A fuel filling docking and locking mechanism with adjustable stiffness

Abstract

The application discloses a fuel filling butt joint locking mechanism with adjustable rigidity, which comprises a support, a filling connecting shaft and a locking mechanism, four locking mechanisms are fixed on four side walls of the support respectively, the filling connecting shaft is vertically inserted into the support and located at the middle part of the four locking mechanisms, the locking mechanism comprises a stepping motor, a worm, a worm wheel, an elastic clamping mechanism and a four-bar mechanism, the stepping motor is connected with the worm, the worm and the worm wheel are engaged in transmission, the elastic clamping mechanism comprises a base, a spring and a locking head, the four-bar mechanism is connected with the worm wheel, the base is provided with an electromagnet, the locking head is internally provided with a magnet, the middle part of the filling connecting shaft is provided with an annular groove, and the front end of the locking head and the arc of the annular groove are the same. The fuel filling butt joint locking mechanism can lock and release the oil conveying mechanism, and adjust and correct the butt joint position when fuel is conveyed in different satellites, so that the jamming phenomenon in butt joint is prevented.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of on-orbit fuel refueling, and particularly relates to a fuel refueling docking and locking mechanism with adjustable rigidity. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the development of space technology, the life requirement of high-value satellites and space stations is higher and higher. On-orbit fuel refueling can supply fuel to satellites running out of fuel, significantly improve space exploration capability, reduce the size of the carrier, and reduce mission cost. However, the existing on-orbit fuel refueling docking structure generally has problems such as large docking impact force, lack of effective buffering mechanism, insufficient impact load dispersion capability, poor locking synchronization, and low fault tolerance. For example, the conical rod type docking mechanism relies on a rigid guide rod for capture, which is prone to stress concentration due to collision; the electromagnetic locking device has a complex structure and has the risk of spring jamming; although the mechanical and electrical integrated interface has comprehensive functions, the processing cost is high, and it is difficult to adapt to the miniaturization and modularization task requirements. In addition, the existing technology relies heavily on the operation accuracy of the mechanical arm, which limits the flexibility of on-orbit autonomous maintenance, and therefore needs to be further improved. SUMMARY

[0003] To solve the above problems, the application discloses a fuel refueling docking and locking mechanism with adjustable rigidity, which can lock, release, and adjust and correct the docking position of the oil delivery mechanism when fuel is delivered to different satellites, preventing the occurrence of jamming during docking.

[0004] To achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme of the application is as follows:

[0005] A fuel refueling docking and locking mechanism with adjustable rigidity, comprising a bracket, a refueling connecting shaft, and a locking mechanism, the bracket is a square structure, the number of locking mechanisms is four, and each is fixed on the four side walls of the bracket, the refueling connecting shaft is vertically inserted into the bracket and located at the middle part of the four locking mechanisms, the locking mechanism comprises a stepping motor, a worm, a worm gear, an elastic clamping mechanism, a connecting rod, and a four-bar mechanism, the stepping motor is fixed on the inner wall of the bracket, the stepping motor is connected to the worm through a shaft coupling, the worm and the worm gear are in meshing transmission, the elastic clamping mechanism comprises a base, a spring, and a locking head, the two ends of the spring are connected to the base and the locking head respectively, the four-bar mechanism is connected to the worm gear, one end of the four-bar mechanism is sleeved on the shaft coupling through the connecting rod, and the other end is connected to the base, the locking head is a free end, an electromagnet is arranged on the base, a magnet is arranged in the locking head, the front end of the locking head is arc-shaped, the middle part of the refueling connecting shaft is provided with an annular groove, and the curvature of the front end of the locking head is the same as that of the annular groove.

[0006] As a supplement to the application, the stepping motor is fixed on the inner wall of the bracket through a motor bracket.

[0007] As a supplement of the present application, the four-bar mechanism comprises connecting rod one, connecting rod two, connecting rod three and connecting rod four, the connecting rod is T-shaped structure, one end of the connecting rod one is sleeved on the shaft coupling, the other end is connected with the worm wheel, the third end is connected with the connecting rod four, the connecting rod one is connected with the worm wheel, the connecting rod one, the connecting rod two, the connecting rod three and the connecting rod four are sequentially connected, and the base is fixed on the connecting rod three.

[0008] As a supplement of the present application, the locking head is provided with a wear-resistant layer.

[0009] As a supplement of the present application, the front end of the filling connecting shaft is provided with a chamfer.

[0010] As a supplement of the present application, the upper and lower ends of the annular groove are provided with angle change edges.

[0011] The present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0012] (1) The locking mechanism with adjustable rigidity is combined with the buffering function of the elastic component, so that the impact force in the docking process can be effectively dispersed, stress concentration is avoided, and large tolerance passive compliance is realized.

[0013] (2) The locking mechanism can quickly complete the locking and releasing of the interface through the compression of the flexible component, the system delay is small, and the operation efficiency is high.

[0014] (3) The locking mechanism can realize self-adaptive and manual position correction, realize limit protection, prevent jamming, ensure the smooth docking process, reduce the satellite docking accuracy requirement, and has high reliability.

[0015] (4) The present application has simple structure, which can reduce the processing and procurement cost. DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the whole machine structure of the present application.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the front structure of the locking mechanism in the embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the back structure of the locking mechanism in the embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure in the mechanism insertion in the embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure when the mechanism is locked in the embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure after the electromagnet is energized in the embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 7 is the structure diagram of adjusting the locking position downward.

[0023] Figure 8 is the structure diagram of adjusting the locking position upward.

[0024] Figure 9 is the schematic diagram of the angle change edge.

[0025] Figure 10 is the stress analysis diagram of the filling mechanism in the embodiment of the present application.

[0026] List of figure marks:

[0027] 1, support, 2, filling connection shaft, 3, locking mechanism, 4, motor support, 5, connecting rod, 6, worm, 7, worm gear, 8, connecting rod one, 9, connecting rod two, 10, locking head, 11, spring, 12, stepping motor, 13, connecting rod four, 15, magnet, 16, electromagnet, 17, connecting rod three, 18, base, 19, coupling, 20, annular groove, 21, chamfer, 22, angle change edge. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present application will be further illustrated by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments, and it should be understood that the following detailed description is only used to illustrate the present application and is not used to limit the scope of the present application.

[0029] As shown in the drawings, the fuel filling docking locking mechanism with adjustable stiffness according to the present application comprises a support 1, the support 1 fixes the locking mechanism 3 in the docking channel and is installed on the target spacecraft; a filling connection shaft 2 is used for fuel delivery and is installed on the service spacecraft; the locking mechanism 3 has four in total, and the locking function is realized by a locking head 10 and a spring 11, one end of the spring 11 is fixed on the locking head 10, and the other end is fixed on a base 18; a stepping motor 12 is fixed on the support 1 through a motor support 4; the stepping motor 12 is rotated to control the meshing transmission of a worm 6 and a worm gear 7 to cross shaft power, so that a four-bar mechanism composed of a connecting rod 5, a connecting rod one 8, a connecting rod two 9 and a connecting rod three 17 is rotated, the connecting rod 5 is installed on the rotating shaft of the stepping motor 12 and is integrally connected with the base 18 through a connecting rod four 13, the worm gear 7 rotates to drive the connecting rod one 8 to rotate, the connecting rod one 8 rotates to drive the connecting rod two 9 to swing, the connecting rod two 9 drives the base 18 to move back and forth, realizes the back and forth reciprocating motion within a certain range, and realizes the adjustable correction locking position; an electromagnet 16 is installed on the base 18, and a magnet 15 is installed in the locking head 10, when the electromagnet 16 is powered, the magnet 15 is attracted, the spring 11 is compressed, the locking is released, and after the electromagnet 16 stops being powered, the spring is released, the spring 11 returns to the original length, and the locking is performed, which facilitates the manual control of the docking plugging process.

[0030] The locking process using the device is as follows: the filling connection shaft 2 enters the docking channel, first extrudes the locking head 10, the spring 11 is compressed, the locking head 10 contacts the annular groove 20 area of the filling connection shaft 2, the spring 11 is elongated, and locking is achieved. After the fuel filling is completed, the electromagnet 16 is powered on, the magnet installed on the locking head 10 is attracted to compress the spring 11, and the locking is released (to avoid the possibility of jamming caused by the contact between the locking head 10 and the filling connection shaft 2), the filling connection shaft 2 is pulled away, and the power supply to the electromagnet 16 is stopped, the attraction disappears, and the spring 11 returns to its original length.

[0031] If the locking position is incorrect during docking, the control connecting rod three 17 can be swung up and down by the stepping motor 12 to adjust the locking position to achieve controllable manual correction.

[0032] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the application. In the on-track filling docking process, the mechanical arm sends the filling connection shaft 2 to the predetermined docking channel above the locking mechanism 3, and the four docking locking mechanisms 3 are fixed on the support 1.

[0033] Figure 2 It is a front structure schematic diagram of the locking mechanism in the embodiment of the application. The two ends of the spring 11 are fixed on the locking head 10 and the base 18 respectively; the stepping motor 12 is fixed on the support 1 through the motor support 4, the connecting rod 5 is installed on the rotating shaft of the stepping motor 12, and the connecting rod three 17 is connected with the base 18; the stepping motor 12 rotates to control the meshing transmission of the worm 6 and the worm gear 7, the worm gear 7 rotates to drive the connecting rod one 8 to rotate, the connecting rod one 8 rotates to drive the connecting rod two 9 to swing, and the connecting rod two 9 drives the connecting rod three 17 to move back and forth, so that the four-bar mechanism composed of the connecting rod 5, the connecting rod one 8, the connecting rod two 9 and the connecting rod three 17 realizes a certain range of back-and-forth reciprocating motion, the locking head 10 swings up and down within a certain range, and the locking position is adjusted and corrected within a certain range.

[0034] Figure 3 It is a back structure schematic diagram of the locking mechanism in the embodiment of the application. The electromagnet 16 is installed on the base 18, and the magnet 15 is installed on the locking head 10. When the electromagnet 16 is powered on, the magnet 15 is attracted, the spring 11 is compressed, the locking head 10 is separated from the contact with the filling connection shaft 2, the electromagnet 16 stops being powered on, the spring is released, the spring 11 returns to its original length, and the contact with the filling connection shaft 2 is achieved to realize locking.

[0035] Figure 4 It is a structure schematic diagram of the mechanism inserted in the embodiment of the application. The front end of the filling connection shaft 2 is provided with a chamfer 21, which is convenient for insertion into the hole above the support 1. The filling connection shaft 2 enters the docking channel and is first extruded by the locking head 10 during the downward docking process, so that the spring 11 is compressed.

[0036] Figure 5 Figure 1 is a structure diagram of the locking mechanism in the embodiment of the present application. When the filling connection shaft 2 continues to downwardly abut the locking head 10 and contacts the groove area of the filling connection shaft 2, the spring 11 is elongated, the downward movement of the filling connection shaft is stopped, the four locking heads 10 are vertically attached in the annular groove 20, and the locking is achieved.

[0037] Figure 6 Figure 2 is a structure diagram of the locking mechanism after the electromagnet is energized in the embodiment of the present application. In order to reduce the wear of the locking head 10 and increase the stability in the plugging process, the electromagnet 16 is energized after the oil delivery is completed, the magnet installed on the locking head 10 is attracted to compress the spring 11, the locking is released to avoid the contact between the locking head 10 and the filling connection shaft 2, the power supply to the electromagnet 16 is stopped after the filling connection shaft 2 is separated, the attraction disappears, and the spring 11 returns to the original length. In addition, a wear-resistant layer is plated on the surface of the locking head 10, which can prolong the service life.

[0038] Figure 7 Figure 3 is a structure diagram of the locking position downwardly adjusted in the embodiment of the present application.

[0039] Figure 8 Figure 4 is a structure diagram of the locking position upwardly adjusted in the embodiment of the present application.

[0040] Figure 9 Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the angle change edge in the embodiment of the present application. Because there may be disturbances in the actual filling process, which may cause individual locking heads 10 to separate from the annular groove 20 or the positions to be misaligned up and down, in order to overcome this problem, the angle change edges 22 are arranged at the upper and lower ends of the annular groove (the upper and lower parts have a larger curvature, and the middle part has a smaller curvature), so that the locking head 10 is not easily ejected, and even if there is a little disturbance, it will return to the annular groove 20 between the upper and lower angle change edges 22 after shaking, and the upper and lower angle change edges 22 play a limiting role.

[0041] Figure 10 Figure 6 is a stress analysis diagram of the filling mechanism in the embodiment of the present application. In the stress analysis, the material of the filling connection shaft 2 is selected to be 6061 composite aluminum alloy, the fixed position is the end of the filling connection shaft 2, and there is a force of 10N in the four directions of the groove of the filling connection shaft 2. The results show that the stress is concentrated in the annular groove 20 area of the filling connection shaft, which is the contact area of the locking head 11 and the filling connection shaft 2, and can achieve good locking function; the stress of the contact area is less than the yield limit stress of the material, which can effectively prevent fatigue fracture of the groove area.

[0042] It should be noted that the above content only illustrates the technical idea of the present application, and cannot limit the protection scope of the present application. For ordinary skilled in the art, without departing from the principle of the present application, a number of improvements and refinements can be made, such as changing the bracket to a cylindrical structure, and fixing the four butt locking mechanisms 3. These improvements and refinements all fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. An adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking and locking mechanism, characterized in that: The system includes a bracket (1), a filling connecting shaft (2), and a locking mechanism (3). The bracket (1) has a square structure, and there are four locking mechanisms (3), which are fixed on the four side walls of the bracket (1). The filling connecting shaft (2) is vertically inserted into the bracket (1) and is located in the middle of the four locking mechanisms (3). The locking mechanism (3) includes a stepper motor (12), a worm (6), a worm wheel (7), an elastic clamping mechanism, a connecting rod (5), and a four-bar linkage. The stepper motor (12) is fixed on the inner wall of the bracket (1). The stepper motor (12) is connected to the worm (6) through a coupling (19). The worm (6) and the worm wheel (7) mesh and drive each other. The clamping mechanism includes a base (18), a spring (11), and a locking head (10). The two ends of the spring (11) are connected to the base (18) and the locking head (10) respectively. The four-bar linkage is connected to the worm gear (7). One end of the four-bar linkage is sleeved on the coupling (19) through the connecting rod (5), and the other end is connected to the base (18). The locking head (10) is a free end. An electromagnet (16) is provided on the base (18). A magnet (15) is provided inside the locking head (10). The front end of the locking head (10) is arc-shaped. An annular groove (20) is provided in the middle of the filling connecting shaft (2). The front end of the locking head (10) has the same curvature as the annular groove (20).

2. The adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stepper motor (12) is fixed to the inner wall of the bracket (1) by the motor bracket (4).

3. The adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The four-bar linkage includes connecting rod 1 (8), connecting rod 2 (9), connecting rod 3 (17), and connecting rod 4 (13). The connecting rod (5) is a T-shaped structure. One end of the connecting rod (5) is sleeved on the coupling (19), the other end is connected to the worm gear (7), and the third end is connected to the connecting rod 4 (13). The connecting rod 1 (8) is connected to the worm gear (7). The connecting rod 1 (8), connecting rod 2 (9), connecting rod 3 (17), and connecting rod 4 (13) are connected in sequence. The base (18) is fixed on the connecting rod 3 (17).

4. The adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The locking head (10) has a wear-resistant layer on its surface.

5. The adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front end of the filling connecting shaft (2) is chamfered (21).

6. The adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular groove (20) is provided with angle-changing ridges (22) at its upper and lower ends.

7. The working process of the adjustable stiffness fuel filling docking locking mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: When the fuel-filling connecting shaft (2) is vertically inserted into the docking channel inside the bracket (1), the locking head (10) is first squeezed, and the spring (11) is compressed. When the locking head (10) contacts the annular groove (20) area of ​​the fuel-filling connecting shaft (2), the spring (11) extends to achieve locking and fuel filling begins. After fuel filling is completed, the electromagnet (16) is energized, attracting the magnet (15) installed on the locking head (10) to compress the spring (11) and release the lock. After the fuel-filling connecting shaft (2) is withdrawn, the power supply to the electromagnet (16) is stopped, the attraction disappears, and the spring (11) returns to its original length. If the locking position is not correct during docking, the control link three (17) can be swung up and down by rotating the stepper motor (12) to adjust the locking position and achieve controllable manual calibration.

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