Ejection release recovery mechanism capable of being repeatedly unlocked and locked and used for tethered satellite and working method of ejection release recovery mechanism

Abstract

The invention discloses an ejection releasing and recycling mechanism capable of being repeatedly unlocked and locked for tethered satellites and a working method of the ejection releasing and recycling mechanism, and belongs to the field of tethered satellite releasing and recycling. The separation ejection butt joint assembly comprises an ejection sleeve, a locking mechanism and a child star connecting piece, the ejection sleeve is in two-section type internal and external sliding connection, and initial kinetic energy is provided for a child star through a compression spring; the locking mechanism is installed in the ejection sleeve, one end of the child star connecting piece is connected with the child star, and the other end of the child star connecting piece is in sliding fit with the locking mechanism to complete locking / unlocking action of the child star. The mechanism does not need an additional control assembly to control unlocking and locking of the mechanism, the complexity of the mechanism can be effectively reduced, and the overall reliability of the mechanism is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of release and recovery of tethered satellites, and in particular relates to an ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite and a working method thereof. Background Art

[0002] The tethered satellite system is a new type of space flight system with great application potential in space debris cleaning, artificial gravity, deep space exploration, etc. Tethered satellites use long and soft space tethers to achieve large-scale, cross-orbit space maneuvers, and the orbital maneuvering process is continuous and does not require repeated orbit changes. It has a very wide range of applications in space.

[0003] The in-orbit flight of a tethered satellite mainly includes three stages: release, retention, and recovery. Reliable release and recovery are the premise and basis for achieving its orbital maneuvering mission, involving issues such as initial separation, release, recovery, docking and locking. In the initial separation stage, a reliable ejection mechanism is required to provide kinetic energy for the payload. At the same time, the ejection release mechanism must also have the functions of guiding docking and locking so that the tethered satellite can be effectively recovered. For example, patent application CN117087880A discloses a low-impact ejection mechanism for the release and recovery of a tethered satellite, including at least one ejection assembly; the ejection assembly includes a sub-satellite, an ejection module, a locking module, a tether retraction module, and a speed limit module. The present invention can realize the ejection release and recovery locking of the sub-satellite, can be repeatedly used in the ground simulation experiment of tethered satellite release and recovery, and is helpful to adjust the attitude of the sub-satellite and complete the recovery. The sub-satellite can be ejected and separated at a certain speed, and will not generate too much resistance when it is recovered and locked, and can autonomously and repeatedly perform ejection-recovery experiments through the control system; the speed limit module can automatically lock according to the set acceleration value to avoid the impact when the sub-satellite is released; but it has more components and a more complex structure, especially an additional unlocking motor is installed at the separation ejection component for unlocking, which has a greater impact on the overall reliability of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a simple and reliable ejection release and recovery mechanism that does not require an unlocking motor. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides an ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite and a working method thereof, which does not require additional control components to control the unlocking and locking of the mechanism, can effectively reduce the complexity of the mechanism and improve the overall reliability of the mechanism.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions: An ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite comprises a separation ejection docking group and a satellite; the separation ejection docking group is used to control the unlocking / locking of the satellite; The separation ejection docking assembly includes a sub-satellite connecting piece, an ejection sleeve and a locking mechanism. The ejection sleeve is a two-stage internal and external sliding connection, and provides initial kinetic energy for the sub-satellite through a spring; the locking mechanism is installed inside the ejection sleeve, one end of the sub-satellite connecting piece is connected to the sub-satellite, and the other end slides with the locking mechanism to complete the locking / unlocking action of the sub-satellite.

[0006] The locking mechanism comprises two upper and lower locking seats, each of which has a guide groove. The guide groove formed by aligning the two locking seats at a certain angle cooperates with the limiting protrusion on the sub-satellite connecting piece to realize the function of automatic locking and unlocking. The guide groove is serrated, and the guide groove of the upper locking seat has two notches at the top compared to the guide groove of the lower locking seat, so that the limiting protrusion of the docking rod can enter / leave the guide groove through the notch. When the limiting protrusion on the docking rod hits the lower guide groove, it will rotate a certain angle under the action of the guide groove, so that it will be stuck by the part of the upper guide groove without the notch to achieve the locking function. Repeat the same action, the limiting protrusion will rotate to the part with the notch, so that the docking rod is released, and the unlocking function is achieved.

[0007] The sub-satellite connecting piece comprises a docking plate and a docking rod. A limiting protrusion is arranged at one end of the docking rod to match with the guide grooves of the upper and lower locking seats, and the other end matches with the docking plate to connect with the sub-satellite.

[0008] Beneficial effects: The present invention provides an ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite and a working method thereof. A locking device that can be repeatedly unlocked and locked is designed to cooperate with the tether recovery action to realize the ejection release and recovery locking of the sub-satellite, and no additional actuator motor is required to control the locking device. The mechanism can be repeatedly used in the release and recovery experiment of the tethered satellite. The separation ejection docking assembly can eject and separate the sub-satellite at a certain speed, and will not generate too much resistance when recovering and locking it. The ejection-recovery experiment can be performed repeatedly and autonomously only by controlling the stepper motor of the retraction and release line. The locking device of the present invention can automatically lock after the sub-satellite is recovered into place to prevent the sub-satellite from detaching and affecting the experimental results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is an exploded view of the ejection mechanism separation ejection docking assembly module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of a module of an ejection mechanism separating an ejection docking assembly in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the sleeve limit cover of the ejection mechanism in the embodiment of the present invention Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the locking seat on the ejection mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5Schematic diagram of the lower locking seat of the ejection mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 Schematic diagram a of the working process of the ejection mechanism locking seat module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 Schematic diagram b of the working process of the ejection mechanism locking seat module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 Schematic diagram c of the working process of the ejection mechanism locking seat module in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 9 d is a schematic diagram of the working process of the ejection mechanism locking seat module in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.10 Schematic diagram e of the working process of the ejection mechanism locking seat module in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the ejection mechanism docking guide cone, upper locking seat and fixed sleeve in an embodiment of the present invention; Fig.12 It is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the lower locking seat and the fixed sleeve of the ejection mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention; In the figure, 1 is an inner sleeve, 2 is a lower locking seat, 3 is a fixed sleeve, 4 is an upper locking seat, 5 is a docking guide cone, 6 is a sleeve limit cover, 7 is an outer sleeve, 8 is a docking rod, 9 is a docking plate, 10 is a support plate, and 11 is a spring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments: like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, an ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite comprises an inner sleeve 1, a locking mechanism, a sleeve limit cover 6, an outer sleeve 7, a docking rod 8, a docking plate 9, and a spring 11; the outer sleeve 7 is located outside the inner sleeve 1 and is slidably connected with the inner sleeve 1, the locking mechanism is located inside the inner sleeve 1, one end of the docking rod 8 cooperates with the docking plate 9 to connect the sub-satellite, and the other end of the docking rod 8 cooperates with the locking mechanism to achieve locking and unlocking; The base of the inner sleeve 1 is provided with 6 evenly distributed M3 threaded holes for connecting with the bottom support plate 10, and the top of the inner sleeve 1 is provided with 4 M2 threaded holes for connecting with the sleeve limit cover 6; a step is provided on the inner side of the outer sleeve 7 to cooperate with the sleeve limit cover 6 to limit the maximum ejection displacement; the upper part of the sleeve limit cover 6 is designed to be conical, which is convenient for guiding the docking rod 8 to enter, and four through holes are opened in the circumference, which is connected to the top of the inner sleeve 1 by M2 screws. The diameter of the sleeve limit cover 6 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the inner sleeve and is equal to the inner diameter of the outer sleeve 7. The inner diameter of the step of the outer sleeve 7 is equal to the outer diameter of the inner sleeve 1. Such cooperation can realize the function of limiting the maximum displacement of the sleeve; the spring 11 is sleeved on the outside of the outer sleeve 7, and grooves are provided at the bottom of the inner sleeve 1 and the top of the outer sleeve 7 to fix the spring.

[0011] The locking mechanism includes a lower locking seat 2, a fixed sleeve 3, an upper locking seat 4, and a docking guide cone 5; a guide groove is formed between the lower locking seat 2 and the upper locking seat 4, and the guide groove is serrated, and the lower locking seat 2 and the upper locking seat 4 are aligned at a certain angle; two symmetrical notches are set at the serrated lower end of the guide groove of the upper locking seat 4, so that the limiting protrusion of the docking rod can enter the guide groove through the notch. When the limiting protrusion on the docking rod hits the lower guide groove, it will rotate a certain angle under the action of the guide groove, so that it will be stuck by the part of the upper guide groove without the notch to realize the locking function. Repeat the same action, the limiting protrusion will rotate to the part with the notch, so that the docking rod is released to realize the unlocking function.

[0012] like Figure 11-12 As shown, the lower locking seat 2, the upper locking seat 4, and the docking guide groove need to be placed at a specific angle to achieve the corresponding function. Therefore, a hexagonal step is designed, which cooperates with the inner hexagonal step of the fixed sleeve 3 to achieve a specific angle placement. The docking guide cone 5 and the upper locking seat 4 are placed in the inner hexagonal groove of the upper part of the fixed sleeve 3, and the lower locking seat 2 is placed in the inner hexagonal groove of the lower part of the fixed sleeve 3. After the four parts of the locking mechanism are assembled, they form a cylindrical module style and can be directly placed in the cylindrical cavity of the inner sleeve 1.

[0013] The working method of the ejection release recovery mechanism specifically includes the following steps: 1. Initial state: Figure 5 As shown, the ejection sleeve compresses the spring, the limiting protrusion of the docking rod 8 is stuck in the guide groove of the upper locking seat 4, the locking seat locks the sub-star, and the mechanism is in the initial state of ejection. After the mechanism is powered on, the system self-check program is run. If the self-check passes, it goes to the next step; 2. Ejection separation phase: The system sends a command to pull back the tether to drive the satellite to further compress the ejection sleeve, such as Figure 6 As shown, the limiting protrusion of the docking rod 8 is separated from the upper locking seat 4 and contacts the guide groove of the lower locking seat 2, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 As shown in FIG. 1 , after the contact, the limit protrusion of the docking rod 8 continues to slide obliquely downward to the bottom of the guide groove of the lower locking seat 2. At this time, the spring reaches the maximum compression amount. The system executes the judgment program. After judging that the pull-back is in place, the ejection command is executed to release the tether. The satellite and the docking rod are separated outwards under the action of the spring. Figure 8 As shown, after the limiting protrusion of the docking rod 8 contacts the guide groove of the upper locking seat 4, it continues to rotate and slide outward, and finally slides out of the locking seat from the notch of the guide groove of the upper locking seat 4 ( Fig. 9 ), the ejection separation process is completed and proceed to the next step; 3. During the release and deployment process, the satellite leaves the ejection mechanism at a certain speed, and the speed is gradually reduced by the motor control, and stops moving when the tether reaches the predetermined release length without rebounding; 4. After the tether has been stationary for a period of time, the sub-satellite is pulled back to the separation ejection docking assembly through the tether recovery, and the docking rod 8 enters the upper locking seat 4 through the docking guide cone 5. Similar to step 2, the limiting protrusion of the docking rod 8 slides in the locking seat and is finally stuck on the side of the upper locking seat 4 without a notch, realizing the recovery docking function.

[0014] 5. Steps 2-4 can be repeated multiple times to achieve repeated unlocking and locking of the tethered satellite ejection release and recovery mechanism.

[0015] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ejection release and recovery mechanism for a tethered satellite that can be repeatedly unlocked and locked, characterized in that: It includes a separation ejection docking group and a sub-satellite; the separation ejection docking assembly includes an ejection sleeve, a locking mechanism, and a sub-satellite connecting piece, the ejection sleeve is a two-stage internal and external sliding connection, and provides initial kinetic energy for the sub-satellite through a compression spring; the locking mechanism is installed inside the ejection sleeve, one end of the sub-satellite connecting piece is connected to the sub-satellite, and the other end slides with the locking mechanism to complete the locking / unlocking action of the sub-satellite.

2. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking structure includes an upper and a lower locking seat, each of which is provided with a guide groove. The guide groove formed by aligning the two locking seats at a certain angle cooperates with the limiting protrusion on the sub-star connector to realize the function of automatic locking and unlocking.

3. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 2, characterized in that: The guide groove is in a sawtooth shape.

4. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 3, characterized in that: Two symmetrical notches are arranged at the serrated lower end of the upper locking seat guide groove for limiting the inlet and outlet of the protrusion.

5. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 2, characterized in that: The locking structure includes a docking guide cone and a fixed sleeve. An overpass step is arranged inside the docking guide cone to cooperate with the hexagonal step of the fixed sleeve. The docking guide cone and the upper locking seat are placed in the hexagonal groove on the upper part of the fixed sleeve, and the lower locking seat is placed in the hexagonal groove on the lower part of the fixed sleeve.

6. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The sub-satellite connecting piece comprises a docking plate and a docking rod. A limiting protrusion is arranged at one end of the docking rod, and the other end cooperates with the docking plate to connect the sub-satellite.

7. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ejection sleeve includes an inner sleeve, an outer sleeve, and a sleeve limiting cover; the outer sleeve is located outside the inner sleeve and is slidably connected with the inner sleeve, and the top of the inner sleeve is connected to the sleeve limiting cover; a step is provided on the inner side of the outer sleeve to cooperate with the sleeve limiting cover, the diameter of the sleeve limiting cover is larger than the outer diameter of the inner sleeve and is equal to the inner diameter of the outer sleeve, the inner diameter of the outer sleeve step is equal to the outer diameter of the inner sleeve, and they cooperate to limit the maximum ejection displacement of the sleeve.

8. The ejection release and recovery mechanism for repeatedly unlocking and locking a tethered satellite according to claim 7, characterized in that: A spring is sleeved on the outside of the outer sleeve, and grooves are arranged at the bottom of the inner sleeve and the top of the outer sleeve for fixing the spring.

9. The method for operating the ejection release and recovery mechanism for a tethered satellite that can be repeatedly unlocked and locked according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1: Initial state: The ejection sleeve compresses the spring, the limiting protrusion of the satellite connector is stuck in the guide groove, the locking mechanism locks the satellite, and the mechanism is in the initial state of ejection; S2: Ejection separation stage: Pulling back the tether drives the satellite to further compress the ejection sleeve, and the limit protrusion is separated from the upper locking seat and contacts the guide groove of the lower locking seat. After the contact, the limit protrusion continues to slide obliquely downward to the bottom of the guide groove. At this time, the spring reaches the maximum compression amount, executes the ejection command, releases the tether, and the satellite and the satellite connector are separated outward under the action of the spring. After the limit protrusion contacts the guide groove of the upper locking seat, it continues to rotate and slide outward, and finally slides out of the locking seat from the notch of the guide groove of the upper locking seat, and the ejection separation process is completed; S3: Release and deployment process: The satellite leaves the ejection mechanism at a certain speed, and the speed is gradually reduced by the motor control, and stops moving without rebounding when the tether reaches the predetermined release length; S4: Recovery phase: After the tether has been stationary for a period of time, the sub-satellite is pulled back to the separation ejection docking assembly through tether recovery. One end of the sub-satellite connector enters the locking seat, and the limiting protrusion enters the guide groove. The limiting protrusion slides in the locking seat and is finally stuck on the side of the upper locking seat without a notch, realizing the recovery and docking function.

10. The working method of the ejection release and recovery mechanism for a tethered satellite that can be repeatedly unlocked and locked according to claim 9, characterized in that: Steps S2-S4 can be repeated as required.

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