Inflatable power self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellite

Abstract

The invention discloses an inflatable power self-locking hinge folding mechanism for a satellite, and relates to the technical field of hinge design. The connecting end of the primary hinge is provided with two outer side lock shaft cylinders and a first lock groove formed in the side wall, the connecting end of the secondary hinge is provided with two inner side lock shaft cylinders and a second lock groove formed in the side wall, the two inner side lock shaft cylinders are attached between the two outer side lock shaft cylinders and connected through two pin shafts in an inserted mode, the adjacent ends of the pin shafts are connected through tension springs, and lock pins are arranged on the side walls of the ends, away from the pin shafts, of the pin shafts. When the hinge is in a movable state, the first lock groove and the second lock groove are staggered, and the lock pin is clamped in the first lock groove, when the hinge is in a locked state, the first lock groove and the second lock groove are located, the lock pin slides to the position between the first lock groove and the second lock groove, the primary hinge and the secondary hinge are fixedly connected with the connecting structures respectively, and the inflation mechanism is fixed to the sides of the two connecting structures. The inflation mechanism serves as a power source, through optimization and improvement of the lock shaft, the hinge assembly is effectively simplified, the size is small, the structure is simple, stable unfolding and locking can be achieved, and the use requirements of satellites of various sizes are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of hinge design, in particular to an inflatable powered self-locking hinge folding mechanism used in satellites. Background Art

[0002] Satellites need to use self-locking hinges on foldable structures such as solar panels and antennas to lock the structures in the unfolded state. However, in the scaled models of some satellites and some satellite solution verification phases, ordinary hinges are not applicable due to their large size and heavy mass. In addition, ordinary hinges are not easy to scale due to their relatively complex structure.

[0003] Therefore, it is necessary to design a hinge mechanism for the foldable structure of the satellite that can be actively unfolded and locked while ensuring a small size and simple structure to meet the folding requirements of satellites of various sizes. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to address the shortcomings of the background technology, the present invention provides an inflatable powered self-locking hinge folding mechanism for use in satellites. It uses an inflatable mechanism as a power source and effectively simplifies the hinge assembly through the optimization and improvement of the locking shaft. It has a small size and a simple structure, and can be stably unfolded and locked, meeting the use requirements of satellites of various sizes.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme: an inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism used in a satellite, including a hinge mechanism and an inflatable mechanism, the hinge mechanism including a mother hinge, a child hinge, a tension spring and two pin shafts, the mother hinge and the child hinge main body are both flat blade structures with bolt mounting holes, the mother hinge is located on both sides of the edge of the connecting end, two outer locking shaft cylinders are integrally and coaxially arranged, the side walls of the two outer locking shaft cylinders are respectively processed with locking grooves one along the axial direction, the child hinge is located on both sides of the middle of the connecting end, two inner locking shaft cylinders are integrally and coaxially arranged, the side walls of the two inner locking shaft cylinders are respectively processed with locking grooves two along the axial direction, when the mother hinge is connected to the child hinge, the two inner locking shaft cylinders are respectively abutted between the two outer locking shaft cylinders, and the two pin shafts are respectively inserted into the corresponding outer locking shaft cylinders. Inside the side lock shaft cylinder and the inner lock shaft cylinder, two pin shafts are respectively provided with hooks at the adjacent ends and are connected by the tension springs, and the two pin shafts are respectively provided with locking pins along the axial direction on the side walls away from the ends. When the mother hinge and the child hinge are in the active state, the corresponding locking groove 1 and the locking groove 2 on both sides are staggered, and the locking pins of the two pin shafts are respectively clamped in the two locking grooves 1. When the mother hinge and the child hinge are in the locked state, the corresponding locking groove 1 and the locking groove 2 on both sides are in the same position. Under the action of the tension spring, the two pin shafts are relatively close to each other to make the locking pin slide between the corresponding locking groove 1 and the locking groove 2. The mother hinge and the child hinge are respectively fixed to the connection structure by bolts, and the inflation mechanism is fixed on the sides of the two connection structures, and the power source provided by inflation is controlled to unfold the two connection structures with the hinge mechanism as the center in the folded state.

[0006] Furthermore, the second lock groove can achieve locking of the mother hinge and the child hinge at different angles by adjusting the processing position of the inner lock shaft cylinder side wall.

[0007] Furthermore, the opening width of the second lock slot adjacent to one end of the outer lock shaft cylinder is greater than the opening width of the first lock slot.

[0008] Furthermore, the opening width of the second lock groove away from one end of the outer lock shaft cylinder is smaller than the opening width of the first lock groove.

[0009] Furthermore, the folding side surfaces of the two connecting structures are matched with the corresponding positions of the mother hinge and the sub-hinge body to form blade mounting grooves. By adjusting the depth of the blade mounting grooves, the folding side surfaces of the two connecting structures can be in contact when they are fully folded.

[0010] Furthermore, the back surfaces of the folding sides of the two connecting structures are processed with recessed grooves corresponding to the bolt installation positions of the mother hinge and the sub-hinge, so that the bolts are hidden under the back surfaces of the folding sides of the two connecting structures.

[0011] Furthermore, the inflation mechanism can control the deployment speed of the two connecting structures by adjusting the inflation speed.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the present invention is mainly used for foldable structures such as solar panels and antennas of satellites of various sizes. It uses an inflation mechanism as a power source, and optimizes and improves the two-part structure of the locking pin and the shaft of the traditional self-locking hinge into a single locking shaft structure. The number of components of the self-locking hinge is reduced through the clever application of the locking shaft combined with the tension spring in the hinge. While ensuring a small size and simple structure, the active deployment and effective locking of the hinge can be stably achieved, meeting the folding requirements of satellites of various sizes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of the hinge mechanism of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a partially unfolded state of the hinge mechanism of the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the hinge mechanism of the present invention in a fully folded state;

[0016] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the locked state of the hinge mechanism in the present invention when it is in a fully extended state;

[0017] Figure 5 yes Figure 4 A partial enlarged view of the lock shaft position in the state;

[0018] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the installation of the hinge mechanism and the inflation mechanism in the present invention.

[0019] In the figure: 10, mother hinge; 11, outer lock shaft cylinder; 12, lock groove 1; 20, sub-hinge; 21, inner lock shaft cylinder; 22, lock groove 2; 30, pin shaft; 31, hook; 32, lock pin; 40, tension spring; 50, connection structure 1; 51, blade mounting groove of structure 1; 52, sink groove of structure 1; 60, connection structure 2; 61, blade mounting groove of structure 2; 70, inflation mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] like Figure 1 to Figure 6 As shown, an inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism used in a satellite includes a hinge mechanism and an inflatable mechanism 70. In view of the relatively independent functions of the two, the two structures are described separately as follows:

[0022] The hinge mechanism comprises a mother hinge 10, a sub-hinge 20, a tension spring 40 and two pins 30. Figure 1 As shown, the disassembled structure of each component is shown. Among them, the main bodies of the mother hinge 10 and the sub-hinge 20 are both flat blade structures with bolt mounting holes. The mother hinge 10 is located on both sides of the edge of the connection end and is coaxially provided with two outer locking shaft cylinders 11. The side walls of the two outer locking shaft cylinders 11 are respectively processed with locking grooves 12 along the axial direction; the sub-hinge 20 is located on both sides of the middle of the connection end and is coaxially provided with two inner locking shaft cylinders 21. The side walls of the two inner locking shaft cylinders 21 are respectively processed with locking grooves 22 along the axial direction. When the mother hinge 10 and the sub-hinge 20 are connected, the two inner locking shaft cylinders 21 are respectively abutted between the two outer locking shaft cylinders 11, and the two pin shafts 30 are respectively inserted into the corresponding outer locking shaft cylinders 11 and the inner locking shaft cylinders 21. The two pin shafts 30 are respectively provided with hooks 31 at the adjacent ends and are connected by tension springs 40. The tension provided by the tension springs 40 can ensure that the two pin shafts 30 will not be separated from the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20, and provide locking power at the same time. The two pin shafts 30 are respectively provided with locking pins 32 along the axial direction at the side walls away from the ends. The locking pins 32 can slide axially inside the locking groove 12 and the locking groove 22. The ingenious design of the pin shaft 30 simultaneously has the functions of the locking pin and the shaft of the traditional self-locking hinge, which makes the assembly process simpler, simplifies the hinge assembly, and helps to control the hinge volume.

[0023] In practical application, the connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60 are two structures that need to be connected. The mother hinge 10 is fixed to the connection structure 1 50 by bolts, and the sub-hinge 20 is fixed to the connection structure 2 60 by bolts. Figure 2 As shown, the partially unfolded state of the hinge mechanism is shown. At this time, the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20 are in an active state, and the corresponding lock grooves 1 12 and lock grooves 2 22 on both sides are staggered. The lock pins 32 of the two pin shafts 30 are respectively stuck in the two lock grooves 1 12, allowing the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20 to rotate relative to each other. During the rotation process, the two pin shafts 30 cannot rotate because the lock pins 32 are limited in the lock grooves 1 12 corresponding to the mother hinge 10, but the child hinge 20 is not blocked by the lock pins 32 and can rotate around the cylindrical part of the pin shaft 30. At the same time, the lock pins 32 of the two pin shafts 30 are blocked by the outer end faces of the inner locking shaft cylinders 21 of the two child hinges 20, and cannot move relatively close to each other, and will not be locked. Among them, the blade installation groove 51 of the processing structure 1 can be matched at the corresponding position of the folding side surface of the connecting structure 1 50 and the main body of the mother hinge 10, and the blade installation groove 61 of the processing structure 2 can be matched at the corresponding position of the folding side surface of the connecting structure 2 60 and the main body of the child hinge 20.

[0024] By adjusting the depth of the two blade mounting grooves, seamless contact between the folded side surfaces of the connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60 can be achieved when the connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60 are fully folded. Figure 3 As shown, the hinge mechanism is in a fully folded state. At this time, the position state of the two pin shafts 30 is the same as that of the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20 in the active state. The two pin shafts 30 are subjected to the tension of the stretched tension spring 40. However, since the lock groove 22 of the child hinge 20 is not aligned with the lock groove 12 of the mother hinge 10, the lock pins 32 of the two pin shafts 30 are blocked by the outer end faces of the inner lock shaft cylinders 21 of the two child hinges 20, and cannot move relatively close to each other, and will not be locked. In addition, the folding side back surface of the connecting structure 1 50 and the corresponding position of the bolt installation of the mother hinge 10 can be matched with the processing structure 1 sink groove 52, and the folding side back surface of the connecting structure 2 60 and the corresponding position of the bolt installation of the child hinge 20 can be matched with the processing structure 1 sink groove (the same form as the structure 1 sink groove 52, and no specific mark is given in the figure due to the display angle), so that the bolts are hidden below the folding side back surfaces of the two connecting structures to reduce the protruding parts.

[0025] The connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60 are rotated relative to each other until the locking groove 22 of the sub-hinge 20 is aligned with the locking groove 12 of the mother hinge 10 to reach the locking position. By designing the end surface configuration of the connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60, the seamless contact of the end surface of the connection structure 1 50 and the connection structure 2 60 in the fully unfolded state can be achieved. Figure 4As shown, the hinge mechanism is in a fully extended state. At this time, the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20 are in a locked state, and the corresponding lock grooves 1 12 and lock grooves 22 on both sides are in the same position. Under the action of the tension spring 40, the two pin shafts 30 are relatively close to each other so that the lock pin 32 slides to between the corresponding lock grooves 1 12 and lock grooves 22, that is, a part of the lock pin 32 is retained in the lock groove 1 12, and the other part of the lock pin 32 slides into the lock groove 22, thereby limiting the relative rotation of the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20. By adjusting the processing position of the lock groove 22 on the side wall of the inner lock shaft cylinder 21, the mother hinge 10 and the child hinge 20 can be locked at different angles according to requirements.

[0026] In order to prevent the locking pin 32 from being difficult to stably slide into the two locking grooves 22 of the sub-hinge 20 during the relative approach of the two pin shafts 30, the Figure 5 As shown, the enlarged structure of the lock shaft 30 is shown. The opening width of the lock groove 22 adjacent to the outer lock shaft cylinder 11 can be set to be larger than the opening width of the lock groove 1 12, forming a trapezoidal lock groove structure, which helps to ensure that the hinge mechanism can still complete the locking when it has a small precision error. When the lock pin 32 moves to contact the inclined surface of the lock groove 22, the pin shaft 30 will apply a force perpendicular to the inclined surface to the sub-hinge 20, which can be decomposed and converted into a small torque along the rotation direction of the sub-hinge 20, providing a certain torque to resist the influence of small structural disturbances, and helping the sub-hinge 20 to reach the correct locking position. In addition, the opening width of the lock groove 22 away from the outer lock shaft cylinder 11 can be further set to be smaller than the opening width of the lock groove 1 12, thereby limiting the depth of the lock pin 32 of the pin shaft 30 sliding into the lock groove 22. If the lock needs to be released, just use a tool to push the lock pins 32 of the two pin shafts 30 out of the lock groove 22 of the sub-hinge 20.

[0027] The inflation mechanism 70 is fixed to the sides of the two connecting structures. Figure 6As shown, an example of the installation position of the hinge mechanism and the inflatable mechanism 70 is shown. The inflatable mechanism 70 provides a power source through inflation to control the two connecting structures to unfold with the hinge mechanism as the center in the folded state. The inflatable mechanism 70 can adopt a flexible thin-walled tubular airbag structure, connected to the inflation device, and the unfolding speed of the two connecting structures can be controlled by adjusting the inflation speed. In addition, the airbag structure can absorb slight structural disturbances to a certain extent, stabilize the unfolding process, and is fixed to the two sides of the connecting structure 1 50 and the connecting structure 2 60 by bonding or other means. When the connecting structure 1 50 and the connecting structure 2 60 are located at the hinge mechanism position, there should be a certain length of the inflatable mechanism 70 that is not connected to the connecting structure 1 50 and the connecting structure 2 60 to ensure that the inflatable mechanism 70 has enough length to bend and fold when folded. When the connecting structure 1 50 and the connecting structure 2 60 are in a folded state, the inflation mechanism 70 is in a deflated state, the volume of the internal gas is very small, and the bending moment generated on the two connecting structures is very small, which is not enough to cause the two connecting structures to move; when starting to unfold, a proper amount of gas is filled into the inflation mechanism 70. At this time, the inflation mechanism 70 applies an unfolding bending moment under the action of air pressure as an unfolding power, until it is fully unfolded and reaches the locked position, the inflation mechanism 70 no longer has a folded part, and inflation stops.

[0028] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be implemented in other forms of assembly without departing from the spirit or essential features of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-restrictive, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims be included in the invention. Any reference numeral in a claim should not be considered as limiting the claim to which it relates.

[0029] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellite use, characterized in that: The invention comprises a hinge mechanism and an inflation mechanism (70), wherein the hinge mechanism comprises a mother hinge (10), a sub-hinge (20), a tension spring (40) and two pin shafts (30), wherein the mother hinge (10) and the sub-hinge (20) are both flat blade structures with bolt mounting holes, wherein the mother hinge (10) is coaxially provided with two outer locking shaft cylinders (11) on both sides of the edge of the connecting end, wherein the side walls of the two outer locking shaft cylinders (11) are respectively processed with a locking groove (12) along the axial direction, and the sub-hinge (20) Two inner locking shaft cylinders (21) are integrally arranged coaxially on both sides of the middle of the connection end, and the side walls of the two inner locking shaft cylinders (21) are respectively processed with two locking grooves (22) along the axial direction. When the mother hinge (10) and the child hinge (20) are connected, the two inner locking shaft cylinders (21) are respectively abutted between the two outer locking shaft cylinders (11), and the two pin shafts (30) are respectively inserted into the corresponding outer locking shaft cylinders (11) and the inner locking shaft cylinder (21). The two pin shafts (30) are adjacent to each other. The ends are respectively provided with hooks (31) and are connected by the tension spring (40); the two pin shafts (30) are respectively provided with locking pins (32) along the axial direction at the side walls away from the ends; when the mother hinge (10) and the child hinge (20) are in an active state, the corresponding locking grooves 1 (12) and the locking grooves 2 (22) on both sides are staggered; the locking pins (32) of the two pin shafts (30) are respectively clamped in the two locking grooves 1 (12); when the mother hinge (10) and the child hinge (20) are in a locked state, the corresponding locking grooves 1 (12) and the locking grooves 2 (22) on both sides are staggered; The lock slot 1 (12) and the lock slot 2 (22) are in the same position. Under the action of the tension spring (40), the two pin shafts (30) are relatively close to each other so that the lock pin (32) slides between the corresponding lock slot 1 (12) and the lock slot 2 (22). The mother hinge (10) and the child hinge (20) are respectively connected by bolts. The inflation mechanism (70) is fixed on the sides of the two connection structures. The power source provided by inflation is used to control the two connection structures to unfold in a folded state with the hinge mechanism as the center.

2. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellites according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second locking groove (22) can achieve locking of the mother hinge (10) and the child hinge (20) at different angles by adjusting the processing position of the side wall of the inner locking shaft cylinder (21).

3. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellites according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The opening width of the second locking groove (22) adjacent to one end of the outer locking shaft cylinder (11) is greater than the opening width of the first locking groove (12).

4. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellites according to claim 3, characterized in that: The opening width of the second locking groove (22) away from one end of the outer locking shaft cylinder (11) is smaller than the opening width of the first locking groove (12).

5. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellite according to claim 1, characterized in that: The folding side surfaces of the two connecting structures are matched with the corresponding positions of the main bodies of the mother hinge (10) and the sub-hinge (20) to form blade installation grooves. By adjusting the depth of the blade installation grooves, the folding side surfaces of the two connecting structures can be in contact when they are in a fully folded state.

6. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellites according to claim 1, characterized in that: The back surfaces of the folding sides of the two connection structures are matched with the positions corresponding to the bolt installation positions of the mother hinge (10) and the sub-hinge (20) to form recessed grooves so that the bolts are hidden under the back surfaces of the folding sides of the two connection structures.

7. The inflatable self-locking hinge folding mechanism for satellites according to claim 1, characterized in that: The inflation mechanism (70) can control the deployment speed of the two connection structures by adjusting the inflation speed.

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