A limiting system and method for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope

Abstract

This invention provides a limiting system and method for a 60cm aperture fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope, relating to the field of astronomical telescope technology. It can cut off power to the turntable when the telescope, terminal instruments, and fork-type turntable collide, thereby protecting the integrity of the telescope, terminal instruments, and fork-type turntable. The system is simple in structure, allows for non-destructive assembly, and offers high reliability and accuracy. The limiting system includes: a limiting device, a telescope, a relay, a power supply, and a fork-type turntable assembled with the telescope. The fork-type turntable is connected to the power supply via the relay. The limiting device is mounted on the fork-type turntable and electrically connected to the relay, controlling the relay's on / off state through the trigger state of the limiting device. The limiting device includes a limiting plate and a base plate, which are connected. The base plate is fixedly connected to the fork-type turntable. The limiting plate is equipped with a compression trigger element, which is electrically connected to the relay. The position of the limiting plate on the fork-type turntable coincides with the contact position between the telescope and the fork-type turntable.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of astronomical telescope technology, and in particular to a limiting system and method for a 60cm aperture fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope. Background Technology

[0002] A fork-shaped equatorial mount is a support structure for an equatorial device. It splits into two branches at one end of the telescope's polar axis, resembling a fork, raising the declination axis high. The telescope tube can rotate around this axis. Fork-shaped equatorial mounts are suitable for small to medium-aperture astronomical telescopes. Astronomical observations require the mounting of a series of astronomical instruments on the telescope, such as focusing mechanisms, filter wheels, and astronomical detectors. For reflecting Cassegrain system telescopes with the focus at the rear, this increases the length of the telescope tube. When observing targets near the North Celestial Pole region from the telescope's turntable, the excessive length of the rear-end instruments may cause them to collide with the bottom of the fork-shaped equatorial mount's fork arms, potentially damaging the equipment.

[0003] Some newly manufactured fork-type equatorial mounts have a hard limit system on the declination axis. Depending on the size of the astronomical instrument, the position of the limit block can be adjusted to protect the terminal instrument. However, a considerable number of newly manufactured and older fork-type equatorial mounts lack a hard limit system. In actual unattended observations, this can easily lead to the detection equipment colliding with the fork-type turntable due to incorrect pointing, resulting in equipment damage.

[0004] To avoid the above situations, there are generally two methods: The first is to add a prohibited pointing area to the telescope control software. If the telescope points to these areas, the software will pop up a warning and restrict pointing; this is called a soft limit. The second is to add a limit system to the turntable. If the limit system is triggered, the turntable will immediately cut off power and stop moving to protect the equipment; this is called a hard limit. Normally, soft limits can eliminate most erroneous operations. However, sometimes due to a malfunction in the turntable's hardware reading of the pointing position module or a software fault, soft limits may not work. If the telescope points to the restricted area in this case, it will damage the terminal instrument. Therefore, a limit system, or hard limit, must be installed on the telescope to protect the terminal instrument.

[0005] Currently, to protect terminal equipment, a limit system can be made using mercury switches. Figure 1 As shown. Mercury switches are soldered onto a circuit board, with three mercury switches connected in series in each of the four cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). The limiting sky zone is determined based on the size of the detector. The mercury switches are gently tilted to the approximate altitude angle of the limiting sky zone. A switch module consisting of 12 mercury switches is connected to a relay. When the telescope points to the limiting sky zone, the mercury switches open, causing the relay to disconnect, the turntable to lose power, and the telescope to stop moving.

[0006] The advantage of using a mercury switch to create a limit system is its compact size and simple structure. Its disadvantages are: 1. It needs to be installed inside the telescope base plate, requiring the base plate to be disassembled and holes drilled for installation, which is inconvenient in practice. Furthermore, wiring issues must be considered to prevent wires from getting tangled during telescope movement; 2. The tilt angle of the mercury switch needs to be repeatedly measured in conjunction with the telescope's pointing direction, and the area of ​​the sky that can be limited cannot be precisely determined.

[0007] Therefore, it is necessary to study a new 60cm aperture fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflector telescope limiting system and method to address the shortcomings of existing technologies and solve or mitigate one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0008] In view of this, the present invention provides a limiting system and method for a Cassegrain reflecting telescope of a fork-type equatorial mount, which can cut off the power to the telescope when it collides with the fork-type turntable, thereby protecting the integrity of the telescope, terminal instruments and fork-type turntable. It has a simple structure, non-destructive assembly and high reliability and accuracy.

[0009] On one hand, the present invention provides a limiting system for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope, the limiting system comprising: a limiting device, a telescope, a relay, a power supply, and a fork-type turntable assembled with the telescope;

[0010] The fork-type turntable is connected to the power supply via the relay;

[0011] The limiting device is mounted on the fork-shaped turntable and is electrically connected to the relay. The on / off state of the relay is controlled by the trigger state of the limiting device.

[0012] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the limiting system further includes a main control module;

[0013] The main control module is connected to the relay and the telescope observation control system, and can control the on / off state of the relay and the attitude of the telescope.

[0014] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the limiting device includes a limiting plate and a base plate, the limiting plate and the base plate being connected, and the base plate being fixedly connected to the fork-type turntable;

[0015] The limiting plate is provided with a compression triggering element, which is electrically connected to the relay.

[0016] The position of the limiting plate on the fork-shaped turntable is consistent with the contact position between the telescope and the fork-shaped turntable.

[0017] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the base plate is fixed to the fork-type turntable in a non-destructive manner, such as by adhesive bonding.

[0018] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the number of squeeze triggering elements is multiple, and the multiple squeeze triggering elements are connected in series and electrically connected to the output control terminal of the relay.

[0019] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which support rods are provided on both sides of the limiting plate, the support rods are located above the limiting plate, and are connected to the extrusion triggering element through an assembly cap;

[0020] Both ends of the support rod are provided with square blocks and limiting nuts, and the square blocks are located between the limiting nuts and the assembly cap;

[0021] The bottom end of the block component is fixedly connected to the limiting plate.

[0022] In addition to the aspects described above and any possible implementations, a further implementation is provided in which the squeeze trigger element is a limit switch; the assembly cap is connected to the contacts of the limit switch.

[0023] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the number of limit switches is four, the limit switches are divided into two groups and evenly distributed on the limiting plate along the support rod on their respective sides;

[0024] Each set of limit switches is connected to the same support rod.

[0025] In addition to the aspects described above and any possible implementations, a further implementation is provided in which the main control module is connected to the relay via a serial cable.

[0026] On the other hand, the present invention provides a method for limiting the position of a Cassegrain reflecting telescope on a fork-type equatorial mount, the method being applicable to any of the limiting systems described above; the steps of the method include:

[0027] S1. The limit device is triggered, the relay is disconnected, and the fork turntable is de-energized;

[0028] S2, Limit fault alarm;

[0029] S3. Move the bottom of the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable;

[0030] S4, the limit device and telescope are back to normal.

[0031] In addition to the aspects and any possible implementations described above, a further implementation is provided in which the method of moving the bottom of the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable in step S3 is as follows:

[0032] Manually push the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable; or

[0033] The main control module controls the relay to supply power to the fork-shaped turntable and controls the telescope to rotate so that the bottom of the telescope moves away from the fork-shaped turntable.

[0034] Compared with the prior art, one of the above technical solutions has the following advantages or beneficial effects: The present invention is applicable to the limiting system of a 60cm aperture fork equatorial reflective Cassegrain system astronomical telescope, which can protect the detector located at the Cassegrain focal point of the reflective astronomical telescope and prevent the detector from colliding with the fork turntable and being damaged when the telescope points to a certain area of ​​the sky.

[0035] Another technical solution in the above-mentioned technical solution has the following advantages or beneficial effects: The limiting device of the present invention is set on a fork turntable with a relatively fixed position, so there is no need to worry about the winding problem caused by the movement of the equipment. Moreover, it is set on the bottom surface of the fork turntable, and the fixing method can be non-destructive, such as adhesive bonding, avoiding the need for disassembly and drilling of the telescope, which is required by the existing technology of setting the mercury switch inside the telescope.

[0036] Of course, any product implementing this invention does not necessarily need to achieve all of the technical effects described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0037] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0038] Figure 1 This is a topographical diagram of a limit system made from existing mercury switches;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a limiting system for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a limiting device provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 4 This is a design drawing of a limiting device and a fork-type turntable provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 5This is a wiring diagram of a reflecting telescope limiting system provided in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a reflecting telescope limiting system provided in one embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] In the figure:

[0045] 1. Limit plate; 2. Base plate; 3. Support rod; 4. Plastic cap; 5. Plastic block; 6. Limit nut; 7. Limit switch; 8. Limit device; 9. Fork turntable. Detailed Implementation

[0046] To better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] It should be understood that the described embodiments are merely some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] Schematic diagram of astronomical telescope limiting system as follows Figure 2 As shown. The telescope was originally directly connected to a 220V power supply. This invention adds a relay between the two. Simultaneously, the relay is connected to both a limit device and a computer. When the limit device is not triggered, the relay is in the connected state, meaning the telescope operates normally with 220V applied. When the limit device is triggered, the relay is disconnected, meaning the telescope is not powered and stops working. The computer and the relay are connected via a serial cable, allowing software control of the relay's connection and disconnection on the computer.

[0049] The structure of the limiting device is as follows Figure 3 As shown. The limiting system of the 60cm aperture fork-type equatorial reflecting Cassegrain system astronomical telescope mainly consists of two plates: limiting plate 1 and base plate 2, which are connected by a side-opening mechanism, like a book. The base plate is used to fix the entire system to the fork-type turntable (e.g., Figure 4 As shown, the base plate is vertically connected to the side wall of the fork-type turntable, and the limiting plate changes the angle between horizontal and vertical by opening and closing. The limiting plate is used to contact the terminal instrument.

[0050] Four limit switches 7 are fixed on the limiting plate 1, arranged in a square at the four corners adjacent to the limiting plate. A support rod 3 is provided on each side of the limiting plate 1, extending along the limiting length and slightly longer than the limiting plate 1. The midpoints of the two support rods 3 and the midpoint of the limiting plate 1 are aligned. Each of the four limit switches 7 is connected to a nearby limit switch 7 via a plastic cap 4. When the support rod is compressed, the pressure is transmitted to the limit switch through the plastic cap 4, triggering the limit switch. A plastic block 5 is provided at each end of the support rod 3, connected to the limiting plate 1 by screws, providing support for the support rod. Limit nuts 6 are installed at both ends of the support rod 3 to prevent components from slipping off. The plastic blocks 5 are positioned between the limit nuts 6 and the plastic caps 4.

[0051] The wiring diagram of the limit device and the relay is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, the four limit switches are connected in series. The four limit switches are connected to the output control terminal of a relay (the relay's input terminal is connected to a 220V power supply, and its output terminal is connected to the telescope's power input terminal; the relay's output control terminal is used to control the relay's output). When the detector collides with the limit plate of the limit device, as long as any one of the limit switches is pressed, the output control circuit will disconnect, the relay will stop outputting, and the equipment will be powered off and stopped moving, protecting the detector from colliding with the fork-shaped turntable.

[0052] When the limit device is activated by compression, the telescope stops supplying power to protect the detector. To restore power to the telescope, there are two methods: 1. The user uses software on a computer to activate the relay output (i.e., via...). Figure 2 The serial cable in the middle, that is Figure 5 The serial port control line (which controls the relay's operation via the computer to achieve relay output) is then used. The telescope observation control software is then used to move its rear end away from the fork arm. At this point, the four limit switches of the limit device return to their original positions. If pressed, the telescope is powered off again. 2. Manually push the telescope away from the fork arm until the four limit switches of the limit system return to their original positions. At this point, the relay output control circuit is connected, the output is normal, and the telescope is powered back on. Typically, astronomical observations are remotely controlled, so the first method is frequently used.

[0053] Limiting devices should be integrated into the overall astronomical observation control system as part of the telescope's comprehensive control mechanism. An astronomical observation control system typically includes telescope control, detector control, filter switching control, focusing control, and mirror cover control, among others. These control modules work together to facilitate observation. Limiting devices are crucial to the entire astronomical observation system, serving as a protective barrier for the detector.

[0054] The working process of the limit device in the astronomical observation control system is as follows: Figure 6 As shown. Specifically includes:

[0055] Open the astronomical observation control system software and connect the telescope, focusing device, limit device, camera, and other modules in sequence. Once all connections are complete and the display shows normal operation, begin astronomical observation as planned. Because the astronomical observation system has many modules, fault alarms may inevitably pop up during the observation process. When a fault alarm occurs, check and troubleshoot according to the fault description, and then continue observation. If the alarm is a telescope limit alarm, first click "Limit Release." After the limit is released, the relay will output normally, and the turntable will power on. After reconnecting the telescope, move the bottom of the telescope away from the fork arm; this will restore the four limit switches of the limit device to normal operation. At this point, the software will display that the limit status is normal, and astronomical observation can continue. Several telescope limit alarms may occur during the entire astronomical observation process. When a limit alarm occurs again, return to the "Limit Release" procedure and repeat this cycle until the entire astronomical observation process is completed.

[0056] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of a 60cm aperture fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope limiting system and method provided in the embodiments of this application. The descriptions of the embodiments above are merely for the purpose of helping to understand the method and its core ideas; furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this application, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0057] The terminology used in the embodiments of this invention is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the invention. In this application, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "inner," "outer," and "middle," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. Some of the above terms may also have other meanings besides indicating orientation or positional relationships; for example, the term "upper" may also be used in some cases to indicate a dependency or connection relationship. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this application according to the specific circumstances. The term "and / or" used herein is merely a description of the association relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

Claims

1. A limiting system for a Cassegrain-type reflecting telescope on a fork-shaped equatorial mount, characterized in that, The limiting system includes: a limiting device, a telescope, a relay, a power supply, and a fork-type turntable assembled with the telescope; The fork-type turntable is connected to the power supply via the relay; The limiting device is mounted on the fork-type turntable and is electrically connected to the relay. The on / off state of the relay is controlled by the trigger state of the limiting device. The limiting device includes a limiting plate and a base plate, the limiting plate and the base plate are connected, and the base plate is fixedly connected to the fork-type turntable; The limiting plate is provided with a compression triggering element, which is electrically connected to the relay. The position of the limiting plate on the fork-shaped turntable is consistent with the contact position between the telescope and the fork-shaped turntable; The number of the compression triggering elements is multiple, and the multiple compression triggering elements are connected in series and electrically connected to the output control terminal of the relay. Support rods are provided on both sides of the limiting plate. The support rods are located above the limiting plate and are connected to the extrusion triggering element through an assembly cap. Both ends of the support rod are provided with square blocks and limiting nuts, and the square blocks are located between the limiting nuts and the assembly cap; The bottom end of the block component is fixedly connected to the limiting plate; The compression trigger element is a limit switch; the assembly cap is connected to the contact of the limit switch; When the detector collides with the limiting plate of the limiting device, the output control circuit will be disconnected as long as any one of the limit switches is pressed, the relay will stop outputting, and the device will be powered off and stop moving.

2. The limiting system for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The limiting system also includes a main control module; The main control module is connected to the relay and the telescope observation control system, and can control the on / off state of the relay and the attitude of the telescope.

3. The limiting system for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of limit switches is four, and the limit switches are divided into two groups and evenly distributed on the limiting plate along the support rod on their respective sides; Each set of limit switches is connected to the same support rod.

4. The limiting system for a fork-type equatorial mount Cassegrain reflecting telescope according to claim 2, characterized in that, The main control module is connected to the relay via a serial cable.

5. A method for limiting the position of a Cassegrain-type reflecting telescope on a fork-type equatorial mount, characterized in that, The limiting method is applicable to the limiting system as described in any one of claims 1-4; the steps of the method include: S1. The limit device is triggered, the relay is disconnected, and the fork turntable is de-energized; S2, Limit fault alarm; S3. Move the bottom of the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable; S4, the limit device and telescope are back to normal.

6. The method for limiting the position of a Cassegrain-type reflecting telescope on a fork-shaped equatorial mount according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method for moving the bottom of the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable in step S3 is as follows: Manually push the telescope away from the fork-shaped turntable; or The main control module controls the relay to supply power to the fork-shaped turntable and controls the telescope to rotate so that the bottom of the telescope moves away from the fork-shaped turntable.

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