JPH0419402B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Claim 1: A motor-driven butterfly-type solid body for performing a relative driving motion of a second pipe with respect to a first pipe, comprising: a) near an end of the first pipe and inside the first pipe; an extending first bracket and a second bracket near an end of the second tube;
a single flange of the first bracket extending between double flanges of the second bracket;
and a hinge pin passes through the single flange and the double flange so that the first and second pipes are connected in a hinged manner, and the first bracket further connects the inside of the first pipe. first and second brackets including slots extending therein; b a pair of drive links and a rod disposed between first ends of the links, the rod including a threaded opening; a drive link dimensioned to be slidably engaged in the slot of the first bracket, and wherein the second end of the drive link is pivotally connected to the second bracket; c a motor disposed within said first tube; d a set of gears disposed to be rotated by said motor and a lead screw, said lead screw being in said threaded opening in said rod of said drive link; rotation of the lead screw causes movement of the rod and the drive link along the lead screw, thereby causing the rod and the drive link to move relative to the first tube. A butterfly program body comprising: a gear set on which a second tube pivots and a lead screw.

2. In the assembly according to claim 1,
An assembly wherein the first end of the drive link is slidably connected to the first bracket and the second end of the drive link is pivotally connected to the second bracket.

3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the first and second tubes pivot about and are hingedly connected to a hinge pin passing through the first and second brackets. assembly.

4. In the assembly according to claim 3,
the first and second tubes pivot between a collapsed position and an expanded position, such that the first and second tubes abut end-to-end in the expanded position; An assembly in which the first and second tubes and the first and second brackets are formed.

5. In the assembly according to claim 4,
An assembly in which the lead screw includes thrust bearings at both ends thereof for supporting the lead screw against tension and compression loads.

6. In the assembly according to claim 5,
The assembly wherein the hinge pin is aligned with adjacent sides of the first and second tubes such that the sides of the first and second tubes substantially abut in the collapsed position.

7. In the assembly according to claim 1,
the hinge pin is aligned adjacent the ends of the first and second tubes, the first and second tubes including a notch adjacent the hinge pin, and the single flange and the double flange An assembly wherein a flange extends through the notch so that the first and second tubes can abut end-to-end in the expanded position.

8. In the assembly according to claim 7,
An assembly in which the direction of rotation of the lead screw is reversible so that the direction of pivoting of the second tube relative to the first tube can be selected.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hinge mechanisms, and more particularly to a new and improved motor-driven hinge assembly that provides reversible hinge motion with significant mechanical advantages.

Description of the Prior Art In some cases, it is desirable to have a self-driven hinge mechanism to fold or unfold the hinge members. For example, large space structures containing multiple tubular frames may be folded prior to launch into space for storage within a launch vehicle and expanded during operations in space. The hinged tubular member containing such a frame must have the ability to expand upon remote command in such a space environment. Furthermore, this self-actuated hinge mechanism for expanding the frame must be small so as not to take up scarce space within the launch vehicle, yet the mechanism must be sufficiently small to expand the hinged frame members. It must have sufficient force and sufficient mechanical gain.

One suitable mechanism for self-driven expansion of the tubular member is a spring-driven hinge. Spring-driven hinges, however, operate in only one direction and therefore cannot fold the member when folding is required. For example, you may want to return a large space structure from space. To do so, it is necessary to fold the structure so that it can be stored in the return ship. To fold the frame, another drive mechanism would be required to overcome the force of the spring-driven hinge;
It adds weight, complexity, and cost.

Another disadvantage of spring-driven hinges is that the hinge members can assume only two pivot positions: folded and unfolded. The spring mechanism does not provide a selectable intermediate pivot position between the collapsed and unfolded positions.

In view of the above problems, it is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a motor-driven hinged body whose hinged members can not only be expanded as desired but also folded.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a motor-driven hinge assembly in which the hinge members can be pivotally positioned in a myriad of intermediate positions between a collapsed position and an expanded position.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a motor-driven butterfly program having high mechanical gain while being compact.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to one embodiment, the present invention includes a motor-driven assembly for pivoting a second member relative to a first member. The assembly includes first and second members hingedly connected, a coupling device slidably connected to the first member and pivotally connected to the second member, and a coupling device within the first member. and a coupling device disposed between the motor and the coupling device, the coupling device being actuated by the coupling device to pivot the second member relative to the first member.

In a specific embodiment of the invention, the coupling device is a pair of drive links including a threaded bar extending therebetween. The upper coupling device includes a lead screw sized to be received in the threaded opening. The lead screw is rotated by a motor through a set of gears, the rotation of which moves the drive link along the lead screw, thereby pivoting the second member relative to the first member.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The invention will be better understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view of the motor-driven butterfly programmer of the present invention in the folded position, and FIG. 2 is a top view of the motor-driven butterfly programmer of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rod extending between the drive links of the motor-driven butterfly program body, and FIGS. 4-6 are views of the motor-driven butterfly program body in various intermediate pivot positions. FIG. 7 is a side view of the motor-driven butterfly program body when it is opened.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a motorized butterfly programmer 10 of the present invention. This assembly is used to fold and unfold the hinge members.

Assembly 10 includes a first member, such as first tube 12, and a second member, such as second tube 14, which are hingedly connected as described below. However, these first and second members may have any other shape, such as being generally flat, without reducing the effectiveness of the invention in any way. These first and second tubes 12, 14 preferably have recesses at their ends, but may also be hollow. The first tube 12 has a first bracket 16,
The second tubes 14 have a second bracket 18 near the hinged end of each tube. The first and second brackets 16, 18 may be integral with their associated tubes or may be secured to the tubes by any suitable method, such as by welding. First and second bracket 1
A portion of each of brackets 6 and 18 is within the first and second tubes 12 and 14, respectively, as seen by the dashed lines in FIG. 1, with the remaining portions of each of these brackets exiting the tube ends. .

The first and second brackets 16, 18 are not only hingedly connected, but also expand so that the first and second tubes abut end-to-end as shown in FIG. They are formed so that they do not collide with each other even when they are moved. Preferably, the first bracket 16 has a single flange 2, as shown in FIG.
It has a single elongated bracket containing 0. The second bracket 18 has double flanges 22a, 22
Contains a double bracket containing b. The single flange 20 of the first bracket extends between the double flanges 22a, 22b of the second bracket, with hinge pins 24 extending through the double flanges 22a, 22b to pivotally connect these brackets, thus The first and second pipes 12, 14 are connected. The first and second tubes can be expanded into end-to-end abutment without interference between the brackets. For this purpose, the first and second brackets 1
Sufficient clearance is provided between 6 and 18.

Referring again to FIG. 1, when the tubes 12, 14 are folded side by side, the hinge pin 24 is preferably aligned with the sides. Further, the hinge pin 24 preferably connects the first and second tubes 12,1
4 is aligned with the ends of both tubes so that the ends abut each other when in the expanded position shown in FIG. To enable such a hinge pin arrangement, portions of the sides of the first and second tubes 12, 14 have cutouts 25 adjacent the hinge pins 24, so that the single flange 20 and double flange 22
a, 22b extend through this cutout 25 and surround the hinge pin 24 to provide sufficient support.

As shown in FIG. 1, the assembly 10 includes a first tube 1
2 includes a motorized pivoting device for pivoting the second tube 14 relative to the second tube 14 . This motorized pivot device is
A motor 26 disposed within the first tube 12, at least one, preferably a pair of coupling devices such as drive links 32a, 32b connecting the first and second tubes 12, 14; It includes a coupling device, which will be described later, for coupling the coupling devices and transmitting the work output from the motor 26 to the coupling device. Drive links 32a, 32b shown in FIG. 2 have first ends 34a, 34b, respectively, slidably coupled to first bracket 16 of first tube 12;
It also has second ends 36a and 36b, respectively, which are pivotally connected to the second bracket 18 of the second tube 14. The first bracket 16 has an elongated slot 38, as best seen in FIG.
The slot extends from the outer end of the bracket to the inner end. The pair of drive links 32a, 32b includes a bar 40 or similar device as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3;
It extends between the first ends 34a, 34b of the drive link. Rod 40 is inserted into slot 3 of first bracket 16.
8 so that the drive link is slidably connected to the first bracket.

Returning to FIG. 1, motor 26 and drive link 32
a, 32b are arranged to impart movement to the rod 40, thereby slotting the first ends 34a, 34b of the drive links 32a, 32b into or out of the first tube 12. 38. Such movement of the drive link causes the second tube to pivot relative to the first tube 12, as explained below. One example of a suitable coupling device includes a gear set 42 and a threaded lead screw 44. When a lead screw 44 is used, rod 40 has an opening 46 sized to receive the lead screw. The motor 26, which may be electric or of any other type, provides rotational motion to the internal gears of the gear group 42, which are arranged to provide a rotational output at a reduced rotational speed. The combination of gear group 42 and lead screw 44 provides high mechanical gain. Thus, the small, relatively low power motor 26 provides sufficient force, via the gear set and lead screw, to pivot the relatively large second tube 14.

A gear 48 mounted on the inner end of lead screw 44 is rotated by gear group 42 . The lead screw 44 is the gear 4
8 to move the rod 40 and thus the drive links 32a, 32b along the lead screw. By reversing the direction of rotation of the lead screw, rod 40
and drive links 32a, 32b move in opposite directions along the lead screw. Thus, the assembly 10 may be used to both fold and unfold the first and second tubes 12,14. Furthermore, the first and second pipes 12, 14
The motor 26 can be stopped when the motor 26 is in an intermediate pivot position between the folded and expanded positions. Thus, the present assembly 10 allows for an infinite number of relative pivot positions of the first and second tubes. Lead screw 44 preferably also includes thrust bearings 50, 52 at each of its outer and inner ends for supporting the lead screw against tension and compressive stresses.

The motor-driven butterfly assembly 10 causes the first and second tubes 12, 14 to pivot relative to each other between the collapsed and expanded positions as follows.

FIG. 1 depicts the assembly 10 when the first and second tubes 12, 14 are in a laterally adjacent folded position.
shows.

Referring to FIG. 4, motor 26 and gear group 42
As lead screw 44 is rotated by
0 is the first end 34a of the drive links 32a, 32b,
34b can be seen moving along the lead screw towards the inner end of the first tube 12. Drive link 3
2a, 32b pull the second bracket 18 toward the first bracket 16, rotating the second tube 14 about the hinge pin 24.

Referring to FIG. 5, drive links 32a, 32b are moved further into the interior of first tube 12 while second tube 14 continues to rotate about hinge pin 24.

FIG. 6 shows drive links 32a, 32b moved almost completely into first tube 12 while second tube 14 is pivoted toward the expanded position.

FIG. 7 shows the assembly in the expanded position with the first and second tubes 12, 14 abutting end-to-end. Drive links 32a, 32b have first ends 34 thereof.
a, 34b have been moved to a position near the inner end of lead screw 44.

When the first and second tubes 12, 14 are in the expanded position of FIG. All contained inside the tube. Even in the folded position shown in Figure 1,
Only drive links 32a, 32b, a portion of lead screw 44, and portions of first and second brackets are extraluminal. Assembly 10 is thus a compact assembly, and its compactness is particularly useful when storage space for a folded assembly is limited, such as in a space launch vehicle.

To reposition the first and second tubes 12, 14 from the expanded position of FIG. 7 to the collapsed position of FIG. 1, the direction of rotation of lead screw 44 is reversed. The second tube then pivots about the hinge pin 24 in the opposite order to that described above.

The invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed;
It is to be understood that all modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims. For example, the cross-sectional shape of tubes 12, 14 need not necessarily be circular, but may be any other desired shape.