[0043] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the following examples are used in conjunction with the accompanying drawings to further describe the solar panel deployment mechanism, deployment system and deployment method of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present invention, but not to limit the present invention.
[0044] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on the other element or a central element may also exist. When an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or an intermediate element may be present at the same time. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, there are no intervening elements. The terms "vertical", "horizontal", "left", "right" and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only.
[0045] Such as figure 1 with figure 2 As shown, a solar panel deployment mechanism 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a first support frame 001, a second support frame 002, a retractable assembly 004 and an elastic member 003;
[0046] The first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are spaced apart, and the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 can move relative to each other; the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are respectively connected to the two sides of the solar cell module 006 When the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are close to each other, the solar cell assembly 006 is folded in an origami shape; when the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are far away from each other, the solar cell assembly 006 is unfolded;
[0047] The retractable assembly 004 is disposed on the first support frame 001, and is in transmission connection with the second support frame 002, and is used to apply a driving force to the second support frame 002, so that the second support frame 002 faces a position close to the first support frame 001. Direction movement
[0048] The elastic element 003 is arranged between the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002. When the retractable assembly 004 releases the driving force applied to the second support frame 002, the elastic force of the second support frame 002 on the elastic element 003 Down, move in a direction away from the first support frame 001.
[0049] Among them, the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 can have various structural forms. For example, the first support frame 001 may be a frame structure, a plate-shaped structure, or a rod-shaped structure. In an embodiment, the first support frame 001 is a rectangular frame structure, which includes four frames enclosing a rectangle, and two diagonal frames connecting two diagonal corners of the rectangle. In this way, while the first support frame 001 has a stable structure, the weight can be reduced as much as possible. Similarly, the second support frame 002 may also be a frame structure, or a plate-shaped structure, or a rod-shaped structure. In one embodiment, the second support frame 002 is a rectangular frame structure, which includes four frames enclosing a rectangle, and two diagonal frames connecting two diagonal corners of the rectangle. In addition, the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 can be made of high-strength and light-weight materials.
[0050] See image 3 with Figure 4 As an implementable way, the solar cell module 006 includes a flexible carrying film 061 and a support structure, and a plurality of solar cell sheets 063; the support structure includes two support rods 062, and the two support rods 062 are respectively connected to the first support frame 001 is connected to the second support frame 002; the opposite sides of the flexible bearing film 061 are respectively connected to two support rods 062, and a plurality of solar cell sheets 063 are installed on the flexible bearing film 061 at intervals; when the first support frame 001 When the second supporting frame 002 is close to each other, the flexible carrier film 061 is folded in an origami shape using the interval between two adjacent solar cell sheets 063 as a fold line.
[0051] One ends of the two support rods 062 can be directly fixedly connected to the first support frame 001 or the second support frame 002 respectively, or can be respectively connected to the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 through a connecting piece. In an embodiment, both the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are rectangular frames, and one end of a support rod 062 is respectively connected to both ends of a side frame of the first support frame 001 through a foldable connector. Similarly, one end of the other support rod 062 is also connected to both ends of one side frame of the second support frame 002 through a foldable connecting piece. When the solar cell windsurfing board is in a folded state, the two supporting rods 062 are respectively folded relative to the first supporting frame 001 and the second supporting stand 002 through the foldable connecting piece, further reducing the volume of the entire solar cell windsurfing board. When the solar panel is in the unfolded state, the foldable connector is rigidly deployed, and the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 can respectively drive the two support rods 062 to move relative to each other through the foldable connector to realize the flexible bearing film 061 Of unfolding.
[0052] See figure 2 with Figure 5 , The structure of the retractable assembly 004 can be multiple. As an implementable way, the retractable assembly 004 includes retractable wheels 041, traction rope 042 and a motor 043. The motor 043 is arranged on the first support frame 001 and is connected to the retractable wheel 041 in transmission to drive the retractable wheel 041. Wheel 041 rotates;
[0053] One end of the traction rope 042 is connected to the retracting wheel 041, and the other end is connected to the second support frame 002; when the retracting wheel 041 rotates in the first direction, the traction rope 042 is wound on the retracting wheel 041 to drive the second The support frame 002 moves in a direction close to the first support frame 001.
[0054] Among them, the traction rope 042 is made of light-weight and strong materials, such as steel wire ropes, etc., which can effectively reduce the weight of the entire solar panel. As well as the retractable wheel 041 and the motor 043, the types with excellent performance and lighter weight are also selected. During the process of the traction rope 042 being wound on the retracting wheel 041, the retracting wheel 041 exerts a driving force on the second support frame 002 through the traction rope 042, so that the second support frame 002 moves toward the direction of the first support frame 001 . When the second support frame 002 moves into position, the motor 043 stops driving the retractable wheel 041 to rotate in the first direction.
[0055] During the specific use process, according to the relative movement distance between the second support frame 002 and the first support frame 001, the number of turns and the angle of the retractable wheel 041 can be calculated to control the motor 043 to stop driving the retractable wheel 041 in the first direction The moment of rotation is to ensure that the second support frame 002 can accurately move in place, while avoiding excessive stretching of the traction rope 042. Alternatively, a position sensor can be designed to detect the movement position of the second support frame 002 relative to the first support frame 001, and when the movement of the second support frame 002 is detected in place, the controller sends a stop signal to the motor 043.
[0056] In some other embodiments, the retractable assembly 004 may further include a driving motor and a driving rod, one end of the driving rod is connected to the driving motor, and the other end is connected to the second support frame 002. The drive motor drives the drive rod to move linearly to drive the second support frame 002 to move. Alternatively, the retractable assembly 004 can also be configured in other structural forms, as long as the purpose of applying a driving force to the second support frame 002 to move the second support frame 002 toward the first support frame 001 can be achieved.
[0057] See figure 2 , Image 6 with Figure 7 The structure of the elastic member 003 can be various. As an implementable way, the elastic member 003 is a compression spring; one end of the compression spring is fixed to the first support frame 001, and the other end is fixed to the second support frame 002; when the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are mutually When approaching, the compression spring is compressed. In this way, when the retractable assembly 004 releases the aforementioned driving force applied to the second support frame support frame, the second support frame 002 can move away from the first support frame 001 under the elastic force of the compression spring, thereby being able to drive The solar cell module 006 is unfolded. Among them, the compression spring can also be replaced by other elastic members with compression deformation elasticity.
[0058] Preferably, the compression spring is generally cone-shaped; when the compression spring is compressed, the compression spring is generally disk-shaped. In this way, the space volume of the solar panel before launch can be effectively reduced. Among them, the compression spring can be a helical spring with a rectangular cross section, and the helical spring with a rectangular cross section has greater lateral stability. After compression, it is a rectangular disk (such as Figure 7 ). Of course, in other embodiments, the compression spring may also have a circular cross-section and a disc shape after compression. Or its cross-section is triangular, after compression, it becomes triangular disc shape, etc.
[0059] See figure 1 with figure 2 In the solar panel deployment mechanism 100 of this embodiment, before the satellite is launched, the second support frame 002 is close to one side of the first support frame 001 under the action of the retractable assembly 004. After the satellite is launched into orbit, the second support frame 002 is moved away from the first support frame 001 under the elastic force of the elastic member 003, so that the solar cell module 006 is deployed. In this way, the volume of the entire solar panel can be reduced when the satellite is launched, and after the satellite is launched into orbit, the solar panel can be deployed to ensure the large power supply to the satellite. In addition, the structure for controlling the relative movement of the two support frames is relatively simple and reliable, and it is not prone to failure in deployment. In addition, since the deployment mainly relies on the elastic force of the elastic member 003, there is no need to provide an additional deployment drive structure, which effectively reduces the weight of the entire solar panel.
[0060] In the following, taking the retractable assembly 004 as an example including a retractable wheel 041, a traction rope 042, and a motor 043, the realization process of the solar panel deployment mechanism 100 of the present invention will be described in detail.
[0061] See figure 1 with figure 2 Before the launch of the satellite, the second support frame 002 is located on one side of the first support frame 001 under the action of the driving force exerted by the retractable assembly 004, and the solar panel is in a folded state at this time. After the satellite is launched into orbit, after the solar panel deployment mechanism 100 receives the deployment signal, the retractable assembly 004 releases the driving force applied to the second support frame 002. Specifically, the motor 043 drives the retractable wheel 041 to rotate in a direction opposite to the first direction, and releases the traction rope 042 to release the driving force on the second support frame 002, and then the second support frame 002 is resilient to the elastic member 003 Keep away from the first support frame 001 under the applied force, so that the solar panel can be deployed.
[0062] In this embodiment, the motor 043 drives the retracting wheel 041 to wind up and release the traction rope 042, so as to realize the uniform speed of the solar panel during the unfolding and folding process, and to ensure the unfolding action of the entire solar panel unfolding mechanism 100 Its smoothness minimizes the impact on the attitude of the entire satellite and spacecraft.
[0063] Referring to 5, as an implementable manner, the retractable assembly 004 further includes a pulley 044, the pulley 044 is arranged on the second support frame 002; the end of the traction rope 042 connected to the second support frame 002 bypasses the pulley 044 and is fixed to The first support frame 001. In this way, the driving force for driving the second support frame 002 to move can be more saved, and the power of the motor 043 can be effectively reduced.
[0064] Referring to 2, as an implementable manner, the solar cell windsurfing board deployment mechanism 100 further includes a telescopic rod 005, and both ends of the telescopic rod 005 are connected to the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002, respectively. The telescopic rod 005 is used to guide and support the relative movement of the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002. The number of telescopic rods 005 can be one, two, three or even more. For example, in the foregoing embodiment in which the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002 are both rectangular frame structures, four telescopic rods may be provided between the first support frame 001 and the second support frame 002, and four telescopic rods It is correspondingly arranged between the four corners of the first support frame 001 and the four corners of the second support frame 002.
[0065] Further, the telescopic rod 005 includes a plurality of telescopic sub-rods nested in sequence, and elastic locking protrusions are arranged between two adjacent telescopic sub-rods.
[0066] By setting the telescopic rod 005 as a structure of a plurality of telescopic sub-rods nested in sequence, and there are elastic locking protrusions between two adjacent telescopic sub-rods, the automatic expansion of the telescopic rod 005 can be realized, and the extension is in place. Automatically lock afterwards. In this way, after the second support frame 002 moves to a certain distance in a direction away from the first support frame 001, the second support frame 002 can be automatically positioned with the cooperation of the telescopic rod 005.
[0067] Such as Figure 8 with Picture 9 As shown, an embodiment of the present invention also provides a solar panel deployment system 200, including the above-mentioned multi-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100; the multi-level solar panel mechanisms are sequentially connected, and the upper-level solar panel The first support frame 001 of the board deployment mechanism 100 is the second support frame 002 of the next-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100.
[0068] In the solar panel deployment system 200, each stage of the solar panel deployment mechanism 100 can operate independently. Even if there is a problem in one stage, the normal operation of the other solar panel deployment mechanisms 100 will not be affected, which effectively increases the entire solar energy. The reliability of the battery windsurfing deployment system 200. And the adjacent two-stage solar panel deployment mechanism 100 is connected, the first support frame 001 of the upper-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100 is the second support frame 002 of the next-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100 ( Can refer to figure 2 ). In this way, the space occupied by the entire solar panel deployment system 200 is effectively saved, and the weight is reduced. It can be understood that the support rod 062 of the solar cell module 006 corresponding to the first support frame 001 of the upper-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100 can also be the second support frame of the next-level solar panel deployment mechanism 100. 002 corresponds to the support rod 062 of the solar cell module 006.
[0069] See figure 1 An embodiment of the present invention also provides a method for deploying the solar panel deployment mechanism 100 as described above, which includes the following steps:
[0070] The retractable assembly 004 releases the driving force applied to the second support frame 002, so that the second support frame 002 moves in a direction away from the first support frame 001 under the elastic force of the elastic member 003. In this way, the solar cell module 006 can be deployed.
[0071] Further, after the step of implementing the expansion of the solar cell module 006 above, the method further includes the following steps: applying a driving force to the second support frame 002 through the retractable assembly 004, so that the second support frame 002 faces a position close to the first support frame 001 Direction movement. In this way, the solar cell module 006 can be folded.
[0072] See figure 1 , Figure 8 with Picture 9 During the specific operation: for example, before the satellite is launched, the second support frame 002 is located close to the side of the first support frame 001 under the action of the retractable assembly 004, that is, the solar cell assembly 006 is in the folded state at this time. After the satellite is launched into orbit, the retractable assembly 004 releases the driving force applied to the second support frame 002, and at the same time, the second support frame 002 moves away from the first support frame 001 under the elastic force of the elastic member 003, so that the solar cell module 006 expands. After the upper-level solar cell windsurfing board deployment mechanism 100 is fully opened, the next-level solar cell windsurfing board deployment mechanism 100 begins to repeat the above steps until the entire solar cell windsurfing board deployment system 200 is fully deployed.
[0073] The technical features of the above-mentioned embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, all possible combinations of the various technical features in the above-mentioned embodiments are not described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, All should be considered as the scope of this specification.
[0074] The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the descriptions are more specific and detailed, but they should not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several modifications and improvements can be made, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present invention should be subject to the appended claims.
