168results about "Tools" patented technology

A payload release system for a vehicle includes a housing including a base plate and a cover plate selectively coupled to the base plate, wherein a receiving space is defined between the base plate and the cover plate; a crank rotatably coupled to the base plate within the receiving space; a trigger in operable communication with the crank, the trigger being configured to translate in response to a rotation of the crank; and an actuator operably coupled with the crank. The actuator includes a shape metal alloy (SMA) wire.

The application discloses a spin-nutation collaborative inhibition method and system for a space tumbling target, and belongs to the technical field of aerospace. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring pose data of a space robot, and controlling the space robot to approach the space tumbling target according to the acquired pose data of the space robot; after the space robot approaches the space tumbling target, the space robot measures the space tumbling target, and acquires real-time state data of the space tumbling target by measuring the space tumbling target; a target stress position prediction model of spin-nutation collaborative inhibition is used to simulate and predict based on the acquired real-time state data of the space tumbling target, and a despinning condition required by a despinning tool in the space robot is determined; the space robot adjusts the pose according to the despinning condition, and controls the despinning tool to contact the space tumbling target, and implements contact despinning. The application can efficiently inhibit the nutation of the target in the initial stage of the despinning task, and effectively reduces the difficulty of the subsequent despinning task.

A positioning device includes at least one processor. The at least one processor detects a light source and a target object different from the light source in an image captured by an imager. A moving object has the imager and moves in a space. The at least one processor derives a position of the moving object in the space based on positions of the light source and the target object in the image and known positions of the light source and the target object in the space.

The application discloses a small-sized separated penetrator for in-situ detection of celestial bodies, and relates to the technical field of penetrator equipment, comprising an aluminum honeycomb buffer module, which comprises an external protective shell and an aluminum honeycomb, and has the beneficial effects that the application is provided with in-situ detection of high-speed penetration of celestial bodies, and discloses a small-sized separated penetrator, which comprises a planet soil penetration module and a star table detection module, and realizes autonomous separation in the impact penetration process, the star table module can realize star table detection and communication with an orbiter, the penetration module is internally provided with an energy storage device and an impact hammer, and can continue to penetrate and dive relying on the energy storage device after impact; the star table module is connected with the penetration module through flexible wires, and can supply power and signal transmission to the latter, the technology enables the penetrator with the modular characteristic to have the in-situ detection capability of planet soil profile, aims to expand the application mode of the penetrator for celestial body detection, and provides a scientific basis for the research of star table structures.

The invention discloses an electromagnetic capture connecting mechanism with a spring flexible support, and relates to the technical field of electromagnetic capture. The device comprises a base, an inner cavity of the base is fixedly connected with a fixing assembly, the inner cavity of the base is fixedly connected with a flexible supporting assembly through the fixing assembly, the top of the flexible supporting assembly is fixedly connected with an electromagnetic coil, and the flexible supporting assembly comprises a mounting boss fixedly connected to the top of the base. According to the supporting structure, rigid supporting is changed into elastic deformable supporting, the stress of the end face of the electromagnetic coil and the supporting piece is effectively reduced, meanwhile, the damping spring and the electromagnetic coil are integrally designed, the buffering function is added while the electromagnetic performance is kept unchanged, the fatigue life of the supporting piece is prolonged, and the service life is prolonged. The magnetic core and the butt joint face are kept coaxial through the elastic buffering effect, force-displacement coupling energy absorption is achieved at the same time, mechanical impact at the electromagnetic capture moment is avoided, relative vibration attenuation in the butt joint process is accelerated, and capture precision is improved.

The invention relates to the technical field of space non-cooperative target capturing and racemization, in particular to a space non-cooperative target variable-stiffness racemization device based on a dielectric elastomer and application of the space non-cooperative target variable-stiffness racemization device, and the space non-cooperative target variable-stiffness racemization device is suitable for attitude control and racemization operation of space tumbling satellites, space debris and other non-cooperative targets. The supporting assembly comprises a middle shaft, a middle shaft servo motor and a fixing base, the middle shaft vertically penetrates through the fixing base, and the middle shaft servo motor is in transmission connection with the middle shaft and used for driving the middle shaft to rotate around the axis of the middle shaft or driving the middle shaft to pitch in the vertical direction so as to adjust the space posture of the arm rotation eliminating body. Compared with the prior art, the racemization device is high in racemization precision, good in operation flexibility, free of fuel consumption and suitable for long-term space tasks.

The invention discloses a universal butt-joint high-rigidity butt-joint locking quick-change device for large-scale modular on-orbit assembly, and belongs to the technical field of space robots. An existing butt joint interface is poor in universality and difficult to adapt to diversified on-orbit assembly requirements. A first positioning surface is arranged at the top end of a driving end shell, and an opening is formed in the outer circumferential surface; a clamping jaw driving assembly is arranged in the shell; the clamping jaw comprises three capturing fingers and three groups of corresponding finger connecting assemblies, each group comprises a hinge seat, a finger connecting rod, a first pin shaft, a second pin shaft and a third pin shaft, the hinge seat can be driven by the clamping jaw driving assembly to move up and down, one end of each capturing finger is connected with one end of the corresponding finger connecting rod through the corresponding first pin shaft, and the other end of each capturing finger extends out of an opening of the shell; the other end of the finger connecting rod is connected with the hinge seat through a second pin shaft; the third pin shaft is mounted at the position, close to the opening, of the shell and rotationally connected with the capturing finger; the passive butt joint module is provided with a locking groove matched with the clamping jaw and a second positioning face matched with the first positioning face.

The invention discloses a shape memory alloy driving-based Krasserian origami bionic adhesion crawling robot which is mainly applied to space on-orbit target surface detection and maintenance. The robot comprises a body part and an advancing part, the body part comprises a head visual perception module, a body movement module, a main control module and an energy supply module, and the advancing part comprises a leg movement module and a dry adhesion module. The robot adopts a Krassin origami structure and a shape memory alloy wire driving system, and a shape memory alloy wire is driven by current to generate phase change, so that bionic motion is realized. The energy supply module provides power needed by the robot through the solar cell panel and the battery module, and long-term stable operation of the robot is supported. The robot is designed to be light and small, so that the robot has high flexibility and adaptability when being deployed on the surface of a target to perform tasks, and is particularly suitable for maintenance of space on-orbit targets.

This invention discloses a Tube model predictive control method for electromagnetic docking in on-orbit refueling, comprising: S1, establishing a spacecraft orbit-electromagnetic-liquid coupled dynamic model and converting it into a discrete state-space form; S2, designing a constraint tightening method based on adaptive robust invariant sets to address disturbance terms in the dynamic model, ensuring recursive feasibility under bounded disturbance conditions; S3, constructing an energy consumption-accuracy multi-objective optimization function, and using a rolling time-domain optimization framework to achieve a dynamic trade-off between energy consumption and docking accuracy; S4, constructing a control Lyapunov function, and using robust invariant sets to ensure the stability of the algorithm under constraints, thereby obtaining the optimal controller; S5, substituting the Tube model predictive controller into the closed-loop system to achieve a stable relative position of the spacecraft, realizing coupled control. This invention can achieve precise electromagnetic docking control under conditions of system time-varying dynamics and coexistence of external and tank liquid disturbances, with low control energy consumption and wide applicability.

The invention discloses a flexible wiping method and system of a flexible joint space robot based on dynamic adaptive impedance control, and the method comprises the steps: firstly, building a contact model between the flexible joint space robot and a wiped target; then, self-adaptive impedance control for dynamically updating impedance parameters is designed; and finally, performing comparison simulation on classical constant impedance, fixed update rate adaptive impedance control and dynamic update rate adaptive impedance control, and verifying the effectiveness of the method combining the dynamic update rate adaptive impedance control and singular perturbation control on friction force compliance control in the wiping process of the flexible joint space manipulator by a simulation result. The method is used for the field of on-orbit wiping of the flexible joint space robot, and accurate compliance force control can be conducted on the flexible joint space robot rapidly, efficiently and accurately; when the flexible joint space robot executes a task, necessary guarantee can be provided for the flexible joint space robot, and it is ensured that the space robot and a wiping target are not damaged, and meanwhile a good cleaning effect is obtained.

This provides a coupling mechanism that can reliably protect the internal mechanism from adverse effects of the external environment. [Solution] The coupling portion 3A of one robot module 2A comprises an annular base portion 4 having an opening in the center, a planar flexible sealing member 4 covering the opening of the base portion 4, an engaging portion 7 disposed outside the sealing member 4, and a drive unit 9 built inside the base portion 4 separated by the sealing member 4. The coupling portion 3B of the other robot module 2B comprises an engaged portion 7' ​​that engages with the engaging portion 7. The drive unit 9 engages the engaging portion 7 via the sealing member 4, and the sealing member 4 deforms in sync with the movement of the engaging portion 7.

Disclosed are a toroidal tank (1) for a vehicle, comprising two ring shaped internal fluid compartments (10,12), wherein a cylindrical wall (6) separating these fluid compartments (10,12) are adapted to be a part of the primary structure of the vehicle and thus to be integrated in a load path of the vehicle, and a vehicle.

The present invention is embodied in systems and devices for transporting assets (small satellites, goods, or other payloads) in outer space. A preferred system comprises a scaffold of relay stations strategically orbiting one or more celestial bodies. Since the orbits are complementary to each other, the relay stations can transport mass objects from one station to another. In this way, the system can support various logistics networks connecting space between orbits such as low Earth orbit (LEO), geostationary orbit (GEO), and low lunar orbit (LLO), as well as space between Earth and Mars.

The present application belongs to the technical field of space docking, and particularly relates to a petal-shaped docking interface driving device for space on-orbit assembly. The docking interface driving device comprises a driving module, a fixing module, a locking module, an active interface and a passive interface. The locking module is in contact connection with the driving module, and the driving module and the active interface are connected with the fixing module through bolts to jointly constitute an active docking module. When two modules are docked, the isomorphic petal-shaped active and passive docking interfaces are engaged with each other, and the locking push rod in the locking module is driven by a motor to push the locking sleeve and the locking pin to reach and leave the locking groove to realize active locking and unlocking. The docking interface driving device has the advantages of simple and compact structure, motor power-off self-locking, small overall size, light weight, high reliability, and is suitable for quick docking and separation between space modular robots and mechanical arms.

The invention relates to a large-aperture fixed surface radio telescope system and an on-orbit construction method, and the system comprises a radio telescope which is a large-aperture radio telescope; the mechanical arm is configured to perform in-orbit installation on the plurality of second antenna panel split plates so as to form the second antenna panel; and a satellite platform configured to carry the radio telescope and the robotic arm. The radio telescope includes: a first antenna panel; the second antenna panel comprises a plurality of second antenna panel sub-plates; and the butt joint device is configured to be in butt joint with the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel. The docking device can be conveniently docked with the second antenna panel on the outer side of the first antenna panel, and locking is completed through motor retraction after docking locking, so that the telescope system has two states of assembling and working, the requirement for the control precision of a mechanical arm is reduced, and the collision risk is reduced.

This invention relates to a quadcopter Mars spacecraft and its upright deployment and platform takeoff deployment device. The invention addresses the current lack of a suitable structure, deployment, and takeoff deployment scheme for quadcopter Mars spacecraft. The invention includes a lander, an outer envelope assembly, a bottom extension component, a multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, and a Mars spacecraft. The bottom extension component and the multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm are mounted side-by-side on the lander, the outer envelope assembly is mounted on the bottom extension component, and the Mars spacecraft is housed within the outer envelope assembly. This invention belongs to the field of aerospace vehicle technology.

The application discloses an adhering robot capable of stable and compliant landing, comprising a fuselage, a plurality of three-degree-of-freedom single legs arranged on the bottom side of the fuselage, an adhering foot sole arranged at the end of the three-degree-of-freedom single leg, and a single leg sub-controller, a main controller and a power battery arranged on the fuselage respectively, the three-degree-of-freedom single leg corresponding to the adhering foot sole and the single leg sub-controller one by one; the power battery is electrically connected with the three-degree-of-freedom single leg, the adhering foot sole, the single leg sub-controller and the main controller respectively; the single leg sub-controller is communicatively connected with the main controller and the corresponding three-degree-of-freedom single leg respectively; the single leg sub-controller makes the three-degree-of-freedom single leg and the adhering foot sole move according to the instruction of the main controller, so as to realize the walking and buffer landing of the robot. The adhering foot sole is used as a primary buffer mechanism, and the three-degree-of-freedom single leg is used as a secondary buffer mechanism with adjustable stiffness and damping, the adhering foot sole and the three-degree-of-freedom single leg jointly work to improve the success rate and stability of the robot and the target spacecraft adhesion, and effectively reduce the disturbance to the target spacecraft.

The application discloses a three-arm space robot multi-modal shared teleoperation system and method, which comprises at least a master teleoperation system, a communication module and a slave robot system, the master teleoperation system comprises at least two force feedback hand controllers, a microphone array and upper computer software, and the slave robot system comprises two end work arms equipped with grippers, an observation arm with a double-eye camera at the end, a vision unit, a force sensor and lower computer software; an operator controls two work arms of the extravehicular robot to perform a task, and controls the observation arm to obtain a better local visual angle; the method fuses the multi-modal teleoperation control method comprising pose control, voice control and force control with the robot autonomous control through a shared control algorithm, can realize the position, posture and contact force of the robot controlled by the operator and the robot autonomously performing other relatively simple tasks according to the demand of the operator, reduces the operation burden of the operator and improves the control efficiency.

Systems and methods for the in situ extraction of materials, for example lunar regolith, from a celestial body. The systems and methods described herein can be used in outer space or on Earth. A high pressure gas is delivered to loosen up the material and form a borehole. A deployable mast deploys from a stowed, coiled configuration to a linear, deployed configuration into the borehole. A deployable tube may deploy to assist with delivering the gas and / or collecting the loosened material. One or more jets emit the gas. The jets may be supported at a free end of the tube or mast. The jets may direct loosened material through the tube and / or mast toward a collection reservoir. A flow separator may filter the loosened material from the gasses.

The invention discloses a Mars surface nuclear energy utilization system for comprehensive thermoelectric hydrogen storage and production, and relates to a Mars surface nuclear energy utilization system. The invention aims to solve the problem that the Mars base needs an efficient and reliable energy system. The system comprises a Brayton thermoelectric conversion device, one side of the Brayton thermoelectric conversion device is connected with a high-temperature electrolytic hydrogen production device, the other side of the Brayton thermoelectric conversion device is connected with a laser wireless energy transmission device, and the Brayton thermoelectric conversion device is further connected with a heat supply device and a Carnot battery energy storage device; the heat supply device provides heat for the Mars base, and the Brayton thermoelectric conversion device provides power for power utilization facilities, the high-temperature electrolytic hydrogen production device and the laser wireless capacity transmission device of the Mars base. The invention belongs to the technical field of nuclear energy comprehensive utilization.

The invention discloses a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection, and belongs to the technical field of space robots. The problem that although an existing fault detection robot is high in flexibility, the supporting capacity of a tail end probe is weak, and consequently the positioning precision is poor is solved. The deformation pipeline module comprises a rigid straight pipe, a flexible corrugated pipe and a coupling bending assembly, wherein the rigid straight pipe and the flexible corrugated pipe are connected in series, and the coupling bending assembly is arranged in the flexible corrugated pipe and can deform. The image acquisition module is mounted at the tip of the flexible corrugated pipe and is used for acquiring image information of a fault position of the spacecraft; the linear driving module provides power for deformation of the coupling bending assembly. When the linear driving module applies thrust, the coupling bending assembly bends and deforms, and drives the flexible corrugated pipe to bend synchronously, so that the image acquisition module is aligned with the fault position of the spacecraft and acquires an image; when the linear driving module applies pulling force, the coupling bending assembly drives the flexible corrugated pipe to be straightened and reset, so that the flexible robot is guided to advance continuously through the image acquisition module.

A spacecraft control architecture uses a multi-joint robotic arm carrying a reflective panel to generate controllable forces and torques from solar radiation pressure and, in some cases, aerodynamic drag. A plurality of attachment points on an exterior surface provide mechanical and electrical interfaces for end effectors of the arm. A control system determines a demanded change in stored momentum and / or orbital state, computes available external forces based on ephemeris and attitude data, and evaluates candidate arm and panel configurations subject to joint limits and keep-out regions for antennas, sensors, and solar wings. The control system selects a target configuration and commands the arm to walk between attachment points by alternately latching and unlatching the end effectors while maintaining at least one latched interface. The architecture can also place the panel in a stowed configuration that produces substantially zero net force and torque.

The invention discloses a small space debris-oriented passive capturing and disposing spacecraft, cubesat and method, solves the problems that in the prior art, small space debris cannot be captured, and an existing capturing device performs active capturing, and has the beneficial effects that the space debris is passively captured and thoroughly eliminated. According to the specific scheme, the passive grabbing and handling spacecraft for the small space debris comprises a chip satellite and a capturing assembly, a plurality of solar sails are connected to the peripheral side of the chip satellite, the chip satellite controls the bending state of the solar sails so as to control flight of the spacecraft, and the capturing assembly comprises a folding storage wall plate, a triggering platform and a bistable capturing arm; the folding storage wall plate is connected to the peripheral side of the chip satellite through the hinge, the hinge is a bent hinge and has elasticity, the triggering platform is connected with the chip satellite, and after the bistable capturing arm passes through the triggering platform, the bistable capturing arm is in a straight state when a spacecraft is in a non-working state.

Disclosed are systems and methods for a distributed space transportation network. Satellite launches to orbit are more efficiently performed by large rockets. Modern satellites are in smaller form factor, leaving the large launch rockets with excess capacity. Small satellite operators can use ride-shares, but do not have efficient options for delivering their satellites to their desired destination and may be forced to operate their satellites in compromise orbits. The disclosed distributed space transportation network maintains a fleet of space tugs, which can dock with satellites in space at an initial arrival destination and transport the satellites to their final destinations. In one embodiment, the space tugs can dock with satellite depots to obtain fuel and repairs.

A service satellite for providing station keeping services to a host satellite is disclosed. The service satellite may have a body, and a gripping mechanism attached to the body. The gripping mechanism may be adapted to attach to an interface ring extending from an external surface of the host satellite to form an interconnection between the host satellite and the service satellite through the externally extending interface ring. Attaching the gripping mechanism to the interface ring may form an interconnected unit having a combined center of mass. The service satellite may have at least two thrusters and at least one controller. The at least one controller may maintain the interconnected unit in a substantially stationary orbit by selectively orienting the two thrusters such that the thrust vectors from the two thrusters avoid passing through the combined center of mass, and are each offset from the combined center of mass.

A regolith oxygen extraction system that extracts oxygen and produces molten regolith by processing and heating a continuous regolith feed. The system feeds regolith through a vertical hopper to a reaction chamber, the regolith itself sealing the inlet to the reaction chamber while maintaining continuous flow. The heated regolith reacts within the reaction chamber to produce oxygen and processed regolith. The processed regolith is removed from the reactor chamber through an extrusion nozzle, the processed regolith itself sealing the produced gases within the reactor chamber while maintaining continuous flow of processed regolith. The system employs non-contact reaction temperature measurement and rapid oxygen content measurement in the regolith upstream and downstream of the reaction zone, and may be integrated with multiple oxygen extraction methods.

The embodiment of the utility model provides an automatic tightening mechanism, which relates to the technical field of tightening structures, and comprises a body, a free end binding component, a fixed end binding component, a rolling component and a releasing component, the fixed end binding assembly is fixedly connected with the body, and the free end binding assembly is connected with the winding assembly; the winding assembly is installed on the body and used for winding the free end binding assembly. The releasing assembly is installed on the body and used for releasing the rolled free end binding assembly. According to the technical scheme, floating cargo bags of different specifications and sizes can be automatically tightened, meanwhile, the working intensity of astronauts can be relieved, the working efficiency can be improved, human factor intervention is reduced, and the measuring precision of the measuring device is improved.

A rocket propulsion and satellite deployment system, comprising a rocket comprising at least a base sector, an operating sector, and a transport sector; the base sector comprises a propellant and is configured to transport the sectors to a mission target; the operating sector comprises a rotating robotic arm pivoted to the operating sector; the transport sector is configured to hold a load intended to be delivered to the target by means of a rotation of the rotating robotic arm with respect to the operating sector, accelerating the load itself which is subsequently released in a direction opposite to the speed of the rocket, increasing, due to conservation of momentum, the speed of the rocket itself. The system is based on a so-called 'useful propellant', consisting of the satellites, rovers and orbiters themselves, which, through the rotational acceleration system, are used to increase the speed of the rocket in space. As well as providing an alternative to traditional propulsion, this system provides an innovative way of putting satellites into orbit, especially in non-earth orbit, which can also be used for longer missions with more than just one target.

A debris removal satellite (300) includes a capture device (135), a thruster (341) of a chemical propulsion method, and a propellant tank (342) to store chemical fuel. A solar array wing (371) is operable in an orbit at an orbital altitude higher than a congested orbit region congested with satellites forming a satellite constellation. The debris removal satellite (300) is built in advance for future use as a satellite to be launched, and when a debris intrusion alarm to give a warning about intrusion of debris into the congested orbit region is issued, propellant is loaded into the propellant tank and the debris removal satellite is launched by a rocket built in advance for future use as a launch rocket. The debris removal satellite (300) captures capture-target debris at an orbital altitude higher than the congested orbit region, and operates a propulsion device (134) with the capture-target debris being captured, so as to prevent the capture-target debris from intruding into the congested orbit region.

Methods and systems for depositing a deposition material on a substrate in a space environment may include a substrate support structure on a surface of a planetary body in the space environment, a depositor for the deposition material, an energy source associated with the depositor to excite the deposition material to form a vapor of the deposition, and a moveable elongate member associated with the depositor, to move the depositor over the substrate, whereby the vapor of deposition material from the depositor may pass over the substrate and flow to the substrate to coat the substrate with the deposition material.