and the tracking mechanism 7 can be freely tilted in the front-rear direction, and the upper frame 5 can be translated in the front-rear direction with respect to the under frame 4. Next, the polar axis is aligned with the celestial north pole while tilting the polar axis alignment mechanism 6 backward. Specifically, the polar shaft 15 is aligned with a north star located near the celestial north pole. It should be noted that the polar axis adjustment jigs 40 and 42 are not necessary for polar axis alignment, so it is desirable to remove them so as not to interfere with the polar axis alignment.

  After adjusting the tilt angle of the polar shaft 15 to be the same as the latitude and adjusting the upper frame 5 to be parallel to the under frame 4, the loosened screws 20, 21, 22, 23 are retightened to The frame 4, the upper frame 5, the polar axis alignment mechanism 6 and the tracking mechanism 7 are made to have a parallelogram cross-sectional shape. That is, by adjusting the angle of the polar shaft 15, the tracking mechanism 7 is tilted backward so as to be parallel to the polar axis alignment mechanism 6, and the upper frame 5 is kept in a state of being parallel to the under frame 4 in the initial state. A little lower than the position. The adjustment shaft 40 set on the guide cover 17 is tilted by an angle α from the initial position indicated by the phantom line to the adjusted position indicated by the solid line.

  Next, the adjustment shaft 40 and the adjustment box 42 of the polar axis adjustment jig are set. The pair of upper and lower stoppers 13a and 13b for positioning the screw member 12 mounted on the screw shaft 9 is loosened, and the screw member 12 is moved downward while rotating. At this time, the rotation center member 14 also moves the guide shaft 11 downward in conjunction with the movement of the screw member 12. Then, the position of the screw member 12 is finely adjusted so that the base portion 15a of the polar shaft 15 inserted into the through hole 43 of the adjustment box 42 of the polar shaft adjustment jig is smoothly inserted into the holder 16 of the rotation center member 14. adjust. At that position, the screw member 12 is fixed by the upper and lower stoppers 13 a and 13 b, and the base portion 15 a of the polar shaft 15 is inserted into the holder 16. As described above, the position of the base portion 15a of the polar axis shaft 15 is adjusted when the inclination of the polar axis shaft 15 is changed when the upper frame 5 is rotated around the polar axis shaft 15. This is to enable tracking of celestial objects. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the position of the adjustment box 42 and the position of the base portion 15a of the polar shaft 15 become the rotation centers O1 and O2 when the upper frame 5 is rotated around the polar shaft 15, and the tracking mechanism When 7 is driven, the upper frame 5 can be rotated with the polar shaft 15 serving as a rotation axis.

  After the polar axis alignment is thus completed, the polar axis shaft 15 and the polar axis adjusting jigs 40 and 42 are removed, and the table 50 is fixed on the horizontal upper frame 5 as shown in FIG. Then, the astronomical telescope 51 is set thereon. Since this astronomical telescope 51 is mounted on the horizontal table 50, when observing the celestial object, it is possible to search for the desired celestial object and put it in the field of view. Thus, after the observation preparation is completed, the tracking mechanism 7 is operated.

  FIG. 8 shows the movement of the driving means 26 and the upper frame 5 following the driving means 26 when the tracking mechanism 7 is operated. When the pulse motor 28 of the driving means 26 is switched on, the rotation is decelerated and transmitted to the ball screw portion 29, and the linear motion is performed on the screw shaft 30 at a constant speed. On the other hand, since the support portion 38 at the upper end of the swing plate 35 is supported by the bearing portion 37 provided on the front arm 36 of the upper frame 5, the rollers 34 disposed on both sides of the drive means 26 are driven guide plates. 25, the guide surface 27 at both ends of the roller 25 rolls, and the constant-velocity linear motion of the ball screw portion 29 is converted into a constant-velocity circular motion with the support portion 38 as a fulcrum, so that the driving means 26 starts rotating. At that time, since the roller 34 moves along the guide surface 27 formed of an involute curve, the constant velocity linear motion is smoothly converted to the constant velocity circular motion, and the driving means 26 rotates at a constant angular velocity with a smooth motion. Therefore, a periodic motion (periodic motion) or the like when driving using a worm gear or the like does not occur.

  The driving means 26 is fixed to the upper frame 5 via a swing plate 35. Therefore, the upper frame 5 rotates with the constant-speed circular motion of the driving means 26. The upper frame 5 rotates around a polar shaft 15 as a ground axis, and a desired astronomical object can be tracked with a telescope. The upper frame 5 is supported by the under frame 4 at the front end side via the round guide 18 and the guide cover 17, and is supported by the under frame 4 at the rear end side via the rotation support member 14 and the under support member 8. Even in the state where the astronomical telescope 51 with a certain position is placed, a stable rotational motion can be obtained. Note that, on the rear end side of the upper frame 5, the rotation support member 10 rotates about the base portion 15 a of the polar shaft frame 15 as the rotation center as the upper frame 5 rotates.

  As described above, in the equator gantry of the present invention, the celestial object can be tracked by moving the upper frame 5 at a constant speed while the celestial telescope is set on a horizontal table. The telescope can also be set stably.

  FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the equator mount according to the present invention. In the equator mount according to this embodiment, the polar axis alignment mechanism 60 is provided between the underframe 4 so as not to protrude above the upper frame 5, and a large upper surface of the upper frame 5 is secured, so that a larger size can be obtained. It is designed so that an astronomical telescope can be set. The polar axis alignment mechanism 60 includes an under support member 61 attached to the rear end portion 4a of the under frame 4 and a rotation guide portion 62 attached to the under support member 61 so as to be slidable. The rotation guide portion 62 guides while supporting the upper frame when the upper frame 5 rotates. The rotation guide portion 62 includes a guide cover 63 and an arcuate R-shaped guide 64 that slides in an arc shape in the guide cover 63. Is done. A shaft holder 65 is provided at each end of the round guide 64, and a shaft 67 connects the shaft holder 65 and a holder 66 rotatably provided at the rear end portion 5 a of the upper frame 5.

  In the polar axis alignment mechanism 60 having such a configuration, when the inclination of the polar axis is adjusted according to the latitude of the observation point, the height adjustment of the rotation guide unit 62 is slid vertically along the shaft 67. Further, the angle adjustment of the rotation guide part 62 is performed by adjusting the angle of the under support member 61 with respect to the under frame 4 and the angle of the holder 66 with respect to the upper frame 5. Thus, in this embodiment, since the polar axis alignment mechanism 60 has a simple structure, the adjustment work is extremely easy as described above. In addition, this invention is not restricted to said Example, A various change is possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Equatorial mount 4 Under frame 5 Upper frame 6 Polar axis alignment mechanism 7 Tracking mechanism 8 Under support member 9 Screw shaft 10 Rotation support member 11 Guide shaft 12 Screw member 14 Rotation center member 15 Polar shaft 17 Guide cover 18 Ear guide 25 Drive guide plate 26 Drive means 27 Guide surface 28 Pulse motor 29 Ball screw part 30 Screw shaft 34 Roller (rolling element)
35 Oscillating plate 40 Adjustment shaft 42 Adjustment box 50 Table 51 Astronomical telescope 60 Polar axis alignment mechanism 61 Under support member 62 Rotation guide part 63 Guide cover 64 Earl guide 65 Shaft holder 66 Holder 67 Shaft

Claims (5)

An equatorial mount comprising a mounting table for setting a telescope, a polar axis alignment mechanism for adjusting the polar axis of the mounting table, and a tracking mechanism for rotating the mounting table about the adjusted polar axis,
An equatorial mount, wherein the mounting table and the polar axis alignment mechanism are connected by a link.   The equator frame according to claim 1, wherein the mounting table includes an under frame and an upper frame connected by a link, and the upper frame is movable in parallel with the under frame when the polar axis alignment mechanism is adjusted.   2. The equator frame according to claim 1, wherein the polar axis alignment mechanism includes a slide mechanism for moving a position of a rotation center of the polar axis in a vertical direction in accordance with a change in an inclination angle of the polar axis with respect to the mounting table.   2. The equatorial mount according to claim 1, wherein the tracking mechanism includes a drive mechanism for rotating the mounting table around a polar axis, and the drive mechanism includes a conversion mechanism that converts constant-velocity linear motion into constant-speed circular motion. Mount. The equator mount according to claim 4, wherein the conversion mechanism includes a guide surface made of an involute curve and a rolling element that moves along the guide surface.

Images