JPH05238499A - Rendezvous docking mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase strength and rigidity of a target in docking. CONSTITUTION:A mechanism is provided with a cylindrical housing 1 at the top end of which a top ring 3 is fixed a moving table 5 closely fitted movably into the housing 1 in the axial direction, three parallelogram link devices 12 which are installed on the moving table 5 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and capable of moving aslant toward the inside of the housing 1 in the radial direction, and a metallic capture claw 15 which is installed at the top of each parallelogram link device 12 and forms an arc along the inner periphery of the top ring 3, to catch a target by the metallic capture claw.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is capable of automatically connecting and separating spacecraft from each other for orbital services (fuel supply, equipment replacement, etc.) and assembly of large structures in various spacecraft. The present invention relates to a rendezvous docking mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of rendezvous docking mechanism, SEE (Stand) manufactured by SPAR of Canada is used.
ard End Effector (see US Pat. No. 4,105,241).

This SEE is used as an end effector at the tip of a space shuttle general-purpose remote manipulator system (RMS). A fixed ring and a rotating ring are attached to the tip side of a cylindrical housing mounted at the tip of the RMS. A cable ring is movably provided in the axial direction, and one end of two or three wire cables that are alternately woven together are attached to a fixed ring while being equally spaced, while the other end is evenly attached to a rotating ring. These wire cables are installed separately from each other so that they can be tensioned and relaxed, and the target grapple fixture is hooked and captured by these wire cables, and then the cable ring is moved to the base end side of the housing to move the target surface. Aligning and connecting by pushing the tip against the tip ring provided on the tip of the housing. It is configured to Migihitsuji.

Here, the grapple fixture is S
SP 42004 SPACE STATION FR
EEDOM PROGRAM MOBILE SERV
ICING SYSTEM TO USER (GENE
RIC) INTERFACE CONTROL DOCU
It is described in MENT (MAY 23, 1990) and the like, and a circular base plate attached to a spacecraft such as a satellite, a circular joining plate superposed on the base plate, and a separable standing member at the center of both plates. The grapple shaft and the location cam provided on the joint plate are equally arranged so as to surround the grapple shaft.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional rendezvous docking mechanism, since the strength / rigidity at the time of joining the targets is obtained by bending the wire cable whose bending rigidity is particularly weak, the strength / rigidity at the time of joining decreases. There is a problem to do.

Further, since the drive system for driving the rotary ring for tensioning and loosening the wire cable and the drive system for moving the wire ring in the axial direction are separately provided, the drive mechanism is complicated. ..

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a rendezvous docking mechanism which can enhance strength / rigidity at the time of combining targets and can simplify a driving mechanism.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, the first rendezvous docking mechanism of the present invention has a cylindrical housing having a distal end ring fixed to the distal end, and an axial movement within the housing. A movable base that can be fitted and inserted into the movable base, three parallelogram link devices that are mounted on the movable base at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and can tilt inward in the radial direction of the housing, and each parallelogram link. A metal-made catching claw, which is attached to the tip of the device and has an arc shape along the inner circumference of the tip ring.

The second rendezvous docking mechanism is
A cylindrical housing, an actuator mounting base fixed to a base end portion inside the housing, a tip ring fixed to a tip end portion of the housing, and an axially movably fitted insertion into the housing to mount the actuator. A plurality of bases mounted on the base are mounted on a movable base which is biased toward the tip ring side by an extruding spring device, and mounted on the movable base so as to be tilted inward in the radial direction of the housing at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Three parallelogram link devices biased by the pawl opening spring device, which is weaker than the push-out spring device, so as to be parallel to the axis of the housing, and the parallelogram link devices attached to the tip portions of the parallelogram link devices. One end is fixed to the metal catching claw that forms an arc along the inner circumference and the operating lever of the parallelogram link device, and the other end is attached to the actuator mounting base. A wire cable wound around the wire drums are attached to the actuator mounting base,
And a drive device for driving the wire drum.

[0010]

In the first means, each catching claw for catching the target is made of metal. Further, in the second means, the closing operation of each catching claw and the retracting operation of the moving table are performed by the winding of the wire cable by a single drive device, and the opening operation of each catching claw and the pushing operation of the moving table are performed. This is performed by the urging force of the pawl opening spring device and the base pushing spring device that are released as the wire cable is fed.

It is preferable that the catching claws are provided so as to be displaced in the axial direction of the housing in order to avoid mutual interference during the closing operation.

Further, it is preferable that each parallelogram link device is provided with a stopper for preventing the operation thereof at the closed position of the catch claw so that the position of each stopper can be adjusted.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are a side sectional view and a front view in which a part of a rendezvous docking mechanism of an embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a cylindrical housing mounted on the tip of a general-purpose remote manipulator, and a disk-shaped actuator mounting base 2 is fixed to a base end portion (right end portion in FIG. 1) inside the housing. , And its tip (Fig. 1
The tip ring 3 is fixed to the left end portion in FIG.

On the inner peripheral surface on the front end side of the housing 1, three guide rails 4 extending in the axial direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1) are provided at equal intervals in the peripheral direction. , These guide rails 4 have a ring-shaped moving table 5
Is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction via a linear ball bearing 6 mounted on the peripheral portion thereof. The movable table 5 is moved to the tip ring 3 side by a table pushing spring device 9 having a compression coil spring 8 interposed between the bracket 7 provided corresponding to each guide rail 4 and the actuator mounting base 2. Being energized.

Each of the brackets 7 of the movable table 5 has a base portion so that a parallelogram link device 12 composed of a link 11 whose tip is pivotally attached to a pawl support plate 10 can be tilted inward in the radial direction of the housing 1. Is pivoted through. Each parallelogram link device 12 has the platform pushing spring device 9
The claw opening spring device 13 having a weaker tension coil spring (not shown) is obliquely interposed between the claw support plate 10 and the bracket 7 with respect to the link 11 so that the axis line of the housing 1 is The parallelogram link devices 12 are urged to be parallel to each other, and in order to stop the parallelogram link devices 12 in this state, the tips of the respective parallelogram link devices 12 have a rectangular shape provided on the tip ring 3. It is provided so that it can be accommodated in the notch portion 14.

The claw support plate 10 of each parallelogram link device 12 is made of a metal having an arc shape along the inner circumference of the tip ring 3 in a state where the parallelogram link device 12 is parallel to the axis of the housing 1. The catching claws 15 are attached so as to be appropriately displaced in the axial direction of the housing 1 in order to avoid mutual interference during the closing operation described later.

On the other hand, an operating lever 16 for operating the parallelogram link device 12 is provided at the base portion of each parallelogram link device 12, and each operating lever 16 has its catch claw 15 in FIG. The stopper bolt 1 screwed into the bracket 7 of the movable table 5 so as to be movable in the axial direction of the housing 1 so as to be stopped at the capturing position indicated by the chain double-dashed line.
It is provided so as to be able to contact with 7. One end of a wire cable 18 is fixed to the tip of each actuating lever 16, and the other end of each wire cable 18 is pulled toward the base end of the housing 1 substantially parallel to its axis to mount the actuator. It is wound around a rolling wheel 19 mounted on the base 2 and pulled in the axial direction, and then individually wound around a wire drum 20 mounted on the central portion of the actuator mounting base 2. The wire drum 20 is interlockingly connected with a drive device 23 including a gear box 21 and a motor 22 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, which is connected to the wire drum 20.

In FIG. 1, 24 is a turnbuckle for adjusting the tension of the wire cable 18, and 25 in FIG.
Is an engaging groove provided in the tip ring 3 for engaging a location cam of a grapple fixture type target described later.

In the rendezvous docking mechanism described above, the tension coil spring is used for the pawl opening spring device 13, but the invention is not limited to this, and a compression coil spring may be used, or a hinge portion at the base of the link 11. A twisted coil spring may be used, or a leaf spring or the like may be used.

In order to connect the target corresponding to the grapple fixture by the rendezvous docking mechanism having the above structure, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the target 200 is placed in the tip portion of the housing 1 which is the trapping region of the rendezvous docking mechanism 100. Part of the grapple shaft 2
When the optical sensor (not shown) detects that 01 has entered, the wire cable 18 is wound by the drive of the drive device 23, and first, each parallelogram link device 12 tilts against the biasing force of the pawl opening spring device 13. Activated (Fig. 5,
(See FIG. 6) The surrounding area formed by the three catching claws 15 is closed and the grapple shaft 2 of the target 200 is closed.
01 is captured (see FIGS. 7 and 8), and at the same time, the operating lever 16 of each parallelogram link device 12 contacts the stopper bolt 17 (see FIG. 1), and the parallelogram link device 1
The tilting movement of 2 stops.

Next, the wire cable 18 is continuously wound so that each parallelogram link device 12 is held in the above-mentioned state, and the movable table 5 resists the urging force of the table pushing spring device 9 and the base end of the housing 1. Pulled in to the side (Fig. 9
Target), as the moving table 5 is retracted.
00 is also drawn into the housing 1 and pressed against the tip ring 3 for alignment. Then, the location cam 203 provided on the joining plate 202 of the target 200 is pressed against the coupling groove 25 of the tip ring 3 to align the roll and the sway, and the plate surface of the joining plate 202 of the target 200 is set to the plate surface of the tip ring 3. A pitch / yaw alignment by abutting against.

Finally, with the plate surface of the joint plate 202 of the target 200 in contact with the plate surface of the tip ring 3,
When the wire cable 18 is appropriately pulled in to give a preload, the coupling of the target 200 is completed (see FIG. 10).

When the target 200 is connected, the claw opening spring device 13 and the base pushing spring device 9 also have a function of absorbing and relaxing the impact caused by a collision during docking.

On the other hand, in order to separate the combined targets 200 as described above, methods such as separation by a retro jet, extrusion by a compression spring provided on the tip ring, extrusion by a moving table, and the like are used.

The separation method using the retro jet is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the target 200 is connected to and fixed to the rendezvous docking mechanism 100, and then the drive device 2
3, the wire cable 18 is fed out, and the target 200 is released from the fixation by the urging force of the platform pushing-out spring device 9 that is released in association with this feeding (see FIG. 12), and then the wire cable 18 is continuously fed out. After releasing the capture of the target 200 by the capture claw 15 by the urging force of the claw opening spring device 13 that is released along with it (see FIG. 13), as shown in FIG. 14, the rendezvous docking mechanism 100 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the figure by a retro jet. It is a method of moving and separating.

In the push-out separation method using the compression spring provided on the tip ring, as shown in FIG. 15, the drive device 23 is driven to drive the wire cable 18 from the state where the target 200 is coupled and fixed to the rendezvous docking mechanism 100. The wire cable 1 is fed out, and the target 200 is released from the fixation by the urging force of the platform pushing-out spring device 9 which is released in association with this feeding (see FIG. 16).
The target 200 is released by the urging force of the claw opening spring device 13 that is released when the compression spring 1 is released (see FIG. 17), and at the same time, the compression spring 1 provided on the tip ring 3 is released.
In this method, the target 200 is pushed out by an urging force of 01 (see FIG. 18) to separate the target 200.
Is unlatched when the capture of the target 200 by the capture claw 15 is completed, and the target 20 is wound by the wire cable 18 when the drive device 23 is driven.
The compression is performed when 0 is pulled in, and the target 2
It is provided so that the latch is engaged when 00 is fixed.

Further, the extrusion separation method using a moving table is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the target 200 is connected to and fixed to the rendezvous docking mechanism 100 from the driving device 2
3, the wire cable 18 is fed out, and the fixation of the target 200 is released by the urging force of the platform pushing spring device 9 which is released in association with this delivery, and the tip of the grapple shaft 201 of the target 200 is released from the middle of this release. 20 starts to be pushed by the moving table 5 (see FIG. 20), and then the catching claw 15 releases the target 200 by the urging force of the claw opening spring device 13 that is released as the wire cable 18 continues to be fed. The target 200 is extruded by the table 5 (FIG. 2).
1)) Separation method, in which the catching claws 15 slide on the grapple shaft 201 of the target 200 when the target 200 is unfixed.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first rendezvous docking mechanism of the present invention, since the catching claw for catching the target is made of metal, the strength at the time of binding the target is smaller than that of the conventional one. The rigidity can be significantly increased.

Further, according to the second rendezvous docking mechanism of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first one, the closing operation of each catching claw and the retracting operation of the movable table are performed by a single drive device. Since the catching claw opening operation and the moving table pushing operation are performed by the urging force of the claw opening spring device and the table pushing spring device that are opened by the wire cable feeding, In comparison, it has the effect of simplifying the drive mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view in which a part of a rendezvous docking mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the rendezvous docking mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1 in a pre-stage of a target binding sequence.

4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a side sectional view of the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1 at the start of the wire cable pulling in the target coupling sequence.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG.

7 is a side cross-sectional view of the target binding sequence of the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1 at the completion of target capture.

8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG.

9 is a side sectional view showing alignment of targets in a target binding sequence by the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view of the target binding sequence of the rendezvous docking mechanism shown in FIG. 1 when the target binding and fixing are completed.

11 to 14 are side cross-sectional views showing a process of separating the targets, which are combined and fixed by the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1, by a separation method using a retro jet.

15 to 18 are side cross-sectional views showing a process of separating the target coupled and fixed by the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1 by an extrusion separation method using a compression spring provided on the tip ring.

19 to 21 are side cross-sectional views showing a process of separating a target, which is coupled and fixed by the rendezvous docking mechanism of FIG. 1, by an extrusion separation method using a moving table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Housing 2 Actuator Mounting Base 3 Tip Ring 5 Moving Table 9 Extrusion Spring Device 12 Parallelogram Link Device 13 Claw Opening Spring Device 15 Capture Claw 16 Actuating Lever 18 Wire Cable 20 Wire Drum 23 Drive Device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Ogimoto 1 Kawasaki-cho, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Gifu factory inside (72) Inventor Motohiko Yoshida 1 Kawasaki-cho, Kakamigahara, Gifu Kawasaki Heavy Industries Gifu Co., Ltd. Inside the plant (72) Inventor Takashi Sakata 1 Kawasaki-cho, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Gifu plant inside (72) Inventor Yasuaki Taniguchi, 1 Kawasaki-cho, Kakamigahara-shi, Gifu Inside Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. Gifu plant

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A cylindrical housing having a tip ring fixed to a tip portion thereof, a movable base fitted in the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction thereof, and spaced apart from the movable base in the circumferential direction at equal intervals. Three parallelogram link devices that are mounted and can be tilted inward in the radial direction of the housing, and are attached to the tip ends of the parallelogram link devices, and are made of metal in the shape of an arc along the inner circumference of the tip ring. Rendezvous docking mechanism, comprising: 2. A cylindrical housing, an actuator mounting base fixed to a base end portion in the housing, a tip ring fixed to a tip end portion of the housing, and a shaft-movable insertable portion in the housing. The movable table is urged toward the tip ring side by a plurality of table push-out spring devices mounted on the actuator mounting base, and the movable table can be tilted inward in the radial direction of the housing at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Three parallelogram link devices mounted and biased to be parallel to the axis of the housing by a claw opening spring device weaker than the platform pushing spring device, and mounted on the tip of each parallelogram link device. , One end is fixed to an arc-shaped metal catching claw along the inner circumference of the tip ring and the operating lever of each parallelogram link device, and the other end is attached to an actuator A rendezvous docking device, comprising: a wire cable wound around a wire drum mounted on a mounting base; and a drive device mounted on an actuator mounting base and driving the wire drum.