JPH08121433A - Locking mechanism for connecting truss member - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable a truss to be assembled only with a simple work, concerning a locking mechanism for connecting a truss member. CONSTITUTION: A locking mechanism is provided with a slid rotor 20 capable of being rotated around the shaft and moved in the axial direction, to be energized in the axial direction, and taking two kinds of stable positions in the axial direction in respond to the rotational attitude, a slide shaft 30 penetrating the slide rotor 20 so as to be rotated, a pressing part 40 for moving the slide rotor 20 from the stable position to the rotatable position, and a lock ball 50. The small diameter part 32 and the large diameter part 31 of the slide shaft 30 are made to alternately face the lock ball 50 holding part for every one pressing operation, so as to constitute the unlock or lock state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a truss member connecting lock mechanism and a truss connecting structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For construction of structures in outer space, it is effective to use a truss structure composed of links and joints as a basic structure in terms of weight reduction, expandability, standardization, and ease of assembly. On the other hand, since such work is dangerous, it is desirable to have a structure that enables assembly using a work robot, and a truss connection structure that can connect a link and a joint by a simple operation is desired. ing.

[0003]

When a plurality of links are connected to each other via a joint to form a truss structure on the ground, various conventional connection structures of a joint and a link serving as a node have been proposed. However, when it is adopted for connection using a robot in outer space, the space robot is a simple gripper type, and since complicated movement can not be expected, if the connection structure becomes a little complicated, work efficiency will be increased. Has a drawback that it is lowered or becomes inoperable.

The present invention has been made to solve the above drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a truss connecting structure capable of assembling trusses by a simple operation.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, the above object is to provide an axially rotatable, axially movable, axially biased, and axially rotatable posture in a cylindrical housing 10. Corresponding to the slide rotor 20, which alternately takes two kinds of stable positions in the axial direction, and a rotatably penetrating the slide rotor 20, and is housed in the housing 10 so as to be movable in the axial direction. A slide shaft 30 whose directional movement stroke is regulated and which is urged in the same direction as the slide rotor 20, and which is formed on the slide shaft 30 and which is moved in the axial direction against the urging force. Slide rotor 2
Pressing part 4 for moving 0 from the stable position to the rotatable position
0 and a lock ball 50 which is movable in the radial direction of the housing 10 and whose projection height from the outer diameter of the housing 10 is regulated by the slide shaft 30. At the contact portion, an inclined surface 60 in which one of the top portions 61 abuts the other inclined portion,
70 is formed, and the slide shaft 30 is formed with a large diameter portion 31 forcing the lock ball 50 to project from the outer diameter of the housing 10 and a small diameter portion 32 for allowing the lock ball 50 to sink into the housing 10. Slide shaft 30
The slide rotor 20 is moved to a rotatable position by the pushing operation and the rotational torque is generated by the urging force to move between the stable positions. 31
This is achieved by providing a truss member connecting lock mechanism that unlocks and locks by alternately corresponding to each pressing operation.

[0006]

When the slide shaft 30 is pressed,
The pressing portion 40 of the slide shaft 30 pushes down the slide rotor 20 against the biasing force to move the slide rotor 20 to a rotatable position. In this state, the pressing portion 40 and the slide rotor 20 have one of the top portions 6
Since 1 is in contact with the other inclined portion, a rotational torque is generated in the slide rotor 20 by the biasing force, and the slide rotor 20 rotates one pitch and then moves to a different stable position.

The stable position of the slide rotor 20 with respect to the housing 10 is determined by the rotational posture of the slide rotor 20, and alternately reciprocates between two kinds of stable positions for each pressing operation of the slide shaft 30 so that the slide rotor 20 moves in the axial direction. The movement stroke is restricted and the small diameter portion 32 or the large diameter portion 31 is alternately moved to the lock ball 50 holding portion.

When the large diameter portion 31 corresponds to the lock ball holding portion, the lock ball 50 is prohibited from being housed in the housing 10 and protrudes from the outer diameter of the housing 10 and is recessed in the corresponding other member. Established fitting recess 82
The two are connected by being fitted to. Further, when the small diameter portion 32 corresponds to the lock ball holding portion, the lock ball 50 is allowed to be housed in the housing 10 and is in an unlocked state in which it can be detached from the fitting recess 82. Become.

[0009]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention. The lock mechanism for connecting the truss members has a slide case 1 inside.
It has a cylindrical housing 10 into which 1 is inserted. The housing 10 is provided with a screw portion 10a for mounting a cap member in a front opening portion and a joint insertion portion 10b at a rear end portion.
Three ball insertion holes 10c and 10c are provided in a penetrating manner at 20 ° distribution (see FIG. 2C). One opening end of the ball insertion hole 10c is slightly reduced in diameter,
The spherical rock ball 50 inserted is prevented from jumping out. Although three lock balls 50 are used in this embodiment, the number of lock balls 50 can be changed in consideration of the connection strength and the like.

The slide case 11 is a tubular member having an upper end provided with a flange 11a slidably contacting the inner peripheral wall of the housing 10, and the split sleeve 1 is provided at the end opposite to the flange.
1b is mounted to support a slide shaft 30 described later. A preload spring 12, which is a compression spring, is interposed between the flange 11a of the slide case 11 and the bottom wall of the housing 10, and biases the slide case 11 toward the cap member 13 side.

A guide cylinder 14 is inserted in the housing 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide tube 14 is formed by projecting a flange 14 b on the end surface of the tube portion 14 a, and the step portion 10 formed on the front surface portion of the housing 10.
The flange 14b is brought into contact with d and the cylindrical portion 14a
The lower part is fixed to the slide case 11 so as to be relatively movable. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a washer that is interposed between the cap member 13 and the flange of the guide cylinder 14.

As shown in FIG.
As shown in, the cutout grooves 14c and the guide grooves 14d are alternately provided at a pitch of 60 degrees. The notch groove 14c and the guide groove 14d are formed from the end surface opposite to the flange to the flange 14b.
The notch groove 14c is provided up to the vicinity, and the cylindrical portion 1
4a is provided from the inner periphery to the outer peripheral wall to divide the tubular portion 14a into three equal parts, and the guide groove 14d is recessed in the inner peripheral wall of the tubular portion 14a. A meshing portion 14e is formed on the end surface of the tubular portion 14a opposite to the flange. The meshing portion 14e has a guide groove 14d or an end edge of the cutout groove 14c as a starting end, and the cutout groove 14c or the guide groove 14d adjacent to the meshing portion 14e in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the front end is the end, and gradually toward the terminal end. It is composed of a plurality of inclined surfaces 60 that become extremely low (see FIGS. 3A and 3B).

On the other hand, the slide rotor 20 is inserted into the slide case 11 so as to face the guide cylinder 14. The slide rotor 20, as shown in FIG.
The guide protrusions 20b and 20b are provided so as to radially protrude from the tubular portion 20a at a pitch of 0 degree. The guide protrusion 20b has a projecting dimension that can be inserted into the notch groove 14c of the guide cylinder 14 and cannot enter the guide groove 14d, and its end face matches the meshing portion 14e of the guide cylinder 14. An inclined surface 70 having an inclination angle is formed.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 30 denotes a slide shaft, which is mounted on the housing 10 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The slide shaft 30 has a large-diameter portion 3 at the end.
1 and a small diameter portion 32, and these large diameter portion 31 and small diameter portion 3
A taper portion 33 is formed at the boundary portion with 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the large-diameter portion 31 prevents the lock ball 50 from sinking into the housing 10 when it corresponds to the ball insertion hole 10c of the housing 10, and the lock ball 50 serves as a joint insertion portion 10b. The diameter is set so that it can be forcibly held in the lock position protruding outward from the peripheral wall,
As shown in FIG. 8, the small diameter portion 32 has a diameter dimension that allows the lock ball 50 to sink into the housing 10 and to move to an unlock position where it does not project from the peripheral wall of the joint insertion portion 10b. The slide shaft 30 penetrates the guide cylinder 14 and the slide rotor 20 in a state of being relatively movable in the axial direction, and is supported by the split sleeves 11b and 11b mounted on the slide case 11 as described above. A relatively movable range having a predetermined dimension L is set between the slide case 11 and the slide case 11.

A contact piece 34 is fixed to the slide shaft 30. Contact piece 34
Is for forming the pressing portion 40 on the slide shaft 30, and is formed by radially projecting guide protrusions 34b, 34b from the peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion 34a at a pitch of 60 degrees as shown in FIG. . The guide protrusion 34b is the guide tube 1
The slide shaft 30 to which the contact piece 34 is fixed has a size that allows the contact piece 34 to be fitted in the guide groove 14d of the guide tube 14 and the notch groove 14c. The slide rotor 20 is fitted and fitted to face the slide rotor 20.
Further, a chevron projection 34c is formed on the end surface of the contact piece 34 on the side facing the slide rotor 20.
The chevron protrusion is composed of a pair of inclined surfaces 60, 60 that are gradually inclined toward the center position between the guide protrusions 34b, 34b with the center position of the guide protrusion 34b as the apex 61, and the boundary of the chevron protrusion 34c. U-shaped cutout 34d
Is provided.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in the state of FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the inclined surface 70 of the slide rotor 20 is engaged with the meshing portion 14e at a position corresponding to the guide groove 14d of the guide cylinder 14. Since the slide rotor 20 is fitted and regulated to move forward, the slide rotor 20 biased forward by the preload spring 12 via the slide case 11 becomes stable at that position, and the stable position of the slide rotor 20 is maintained. Corresponding to, the slide shaft 30 whose movement stroke is restricted by the slide case 11 is also maintained at the stable position. In this stable position, the ball insertion hole 1
The large diameter portion 31 corresponds to 0c, and the lock ball 5
0 is in a locked state where sinking into the housing 10 is prohibited.

From this locked state, the slide shaft 3
When 0 is pushed down against the urging force of the preload spring, the slide shaft 30 independently moves in the axial direction without moving the slide case 11 within the relative movement range with respect to the slide case 11, and eventually, as shown in FIG. As shown in, the chevron-shaped protrusion 34 c of the contact piece 34 contacts the inclined surface 70 of the slide rotor 20. After that, when the slide shaft 30 is further pushed down, the slide rotor 20 and the slide case 11 move backward while retracting the preload spring 12, and as the slide rotor 20 moves backward, the inclined surface 70 and the guide cylinder 14 move. The engagement with the meshing portion 14e is released. Slide rotor 20 and contact piece 34
Is rotatable with respect to the slide shaft 30 because the top portion 61 of the contact piece 34 is in contact with the intermediate portion of the inclined surface 70 of the slide rotor 20, and is attached by the preload spring 12. A rotational torque is applied to the slide rotor 20 to which the force is applied, and the slide rotor 20 automatically rotates until it falls to the ridge of the chevron protrusion 34c (see FIG. 7).

The guide protrusion 20b of the slide rotor 20 rotated by one pitch from the state of FIG. 1 corresponds to the notch groove 14c of the guide cylinder 14, and when the pressing force on the slide shaft 30 is released from this state, the preload Due to the restoring force of the spring 12, the slide rotor 20 moves forward while pushing out the contact piece 34, fits into the notch groove 14c of the guide cylinder 14, and shifts to the state of FIG.

In this state, the guide projection 34b comes into contact with the bottom wall of the cutout groove 14c of the guide cylinder 14 and the inclined surface 70 of the slide rotor 20 abuts against the chevron projection 34c of the contact piece 34 whose movement is restricted. Therefore, the slide rotor 20 biased forward by the preload spring 12 is in the second stable state in which the forward movement is restricted. By moving the slide rotor 20 to the second stable position,
The slide shaft 30 whose axial movement stroke is restricted by the slide rotor 20 is also held in the second stable position, and in this stable position, the small diameter portion 32 corresponds to the ball insertion hole 10c. The lock ball 50 is in an unlocked state that is allowed to sink into the housing 10.

To connect with another truss member using the above-mentioned locking mechanism for connecting truss members, as shown in FIG. 10, another truss member 110 is provided with an insertion hole 81 into which the joint insertion portion 10b is inserted. Further, this is performed by forming a fitting recess 82 on the wall surface of the insertion hole 81. In FIG. 10, the fitting recess 82 has a V-shaped groove shape, but the shape is not particularly limited as long as the lock ball 50 can be fitted therein.

Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG.
From the unlocked state shown in (a), the slide shaft 30
By knocking the lock ball 50, the lock ball 50 is fitted into the fitting concave portion 82 to be in a locked state (see FIG. 10B), and further, by knocking the slide shaft 30, the lock ball 50 is shown in FIG. 10A. Move to unlocked state.

FIG. 11 shows a truss connection structure using the above-mentioned locking mechanism for connecting truss members. The truss connection structure has a plurality of links 90, 90 ...
The link member 90 has the truss member connecting lock mechanism incorporated at both ends of the link 90, and the joint 80 has a fitting recess 82. In this embodiment, the slide shaft 30 is
It is also used as a lock mechanism at both ends.
As shown in (a), the joint 8 is attached to one end of the link 90.
After connecting 0, the central portion of the slide shaft 30 is grasped and the other end is inserted into another joint 80.
As shown in FIG. 1 (b), the slide shaft 30 performs the knocking operation on the other end side without changing the relative position between the housing 10 and the slide shaft 30 on the already connected side, and both ends of the link 90. The connection of the joint 80 to is made.

12 and 13 show a modification of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 12, this modification shows a modification that is effective when a joint 80 connected to one end thereof constitutes a closed truss in which movement of the joint 80 is restricted by another link 90, and is formed at both ends of the link 90. Between the slide shafts 30 of the lock mechanism for connecting the truss members, a slider 100 whose relative position can be changed by a predetermined stroke with respect to both slide shafts 30 is interposed. Note that FIG. 13 shows the left half of the link 90, and the right half is formed quite symmetrically.

Therefore, in this embodiment, first, when the left end of the link 90 is inserted into the insertion opening of the joint 80 and the slider 100 is gripped and the slider 100 is moved to the left, the corresponding slider 100 shaft moves to the slider. It is pushed by 100 and moves to the left, and connection with the joint 80 is performed. After that, when the right end of the link 90 is inserted into another joint 80 (not shown) and the slider 100 is moved to the right, the slider 100 moves relative to the left slider 100 shaft while the right slider 10 moves.
The 0 shaft is pressed to complete the connection with the joint 80.

[0025]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the truss can be assembled only by the grip and the lateral movement operation, so that it is possible to construct the structure especially in outer space. It is useful.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, in which (a) is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, (b) is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 1, and (c) is a sectional view of FIG.
It is a -C line sectional view.

3A and 3B are views showing a guide tube, FIG. 3A is a side view, and FIG.
3A is a view in the direction B of FIG. 7A, and FIG. 6C is a view in the direction C of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a slide rotor, (a) is a plan view,
(B) is a B direction arrow view of (a), (c) is a C direction arrow view of (b).

5A and 5B are views showing a contact piece, FIG. 5A is a side view, FIG. 5B is a view in the direction B of FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a view in the direction C of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a contact state between a contact piece and a slide rotor.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a rotating state of a slide rotor.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an unlocked state.

FIG. 9 is a transition diagram of a state change of a lock ball, (a) is a transition operation to a lock state, (b) is a lock state, (c).
Indicates an operation for shifting to the unlocked state, and (d) indicates the unlocked state.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a connection state of truss members,
(A) shows an unlocked state, (b) shows a locked state.

11A and 11B are diagrams showing a joint connecting method, wherein FIG. 11A is a state in which the joint is coupled to one side, and FIG. 11B is a diagram in a state in which the joint is coupled to the other end.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a connected state of closed trusses.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of a link.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Housing 20 Slide Rotor 30 Slide Shaft 31 Large Diameter Part 32 Small Diameter Part 40 Pressing Part 50 Lock Balls 60, 70 Inclined Surface 61 Top 80 Joint 81 Insertion Hole 82 Fitting Recess 90 Link 100 Slider

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Two kinds of stable positions that are axially rotatable and axially movable in a tubular housing, are axially biased, and are axially different depending on the rotational posture around the axis. And a slide rotor that alternately circulates, are rotatably pierced through the slide rotor and are housed in the housing so as to be movable in the axial direction. The slide rotor restricts the axial movement stroke and is urged in the same direction as the slide rotor. A slide shaft, a pressing portion formed on the slide shaft for moving the slide rotor from a stable position to a rotatable position when the slide shaft is moved in the axial direction against the urging force, and a radial direction of the housing. A lock ball that is movable and whose projection height from the housing outer diameter is restricted by a slide shaft; The contact portion of the rotor is formed with an inclined surface in which one of the top portions abuts the other inclined portion, and the slide shaft has a large diameter portion that forces the lock ball to project from the outer diameter of the housing. And a small-diameter portion that allows subsidence into the housing is formed.The slide rotor is moved to a rotatable position by pushing the slide shaft, and rotational torque is generated by the biasing force to move between stable positions. The lock ball holding portion is unlocked by alternately corresponding the small diameter portion and the large diameter portion of the slide shaft for each pressing operation.
Locking mechanism for connecting truss members in locked state. 2. A truss connecting structure for connecting a plurality of links via a joint, wherein the truss member connecting lock mechanism according to claim 1 is formed at an end portion of the link, and the link side is provided on the joint side. A truss connection structure in which a slide shaft insertion hole and a fitting recess for advancing and retracting a lock ball are formed. 3. The truss connecting structure according to claim 2, wherein the slide shafts of the truss member connecting lock mechanism formed at both ends of the link are integrally connected. 4. The truss according to claim 2, wherein the slide shafts of the lock mechanism for connecting the truss members formed at both ends of the link are connected to each other via sliders that can move relative to both slide shafts by a predetermined stroke. Connection structure.