JPH0569353A - Robot for use in space - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an effective envelope to suit the object of works by forming the base of a robot arm rotatable, installing it around the corner of a satellite, and selecting its direction either perpendicular to the mounting surface or horizontal to the left and right. CONSTITUTION:A robot arm 1 is installed in the neighborhood of one corner of the side face of a satellite body 4 in the form of a rectangular parallelopiped, and a rotating mechanism 2 is furnished on the base of robot arm. When an ORU 5 is to be replaced, a robot arm 1a holds the robot arm base perpendicular to the satellite mounting surface 6, and operations are conducted for replacing 0RU 5 installed on the side faced. At the time of berthing another satellite, a robot arm 1b makes berthing while holding the robot arm base in the attitude perpendicular to the front face having a docking mechanism 3. At the time of accommodation, a robot arm 1c is kept in an attitude alongside the side face and retreats to the satellite side face in order to avoid interference with another apparatus or satellite.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a space robot that performs various services such as production activities in space using space stations and platforms, space experiments, operation and maintenance, maintenance, repairs, and supply of materials.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a space robot mounted on a spacecraft and operating is not put into practical use. However, in NASA, a human being visually confirms the robot arm mounted on the space shuttle from its vicinity and operates it. The loading and unloading work is done, but the machine part is rigidly fixed to the space shuttle body. In Japan, research and development of space robots are being carried out mainly by the Space Development Agency, but currently, Space Station J is under consideration.
A robot arm with six degrees of freedom based on the structure of a child arm system arm part currently under development for EMRMS is rigidly fixed to the satellite body.

[0003]

The space robot is mounted on the main body of the spacecraft and performs various service work. The service content is to replace consumables such as batteries and propellants in orbit. It is represented by the replacement of a unitized on-orbit exchange unit (hereinafter referred to as ORU), or the satellite versing in which another satellite or spacecraft is held by a robot arm and guided to a docking mechanism. In order for the robot arm to perform these operations, the tip of the robot arm needs to take an arbitrary position and posture in the space, and generally, a robot arm having six degrees of freedom is required. Further, the robot arm needs to be fixed on the body of the spacecraft, and the work target such as the above-mentioned ORU and docking mechanism must be installed in its effective envelope. It is also necessary to effectively obtain visual information from a visual sensor such as a video camera attached to the tip of the robot arm, including visual inspection of the satellite. However, in general, in order to satisfy the above conditions, it is necessary to lengthen the robot arm and expand the envelope, or to install various equipment to be worked by the robot arm on one side of the satellite. There was a problem, that the mass and maximum outer diameter of the satellite was increased, and the other satellites such as the ORU exchange were restricted by the satellite that was bursted. In addition, there is a problem that the robot arm may interfere with other satellites when docking without using the robot arm.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] A simple latch mechanism is provided in which a connecting portion of a robot arm base to a satellite body is a rotation mechanism, and it is possible to select only whether the direction of the robot arm base is vertical or parallel to a mounting surface. And it has the function of a limit switch for confirming latch-up. Therefore, this rotating mechanism is a simple one that does not perform control such as taking an arbitrary angle like a joint of a general robot arm by a command from the inverse transformation of the tip coordinates.

[0005]

The general satellite has a structure in which each required function such as a propulsion system, a communication system, a power supply system, and an experiment system is modularized and efficiently mounted on each surface of the satellite. Therefore, if not only one surface but also a small and lightweight robot arm having a relatively short arm length can work on two or three surfaces, the function of the robot arm can be effectively utilized. According to this means, the base of the robot arm can be rotated, and by installing it near the corner of the satellite, the direction can be selected to be either vertical to the mounting surface or horizontal to the left and right for the purpose of work. A corresponding effective envelope is obtained.
That is, depending on the required work, first, the direction of the robot arm base is selected by operating the rotating mechanism. After that, the work is performed by the robot arm while the rotating mechanism is fixed in the selected one direction. When the work on another surface is required, the rotation mechanism may be operated again to perform the work by the robot arm. Further, by utilizing this rotation mechanism, the robot arm base can be parallel to the satellite body surface, and the robot arm can be housed in a posture substantially along the satellite body surface. This storage posture has the effect of simplifying and ensuring the support mechanism even when protecting the robot arm from the launch environment, and is also effective in preventing interference when executing other missions that do not use the robot arm, even on orbit.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the function when the robot arm 1 is installed in the vicinity of one corner on the side surface of the rectangular parallelepiped satellite body 4. With the robot arm base having the rotation mechanism 2, when the ORU is exchanged 1a, the robot arm base is kept perpendicular to the satellite mounting surface 6 (side surface) and the OR is installed on the side surface.
U exchange work is performed, and at the time of verse of another satellite 1b, the robot arm base is made vertical to the front surface having the docking mechanism 3 to perform verse, and at the time of storage 1c keeps the posture along the side surface and the other side of the satellite. Evacuate to prevent interference with other equipment and satellites. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the robot module mounted on the side surface of the satellite body, and shows an example of equipment arrangement on the robot module. This figure shows 1c when the robot arm is stored, the robot arm is mounted on the satellite body via the rotation mechanism 2, and the ORU 5 and the electronic equipment 7 necessary for controlling the robot are also installed in this plane.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the base portion of the robot arm can be rotated, and a relatively simple method of preliminarily selecting and holding the direction corresponding to each work makes it possible to make the arm relatively small and lightweight. Even with a short robot arm, a work envelope effective for various works can be secured. Further, since the storage attitude can be set along the satellite body, the support mechanism at the time of launch can be simple and highly reliable, and the envelope of the entire satellite can be suppressed small. In summary, by introducing a rotatable robot arm base, the effective working range of the robot arm can be significantly increased without affecting the degree of freedom of the robot arm, arm length, control method, etc. Also, the storage posture can be made more rational.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a rotating mechanism of a robot arm base in a satellite having a robot arm,

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of equipment arrangement on a robot module.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1a ... robot arm, 1b ... robot arm, 1c ... robot arm, 2 ... rotation mechanism, 3 ... docking mechanism, 4 ... satellite body, 5 ... ORU, 6 ... satellite side, 7 ... electronics equipment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An arm type space robot comprising a plurality of joints and a boom, the base of which is mounted on a main body of a spacecraft for use, wherein the base is rotatable.