A stackable and expandable hinge mechanism and use method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism and a method for using the hinge mechanism. The head end of the inner hinge rod assembly of each hinge unit in the hinge mechanism is located at the inner side of the tail end of the outer hinge rod assembly and connected through a spindle; one end of the latch is fixedly connected to the spindle, and the other end is provided with a protruding shaft; in the unfolded state, the protruding shaft cooperates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time to achieve unfolding and locking; when the unfolded state is changed to the folded state, the moving spindle drives the latch to move until the protruding shaft and the outer locking hole are released to achieve unlocking; when the folded state is changed to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the spindle until the inner locking hole corresponds to the outer locking hole, and the latch re-achieves the cooperation with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time under the elastic force of the spring. The present invention is applied to space stations and large spacecraft such as satellites, and can realize multiple on-orbit unfolding and folding of solar wings. For spacecraft launched with a carrier rocket, the outer envelope size of the launch state can be effectively reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of deployable mechanisms of spacecraft, and specifically relates to a hinge mechanism with an unfolding and locking function as well as a folding and stacking function, and is suitable for a spacecraft mechanism that needs to be deployable and foldable over a long distance on orbit. Background Art

[0002] With the development of large-scale spacecraft missions in my country, large-area solar wings are used to meet the high power requirements of large spacecraft on orbit. Large extension mechanisms are one of the core components of large-area solar wings of large spacecraft, which realize repeated deployment, support and precise positioning of solar wings on orbit. In order to meet the requirements of long-term operation of large spacecraft on orbit and multiple deployment and retraction of solar wings on orbit, the deployment mechanism needs to have a high stacking ratio and a locking function after deployment to ensure the deployment stiffness and strength of the mechanism on orbit.

[0003] The deployment mechanisms of the solar wings of spacecraft that are currently in widespread use are all passive deployment hinge mechanisms, which do not have the function of repeated deployment and retraction in orbit, and do not have the function of stacking and large storage ratio, and cannot adapt to large-area deployable and retractable solar panels. Summary of the invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned defects and provide a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism and a method of using the hinge mechanism. The hinge mechanism includes a plurality of hinge units, each hinge unit includes an outer hinge rod assembly, an inner hinge rod assembly, a latch, a spring and a spindle; the outer hinge rod assembly includes two outer hinge rods, the inner hinge rod assembly includes two inner hinge rods, the head ends of the two inner hinge rods are located on the inner side of the tail ends of the two outer hinge rods and are connected through the spindle; the first end of the latch is fixedly connected to the spindle, and the second end is provided with a protruding shaft; the spring is sleeved on the spindle, and the two ends of the spring respectively contact the inner hinge rod Another inner hinge rod and the first end of the latch in the assembly; in the unfolded state, the protruding shaft cooperates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time to achieve unfolding and locking; in the folded state, the protruding shaft only cooperates with the inner locking hole; when changing from the unfolded state to the folded state, the moving spindle drives the latch to move until the protruding shaft and the outer locking hole are released to achieve unlocking; when changing from the folded state to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the spindle until the inner locking hole corresponds to the outer locking hole, and the latch re-achieves the cooperation with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time under the elastic force of the spring. The present invention is applied to space stations and large spacecraft such as large satellites, and can realize multiple in-orbit unfolding and folding of solar wings. For spacecraft launched with a carrier rocket, the outer envelope size of the launch state can be effectively reduced.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] A stackable and expandable hinge mechanism, comprising ≥1 hinge units;

[0007] The hinge unit includes an outer hinge rod assembly, an inner hinge rod assembly, a latch, a spring and a spindle;

[0008] The outer hinge rod assembly includes two parallel outer hinge rods, and the inner hinge rod assembly includes two parallel inner hinge rods. The head ends of the two inner hinge rods are located inside the tail ends of the two outer hinge rods and are connected through a spindle. The first end of the latch is fixedly connected to the spindle, and the second end is provided with a protruding shaft. One of the inner hinge rods in the inner hinge rod assembly is provided with an inner locking hole, and one of the outer hinge rods in the outer hinge rod assembly is provided with an outer locking hole. A spring is sleeved on the spindle, and two ends of the spring are respectively in contact with the other inner hinge rod in the inner hinge rod assembly and the first end of the latch.

[0009] In the unfolded state, the protruding shaft cooperates with both the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole to achieve unfolded locking; in the folded state, the protruding shaft only cooperates with the inner locking hole;

[0010] When changing from the expanded state to the folded state, the moving spindle drives the pin away from the outer guide rod until the protruding shaft is released from the outer locking hole, thereby unlocking the inner hinge rod assembly and the outer hinge rod assembly; when changing from the folded state to the expanded state, the inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the spindle until the inner locking hole corresponds to the outer locking hole, and the pin re-mates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time under the elastic force of the spring.

[0011] Furthermore, the axis of the core shaft is perpendicular to the outer hinge rod and the inner hinge rod.

[0012] Furthermore, the above-mentioned stackable and expandable hinge mechanism further includes a long shaft sleeve and a short shaft sleeve;

[0013] The head ends of the two inner hinge rods are respectively provided with inner mounting through holes, and the tail ends of the two outer hinge rods are respectively provided with outer mounting through holes; the inner hinge rod provided with the inner locking hole is the first inner hinge rod, the other inner hinge rod is the second inner hinge rod, the outer hinge rod provided with the outer locking hole is the first outer hinge rod, and the other outer hinge rod is the second outer hinge rod;

[0014] The long shaft sleeve passes through the inner mounting hole at the head end of the first inner hinge rod and the outer mounting hole at the tail end of the first outer hinge rod, the short shaft sleeve passes through the inner mounting hole at the head end of the second inner hinge rod and the outer mounting hole at the tail end of the second outer hinge rod, and the two ends of the core shaft are respectively located in the long shaft sleeve and the short shaft sleeve.

[0015] Furthermore, the first end of the latch is provided with a bayonet, and the spindle is provided with a slot, and the bayonet and the slot are clamped together to achieve a fixed connection between the first end of the latch and the spindle.

[0016] Furthermore, the mating surface of the latch when the latching opening is locked with the slot includes two planes parallel to the core axis and an arc-shaped surface located between the two planes.

[0017] Furthermore, the spindle is a stepped shaft structure, the diameter of one end located in the long shaft sleeve is larger than the diameter of one end located in the short shaft sleeve, and the spindle is limited when the spindle shoulder contacts the short shaft sleeve.

[0018] Furthermore, the protruding shaft of the latch includes a cylindrical portion and a frustum portion. When unfolded and locked, the cylindrical portion cooperates with the inner locking hole, and the frustum portion cooperates with the outer locking hole.

[0019] Furthermore, a guide slope is provided on the inner side of the outer hinge rod, the inlet of the guide slope is located at the edge of the outer hinge rod, and the outlet of the guide slope is connected to the outer locking hole;

[0020] When the folded state is changed to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the central axis, driving the protruding shaft provided by the inner pin of the inner locking hole to rotate to the entrance of the guide slope, and then moves along the guide slope to the exit of the guide slope, and then enters the outer locking hole, so as to realize the cooperation between the protruding shaft and the outer locking hole;

[0021] The height of the guide slope gradually increases from the guide slope entrance to the guide slope exit, and is used to apply axial thrust to the protruding shaft in the process of the protruding shaft moving along the guide slope to the guide slope exit, and move to the outer locking hole while compressing the spring, that is, the guide slope has a guiding and pushing function. During the unfolding process of the inner hinge rod assembly, the guide slope plays the role of axially pushing the bolt and guiding the bolt, so that the shaft of the bolt can smoothly enter the outer locking hole of the outer hinge rod assembly to achieve the locking of the mechanism.

[0022] Furthermore, the above-mentioned stackable and retractable hinge mechanism comprises ≥ 3 hinge units;

[0023] Except for the hinge units at both ends, the tail end of the outer hinge rod assembly in any hinge unit is connected to the head end of the inner hinge rod assembly in the hinge unit, the head end of the outer hinge rod assembly is connected to the tail end of the inner hinge rod assembly in the previous hinge unit, and the tail end of the inner hinge rod assembly is connected to the head end of the outer hinge rod assembly in the next hinge unit.

[0024] The method for using the stackable and retractable hinge mechanism is characterized by comprising the following steps:

[0025] In the unfolded state S1, the protruding shaft cooperates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time to achieve unfolding and locking;

[0026] When S2 changes from the unfolded state to the folded state, the mandrel is moved to drive the latch pin away from the outer hinge rod until the protruding shaft is released from the outer locking hole, thereby unlocking the inner hinge rod assembly and the outer hinge rod assembly;

[0027] S3 The inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the spindle to reach a folded state;

[0028] When S4 changes from the folded state to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly rotates around the central axis until the inner locking hole corresponds to the outer locking hole, and the latch pin re-coordinates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time under the elastic force of the spring.

[0029] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0030] (1) In the stackable and retractable hinge mechanism of the present invention, the structure of the latch is innovatively designed, which can reliably lock the hinge mechanism when it is unfolded and quickly unlock it when it needs to be folded, which can meet the needs of long-term operation of large spacecraft in orbit and multiple deployment and retraction of solar panels in orbit;

[0031] (2) The stackable and expandable hinge mechanism of the present invention has the characteristics of being stackable and expandable, and multiple hinge units can be nested and combined with each other according to the application scenario, thereby realizing the expansion of the mechanism and having the function of long-distance expansion and folding;

[0032] (3) The folded state of the present invention has the characteristic of a large storage ratio, and the length ratio of the mechanism to be unfolded and folded can reach 27. For a spacecraft launched with a carrier rocket, the outer envelope size of the launch state can be effectively reduced, and the long-distance deployment of the spacecraft solar wing in orbit can be realized;

[0033] (4) In the present invention, the latch is locked under the action of the spring, and the latch and the outer hinge rod are matched with a tapered hole shaft to eliminate the structural gap, thereby achieving high rigidity after the mechanism is locked. At the same time, the entire mechanism is made of high-strength titanium metal material and has high strength characteristics;

[0034] (5) The latch and the spindle of the present invention are matched in a clamping manner, which has the advantages of ingenious structure and compact connection;

[0035] (6) The present invention utilizes a spring and a latch to achieve locking or unlocking, and the operation method is simple and reliable. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the unfolded state of the hinge unit in the stackable and retractable hinge mechanism of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the rotating part of the hinge unit in the stackable and retractable hinge mechanism of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of a hinge unit in a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism of the present invention in a retracted state;

[0039] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a stacked structure of a hinge mechanism that can be stacked and retracted and includes a plurality of hinge units according to the present invention;

[0040] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the latch structure of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the guiding inclined plane of the outer hinge rod of the present invention;

[0042] In the figure: 1 is an outer hinge rod, 2 is an inner hinge rod, 3 is a latch pin, 4 is a spring, 5 is a short shaft sleeve, 6 is a spindle, 7 is a long shaft sleeve, and 8 is a guide inclined plane. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] The following detailed description of the present invention will make the features and advantages of the present invention more clear and explicit.

[0044] The word "exemplary" is used exclusively herein to mean "serving as an example, embodiment, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Although various aspects of the embodiments are shown in the drawings, the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale unless otherwise noted.

[0045] The present invention is mainly applied to large extension mechanisms of large spacecraft, and provides a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism with a large stacking ratio and repeatable extension and retraction functions, which can meet the requirements of on-orbit repeatable extension and retraction of large extension mechanisms of spacecraft.

[0046] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 The present invention discloses a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism, which includes a plurality of hinge units, wherein the hinge units include an outer hinge rod assembly 1, an inner hinge rod assembly 2, a latch 3, a spring 4, a spindle 6, a long shaft sleeve 7 and a short shaft sleeve 5. The outer hinge rod assembly 1 includes two parallel outer hinge rods, and the inner hinge rod assembly 2 includes two parallel inner hinge rods. The outer hinge rod assembly 1 and the inner hinge rod assembly 2 are connected end to end through tolerance fitting. The long shaft sleeve 7 and the short shaft sleeve 5 pass through the coaxial holes (i.e., the inner mounting through hole and the outer mounting through hole) of the outer hinge rod and the inner hinge rod respectively. The spindle 6 is installed in the long shaft sleeve 7 and the short shaft sleeve 5 to realize the connection between the outer hinge rod assembly 1 and the inner hinge rod assembly 2. The spindle 6 is coaxial with the outer mounting through holes of the two outer hinge rods. The spring 4 is sleeved on the spindle 6 and is located in the inner hinge rod assembly 2. One end of the latch 3 is installed in the slot of the spindle 6 through the bayonet, and the protruding shaft of the other end of the latch 3 cooperates with the locking hole of the inner hinge rod 2. When the latch 3 enters the outer locking hole of the outer hinge rod, it is locked in the unfolded state, and when the spindle 6 drives the latch 3 to leave the outer locking hole of the outer hinge rod, it is unlocked. During the unfolding process, the inner hinge rod assembly 2 rotates around the spindle 6, and the tapered shaft in the protruding shaft of the latch 3, that is, the tapered part, is rotated as shown in FIG. Figure 6The guide slope 8 of the outer hinge rod shown compresses the spring and moves to the outer locking hole of the outer hinge rod. The compressed spring 4 pushes the tapered shaft in the protruding shaft of the latch 3 into the outer locking hole, thereby achieving locking. During the folding process, the spindle 6 drives the latch 3 to disengage from the outer locking hole under the action of the axial thrust, thereby achieving unlocking. After unlocking, the inner hinge rod assembly 2 rotates around the spindle 6 to achieve folding.

[0047] The inner hinge rod assembly 2 has the function of rotating around the central axis 6. After unfolding, the latch 3 realizes the locking function to maintain the unfolded rigidity and strength; after folding, the inner hinge rod assembly 2 is stacked with the outer hinge rod assembly 1.

[0048] The spindle 6 adopts a staged shaft design to prevent over-unlocking. Specifically, when the spindle 6 moves in the unlocking direction, after the spindle shoulder contacts the short shaft sleeve 5, the spindle 6 cannot continue to move in the unlocking direction, thereby realizing the self-limiting function.

[0049] The spring 4 is a compression spring, which provides the pin 3 with a thrust to enter the outer locking hole. The protruding shaft of the pin 3 enters the outer locking hole on the outer hinge rod under the elastic force of the spring 4, thereby locking the outer hinge rod assembly 1 and the inner hinge rod assembly 2.

[0050] like Figure 5 The protruding shaft of the latch pin 3 includes a cylindrical portion and a tapered portion. The tapered shaft and the tapered hole of the outer hinge rod are matched without clearance under the axial thrust of the spring, thereby achieving reliable deployment and locking.

[0051] like Figure 3 and 4 The outer hinge rod assembly 1 of the present invention can be stacked, and the outer shape of the inner hinge rod assembly 2 can be folded through clearance matching, and has the function of multiple sections repeated stacking with a large storage ratio, and can realize the mutual nesting and combination expansion of multiple hinge units, thereby realizing the long-distance expansion and folding functions.

[0052] In a preferred embodiment, the length of the inner hinge rod and the outer hinge rod are both 162 mm, the total height after folding is 12 mm, and the length ratio of the mechanism when unfolded and folded can reach 27.

[0053] The present invention has been described in detail above in conjunction with specific implementations and exemplary examples, but these descriptions cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art understand that, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, a variety of equivalent substitutions, modifications or improvements may be made to the technical solution of the present invention and its implementation methods, all of which fall within the scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the attached claims.

[0054] The contents not described in detail in the specification of the present invention belong to the common knowledge of those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A stackable and retractable hinge mechanism, characterized in that: Includes ≥1 hinge unit; The hinge unit comprises an outer hinge rod assembly (1), an inner hinge rod assembly (2), a latch (3), a spring (4) and a spindle (6); The outer hinge rod assembly (1) comprises two parallel outer hinge rods, and the inner hinge rod assembly (2) comprises two parallel inner hinge rods, the head ends of the two inner hinge rods are located inside the tail ends of the two outer hinge rods and are connected through a spindle (6); the first end of the latch pin (3) is fixedly connected to the spindle (6), and the second end is provided with a protruding shaft, and the spindle (6) can move axially along the spindle (6); one of the inner hinge rods in the inner hinge rod assembly (2) is provided with an inner locking hole, and one of the outer hinge rods in the outer hinge rod assembly (1) is provided with an outer locking hole, the spring (4) is sleeved on the spindle (6), and the two ends of the spring (4) respectively contact the other inner hinge rod in the inner hinge rod assembly (2) and the first end of the latch pin (3); the first end of the latch pin (3) is provided with a bayonet, and the spindle (6) is provided with a slot, and the bayonet pin is clamped with the slot to achieve fixed connection between the first end of the latch pin (3) and the spindle (6); In the expanded state, the protruding shaft cooperates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time to achieve expanded locking; in the folded state, the protruding shaft only cooperates with the inner locking hole.

2. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The axis of the spindle (6) is perpendicular to the outer hinge rod and the inner hinge rod; The hinge mechanism is made of titanium metal material.

3. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a long shaft sleeve (7) and a short shaft sleeve (5); The head ends of the two inner hinge rods are respectively provided with inner mounting through holes, and the tail ends of the two outer hinge rods are respectively provided with outer mounting through holes; the inner hinge rod provided with the inner locking hole is the first inner hinge rod, the other inner hinge rod is the second inner hinge rod, the outer hinge rod provided with the outer locking hole is the first outer hinge rod, and the other outer hinge rod is the second outer hinge rod; The long shaft sleeve (7) passes through the inner mounting hole at the head end of the first inner hinge rod and the outer mounting hole at the tail end of the first outer hinge rod, the short shaft sleeve (5) passes through the inner mounting hole at the head end of the second inner hinge rod and the outer mounting hole at the tail end of the second outer hinge rod, and the two ends of the spindle (6) are respectively located in the long shaft sleeve (7) and the short shaft sleeve (5).

4. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The matching surface of the latch (3) when the latching opening is locked with the latching slot comprises two planes parallel to the core axis (6) and an arc-shaped surface located between the two planes.

5. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mandrel (6) is a stepped shaft structure, the diameter of one end located in the long shaft sleeve (7) is larger than the diameter of one end located in the short shaft sleeve (5), and the mandrel (6) is limited when the shaft shoulder of the mandrel (6) contacts the short shaft sleeve.

6. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The protruding shaft of the latch pin (3) comprises a cylindrical portion and a tapered portion. When unfolding and locking, the cylindrical portion cooperates with the inner locking hole, and the tapered portion cooperates with the outer locking hole. The outer locking hole is a tapered hole, and the outer locking hole and the tapered portion of the protruding shaft cooperate without clearance to achieve unfolding and locking.

7. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inner side surface of the outer hinge rod is provided with a guide slope (8), the inlet of the guide slope is located at the edge of the outer hinge rod, and the outlet of the guide slope is connected to the outer locking hole; When the folded state is changed to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly (2) rotates around the core shaft (6), driving the protruding shaft provided by the plug pin (3) in the inner locking hole to rotate to the entrance of the guide slope, and then moves along the guide slope to the exit of the guide slope, and then enters the outer locking hole, so as to achieve the matching between the protruding shaft and the outer locking hole; The height of the guide slope (8) gradually increases from the guide slope inlet to the guide slope outlet, and is used to apply an axial thrust to the protruding shaft during the process of the protruding shaft moving along the guide slope to the guide slope outlet.

8. The stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: Includes ≥3 hinge units; Except for the hinge units at both ends, the tail end of the outer hinge rod assembly (1) in any hinge unit is connected to the head end of the inner hinge rod assembly (2) in the hinge unit, the head end of the outer hinge rod assembly (1) is connected to the tail end of the inner hinge rod assembly (2) in the previous hinge unit, and the tail end of the inner hinge rod assembly (2) is connected to the head end of the outer hinge rod assembly (1) in the next hinge unit.

9. A method for using a stackable and retractable hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: In the unfolded state S1, the protruding shaft cooperates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole at the same time to achieve unfolding and locking; When S2 changes from the unfolded state to the folded state, the moving spindle (6) drives the latch pin (3) to move until the protruding shaft is released from the outer locking hole, thereby unlocking the inner hinge rod assembly (2) and the outer hinge rod assembly (1); S3: the inner hinge rod assembly (2) rotates around the spindle (6) to reach a folded state; When S4 changes from the folded state to the unfolded state, the inner hinge rod assembly (2) rotates around the central axis (6) until the inner locking hole corresponds to the outer locking hole, and the latch (3) re-coordinates with the inner locking hole and the outer locking hole under the elastic force of the spring (4).

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