Test period optimization method and device for durability test of cabin door

Abstract

The invention relates to a test period optimization method and device for a durability test of a cabin door. The method comprises the steps that a plurality of different stresses which enable the cabin door to tend to be closed and are smaller than or equal to the maximum stress are applied to the cabin door in an open state; obtaining a plurality of degradation durations corresponding to the plurality of different stresses, wherein each of the plurality of degradation durations corresponds to a corresponding stress in the plurality of different stresses and is a duration from the time of applying the corresponding stress to the time of functional degradation of the cabin door; the minimum degradation duration larger than or equal to the target duration in the degradation durations is determined, the target duration is equal to the product of the needed opening maintaining duration and the needed testing frequency, and the needed opening maintaining duration is smaller than the expected opening maintaining duration when the cabin door works normally; and setting the cabin door opening holding duration as the required opening holding duration so as to obtain an optimized test period, wherein the stress corresponding to the optimized test period is the stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to hatch testing, in particular to a method and device for optimizing the test cycle of durability testing for hatches. Background Art

[0002] Durability testing is generally used to study the service life of the object under test under specified usage conditions and maintenance conditions, and is also used to predict or verify the weak links of the object under test for design improvement and optimization of the product of the object under test. The operation of durability testing generally requires a specified number of operations under standard usage conditions.

[0003] An electromechanical coupling hatch refers to a hatch whose actuation system is an electrical system. Such hatches generally need to be opened and closed quickly or are difficult to be opened and closed manually, and their hatch opening and closing operations are generally achieved by operating an external electrical control panel. For such hatches, if manual durability testing is used, it is necessary to manually operate the control system to open and close the hatch nearly one hundred thousand times, which is not only costly but also poses a great safety hazard.

[0004] The present disclosure has been improved in view of but not limited to the above-mentioned various factors. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To this end, the present disclosure provides a method and device for optimizing the test cycle of durability testing for hatches (especially electromechanical coupling hatches), which greatly shortens the test cycle, accelerates the durability testing, and improves the test efficiency. The method and device of the present disclosure are applicable to various hatches (such as aircraft hatches) that provide power output through an electric actuation system and use an external electrical switch to achieve the opening and closing operation, including large cargo hatches, dispensing hatches, etc. In addition, the present disclosure also relates to using the optimized test cycle to perform automated durability testing on hatches through a collaborative robot, replacing the manual opening and closing operation of the hatch, and at the same time enabling data monitoring to achieve efficient and safe testing, which greatly improves the efficiency and accuracy of hatch design and research and development, and provides a more reliable and safe hatch product.

[0006] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a method for optimizing a test cycle for durability testing of a hatch in an electromechanical coupling form is provided. The test cycle includes the duration required for the hatch to open, the duration for which the hatch is held open, the duration required for the hatch to close, and the duration for which the hatch is held closed. The method includes: applying to the hatch in the open state a plurality of different stresses that tend to close the hatch and are less than or equal to the maximum stress; obtaining a plurality of degradation durations corresponding to the plurality of different stresses, where each of the plurality of degradation durations corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of different stresses and is the duration between the time when the respective one of the stresses is applied and the time when the hatch undergoes functional degradation; determining the minimum degradation duration among the plurality of degradation durations that is greater than or equal to a target duration, where the target duration is equal to the required open-holding duration multiplied by the required number of tests, and the required open-holding duration is less than the expected open-holding duration during normal operation of the hatch; and setting the hatch open-holding duration to the required open-holding duration to obtain an optimized test cycle, and the stress corresponding to the optimized test cycle is the stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration.

[0007] According to an embodiment, the method further includes: first applying the maximum stress and determining whether the hatch undergoes functional degradation during a predetermined duration that is greater than or equal to the expected open-holding duration during normal operation of the hatch; if the hatch does not undergo functional degradation during the predetermined duration, setting the hatch open-holding duration to zero; if the hatch undergoes functional degradation during the predetermined duration, determining whether the degradation duration corresponding to the maximum stress is the minimum degradation duration.

[0008] According to another embodiment, the method further includes, for each stress among the plurality of different stresses, repeating the method a predetermined number of times to obtain the predetermined number of degradation durations and selecting the minimum of the predetermined number of degradation durations as the degradation duration corresponding to that stress.

[0009] According to yet another embodiment, the method further includes: performing cyclic testing on the hatch using a plurality of optimized test cycles, where each optimized test cycle includes the required open-holding duration and a different hatch closed-holding duration; determining those optimized test cycles among the plurality of optimized test cycles in which the motor temperature of the hatch does not exceed a temperature threshold and / or the motor current does not exceed a current threshold during the cyclic testing, and selecting the optimized test cycle having the shortest hatch closed-holding duration among them as the optimal test cycle.

[0010] According to yet another embodiment, performing cyclic testing on the hatch is achieved by an automated operation of a collaborative robot on the control panel of the hatch.

[0011] According to another embodiment, the method further includes using the optimal test period to perform a durability test on the hatch door.

[0012] According to another embodiment, during the durability test on the hatch door using the optimized test period: if the opening holding duration of the hatch door is set to zero, no stress is applied during the durability test; otherwise, a stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration is applied to the hatch door in the open state during the durability test.

[0013] According to another embodiment, the durability test is performed by repeating the optimal test period for the required number of tests on the hatch door, where during each optimal test period: the position and status of the control panel of the hatch door are acquired through the machine vision device of the collaborative robot; an operation to be performed is determined based on the acquired position and status of the control panel and an instruction is issued; the collaborative robot mobilizes its end effector to operate the control panel of the hatch door according to the instruction; and various functional parameters of the hatch door are acquired.

[0014] According to another embodiment, the maximum stress, the predetermined duration, the required opening holding duration, the required number of tests, and the threshold are set as needed.

[0015] According to another embodiment, the functional degradation of the hatch door includes at least one of the following: a change in the opening degree of the hatch door exceeding the threshold, the motor temperature exceeding the threshold, the motor current exceeding the threshold, and the deformation of the hatch door structure.

[0016] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a hatch door durability test system, including: a collaborative robot configured to operate the control panel of the hatch door to perform opening and closing operations on the hatch door, where the collaborative robot includes a machine vision device, an end effector, a host computer control terminal, and a supporting tooling, where the machine vision device acquires the current position and status of the control panel by collecting an image of the control panel of the hatch door, the host computer control terminal issues corresponding instructions according to the acquired position and status information of the control panel, and the collaborative robot thus performs relevant operations through the end effector according to the instructions issued by the host computer control terminal; and a data acquisition device configured to acquire various functional parameters of the hatch door for evaluating the durability of the hatch door, where the acquired functional parameters are any suitable parameters that affect the function of the hatch door and / or reflect the durability of the hatch door and include the strain of the hatch door structure, the change in the opening degree of the hatch door, and the motor temperature.

[0017] Aspects generally include methods, apparatuses, systems, computer program products, and processing systems substantially as described herein with reference to the figures and as illustrated by the figures.

[0018] The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples in accordance with the present disclosure so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The disclosed concepts and specific examples may readily be used as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes as the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. The characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both as to their organization and method of operation, as well as associated advantages, will be better understood upon consideration of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each drawing is provided for the purpose of illustration and description, and does not define a limitation of the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to understand in detail the manner in which the above-recited features of the present disclosure are used, a more specific description may be had of the above-briefly summarized subject matter, some aspects of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted, however, that the drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of the present disclosure and are not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numerals in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

[0020] Figure 1 A schematic flowchart showing a method for optimizing a test cycle for a durability test of an electromechanical coupling hatch in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0021] Figure 2 A schematic block diagram showing a system for a durability test of an electromechanical coupling hatch in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing a collaborative robot in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The inventors have recognized that for an electromechanical coupling hatch whose actuation system is an electrical system, it generally requires rapid opening and closing or is difficult to be opened and closed manually. Therefore, if conventional manual operation is used to perform the opening and closing door operations for durability testing, a series of problems such as high test costs and great operation difficulties will be brought about.

[0024] In addition, for an aircraft hatch, the hatch durability test is used to test the hatch life. Generally, an appropriate environmental spectrum and load spectrum will be formulated according to the operation scenario and service time of the aircraft before the durability test. However, since the hatch needs to be kept open for a long time or has certain opening and closing interval requirements, the test cycle will be very long. For example, the aircraft hatch durability test may require 100,000 opening and closing operations, and each opening and closing operation needs to keep the hatch open for the normal working time (for example, ranging from dozens of minutes to several hours), making the durability test extremely long.

[0025] To this end, the present disclosure proposes a test cycle optimization method and device for the durability test of a hatch door (especially an electromechanical coupling hatch door), which greatly shortens the test cycle, accelerates the durability test, and improves the test efficiency. The method and device of the present disclosure are applicable to various hatch doors (such as aircraft hatch doors) that provide power output through an electric actuation system and use an external electrical switch to achieve opening and closing operations, including large cargo hatch doors, dispensing hatch doors, etc. In addition, the present disclosure also relates to the use of an optimized test cycle to perform an automated durability test on the hatch door through a collaborative robot, replacing the manual operation of opening and closing the door, and at the same time, data monitoring can be performed to achieve efficient and safe testing, which greatly improves the efficiency and accuracy of hatch door design and development, and provides a more reliable and safe hatch door product.

[0026] It will be understood that the embodiments will be mainly described below in conjunction with the electromechanical coupling hatch door of an aircraft, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0027] The following detailed description presented in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein can be practiced. This detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts can be practiced without these specific details.

[0028] Reference Figure 1 , which shows a schematic flowchart of a test cycle optimization method 100 for the durability test of an electromechanical coupling hatch door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] The inventors recognized that the durability test of an aircraft hatch door may require 100,000 opening and closing operations, and each opening and closing operation needs to maintain the open and / or closed state for the normal working time (for example, ranging from dozens of minutes to several hours), making the durability test extremely long. Each opening and closing operation can be referred to as a test cycle. Specifically, taking the aircraft cargo hatch door as an example, the time t required for a complete test cycle = the time t1 required for the hatch door to open + the time t2 for the hatch door to remain open + the time t3 required for the hatch door to close + the time t4 for the hatch door to remain closed. It will be understood that the time t1 required for the hatch door to open and the time t3 required for the hatch door to close are respectively the time required for the hatch door to fully open from receiving the opening instruction and the time required for the hatch door to fully close from receiving the closing instruction, and both of them are related to the design of the hatch door system and are generally fixed values. Therefore, the present disclosure mainly optimizes the time t2 for the hatch door to remain open and / or the time t4 for the hatch door to remain closed to shorten the time of each opening and closing operation, that is, to shorten the test cycle to accelerate the durability test.

[0030] Reference Figure 1, method 100 may include, at block 110, applying to the hatch in the open state a plurality of different stresses that tend to close the hatch and are less than or equal to the maximum stress.

[0031] In one embodiment, the applied stress is related to the failure mechanism of the hatch and can significantly accelerate the performance degradation process of the hatch. In other words, compared with not applying stress, applying stress can achieve the same degradation in a shorter time as not applying stress in a longer time. In a specific example where the hatch remains open, applying stress can achieve the same effect in a shorter time as not applying stress to the hatch that remains open in a longer time, so that the time for the hatch to remain open can be shortened by applying stress, thereby optimizing (i.e., shortening) the test cycle of the hatch durability test. In yet another embodiment, the stress is applied in the form of increasing the self-weight load of the hatch.

[0032] At block 120, method 100 may include obtaining a plurality of degradation durations corresponding to the plurality of different stresses. In one embodiment, each of the obtained plurality of degradation durations corresponds to a respective one of the plurality of different stresses and is the duration between the time of applying the respective one of the stresses and the time when the hatch undergoes functional degradation.

[0033] In yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, the hatch undergoing functional degradation is related to the failure mechanism of the hatch, can directly reflect the degradation process of the hatch performance, and is closely related to the function of the hatch, reflecting the performance change of the hatch during use. In addition, considering measurability, the hatch functional degradation can be any degradation that can be measured, such as structural strain, actuator system current, and hatch opening degree, etc. Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the hatch undergoing functional degradation includes at least one of the following: the opening degree of the hatch changes by more than a threshold, the motor temperature exceeds a threshold, the motor current exceeds a threshold, and the hatch structure deforms beyond a threshold. Further according to this embodiment, the corresponding threshold is set according to the design requirements of the hatch and industry standards. For example, for the change in the hatch opening degree, its threshold can be set to the accuracy of the opening degree retention of the hatch design; for the motor current, its threshold can be set to the current for overheat protection, and exceeding this threshold current is considered to have failed or malfunctioned; and so on.

[0034] Next, at block 130, method 100 may include determining the minimum degradation duration among the plurality of degradation durations that is greater than or equal to a target duration. In one embodiment, the target duration is equal to the required opening retention duration multiplied by the required number of tests. Further according to this embodiment, the required opening retention duration is less than the expected opening retention duration during the normal operation of the hatch.

[0035] For example, for an aircraft cargo door, the expected opening holding duration during normal operation of the door is approximately several tens of minutes to several hours for loading and unloading cargo; the number of required tests is the number of door openings and closings for the door durability test, generally tens of thousands of times. For a conventional durability test, during tens of thousands of door openings and closings, the door needs to be held open for its expected opening holding duration (i.e., several tens of minutes to several hours) each time, making the test extremely long.

[0036] In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the required opening holding duration can be set to several seconds to several tens of seconds or several minutes, thereby effectively shortening the test cycle of the durability test. It can be expected that the greater the stress, the shorter the time for the door to experience functional degradation. Thus, step 130 of method 100 is for ensuring that the required opening holding duration can ensure that the door does not degrade within the required number of tests to complete the durability test, thereby enabling the selection of the appropriate stress required for the durability test.

[0037] Finally, after finding the minimum degradation duration greater than or equal to the target duration, method 100 may include step 140 of setting the door opening holding duration to the required opening holding duration to obtain an optimized test cycle. In this embodiment, the stress corresponding to the optimized test cycle is the stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration. In other words, when performing the durability test on the door using this optimized test cycle, the stress corresponding to this minimum degradation duration needs to be applied to the door.

[0038] Thus, method 100 of the present disclosure optimizes the test cycle, especially for the door opening holding duration.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, when applying stress and obtaining the corresponding degradation duration (i.e., steps 110 - 120 of method 100), method 100 may first apply the maximum stress and determine whether the door experiences functional degradation during a predetermined duration. This is mainly considering that the door design generally has high reliability. Starting from the maximum stress, method 100 can more efficiently find the minimum degradation duration and the corresponding stress for the durability test. In this embodiment, the predetermined duration is greater than or equal to the expected opening holding duration during normal operation of the door. More preferably, the predetermined duration is much greater than the expected opening holding duration during normal operation of the door. For example, for a case where the expected opening holding duration during normal operation of the door is several tens of minutes to several hours, the predetermined duration can be set to 1 day, 48 hours, etc.

[0040] Further according to this embodiment, if the hatch door does not experience functional degradation during a predetermined duration, it can be considered that the hatch door will remain stable permanently under this maximum stress. Thus, it is considered that there is no problem with the hatch door remaining open, and in this way, the hatch door open holding duration can be set to zero to maximize the acceleration of the durability test. And more preferably, it can be considered that this situation is due to the high reliability of the hatch door and its performance hardly degrades. As a result, when the hatch door open holding duration is set to zero, no stress is applied during the durability test to make it more convenient to conduct the durability test. However, if the hatch door experiences functional degradation during the predetermined duration, method 100 can determine whether the degradation duration corresponding to the maximum stress is greater than or equal to the target duration, that is, whether it is the above-mentioned minimum degradation duration.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, method 100 may further include, for each of a plurality of different stresses, repeating method 100 a predetermined number of times to obtain a predetermined number of degradation durations, and selecting the minimum of these predetermined number of degradation durations as the degradation duration corresponding to this stress. The advantage of this embodiment is that the degradation duration that can sufficiently ensure that the hatch door does not experience functional degradation during the durability test can be found through multiple repetitions.

[0042] In a further preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, method 100 may also be optimized for the hatch door closing and holding to further shorten the test cycle. The inventor recognizes that during the hatch door durability test, the hatch door closing and holding duration is actually the "cycle interval" between the hatch door opening and closing operations, and too short a cycle interval will mainly affect the hatch door motor, such as the motor current and / or the motor temperature.

[0043] For this reason, the hatch door can be tested using a plurality of different test cycles with the above-mentioned optimized hatch door open holding duration (i.e., the required open holding duration) and different hatch door closing and holding durations to find the optimal hatch door closing and holding duration. Thus, in this preferred embodiment, method 100 may include cyclically testing the hatch door using a plurality of optimized test cycles respectively, where each optimized test cycle includes the required open holding duration and different hatch door closing and holding durations. Subsequently, method 100 can determine those optimized test cycles among the plurality of optimized test cycles in which the motor temperature of the hatch door does not exceed the temperature threshold and / or the motor current does not exceed the threshold current during the cyclic test, and select the optimized test cycle with the shortest hatch door closing and holding duration among them as the optimal test cycle.

[0044] In this way, the optimal test cycle will have the required shortest hatch door open holding duration and the shortest hatch door closing and holding duration, so that the optimal test cycle can be used to conduct the durability test on the hatch door, which can greatly accelerate the hatch door durability test.

[0045] In a further preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the cyclic testing of the hatch door can be achieved by the collaborative robot to automate the operation of the control panel of the hatch door. Thus, the opening and closing operations of the hatch door can be automatically completed by the collaborative robot without manual operation, greatly saving manpower and material resources.

[0046] It will be appreciated that during the durability testing of the hatch door using an optimized test cycle (or an optimal test cycle), stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration needs to be applied to the open hatch door. Particularly advantageously, when the open holding duration of the hatch door is set to zero (i.e., the maximum stress will not cause degradation of the hatch door and the hatch door design is reliable enough), no stress is applied during the durability testing to facilitate the durability testing more.

[0047] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the durability testing is performed by repeating the optimal test cycle the required number of times for the hatch door, for example, repeating 100,000 times. In this embodiment, during each optimal test cycle: the position and state of the control panel of the hatch door are collected by the machine vision device of the collaborative robot; the operation to be performed is determined based on the collected position and state of the control panel and an instruction is issued; the end effector of the collaborative robot is mobilized according to the instruction to operate the control panel of the hatch door; and various functional parameters of the hatch door are collected. According to this embodiment, the functional parameters of the hatch door can be collected by various sensors provided on the hatch door, such as a current sensor for collecting the motor current, an angle sensor for collecting the opening degree of the hatch door, and so on. It will be appreciated that the collected functional parameters are any suitable parameters that affect the function of the hatch door and / or reflect the durability of the hatch door, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0048] In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the maximum stress, the predetermined duration, the required open holding duration, the required number of tests, various thresholds, etc. mentioned above are all set as needed and will not be elaborated herein. For example, the maximum stress can be appropriately selected depending on the ease of applying stress and the cost of implementing the durability testing.

[0049] Reference Figure 2 , which shows a schematic block diagram of a system 200 for the durability testing of an electromechanically coupled hatch door according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] As Figure 2 shown, the system 200 may include a collaborative robot 201 and a data acquisition device 203. Although Figure 2 only these two components are shown, it will be appreciated that this is because these two components are components related to the technical solution of the present disclosure, and the system 200 may also include any other suitable components, such as various sensors, supporting cables and tooling, etc., which will not be elaborated herein.

[0051] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the collaborative robot 201 may be configured to operate the control panel of the hatch to open and close the hatch. In this embodiment, the collaborative robot 201 may include a machine vision device, an end effector, a host computer control terminal, a supporting tooling, etc. Among them, the machine vision device may acquire the current position and state of the control panel by collecting an image of the hatch control panel. The host computer control terminal may issue corresponding instructions (for example, opening and closing the hatch) according to the acquired position and state information of the control panel. The collaborative robot then executes relevant operations through the end effector according to the instructions issued by the host computer control terminal. In a preferred embodiment, the end effector may be designed according to the operation form of the hatch control panel to adapt to different control panel operation methods. In addition, the supporting tooling of the collaborative robot may be used to build a suitable operation platform for the end effector of the collaborative robot and the hatch control panel.

[0052] Figure 3 FIG. 300 is a schematic diagram of a collaborative robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. When performing the operation of opening and closing the hatch, the machine vision device of the collaborative robot 300 first collects an image of the control panel of the hatch actuation system, and accordingly determines the state of the control panel at this time, and transmits the state information to the host computer control terminal. The host computer control terminal determines the operation that the collaborative robot 300 needs to perform according to the state information, and then issues an instruction to the collaborative robot 300. The collaborative robot 300 completes the operation of opening and closing the door on the control panel through the end effector.

[0053] Continuing to refer to Figure 2 , the data acquisition device 203 may be configured to collect various functional parameters of the hatch for evaluating the durability of the hatch. In an embodiment, the functional parameters of the hatch may be collected by various sensors provided on the hatch, such as a current sensor for collecting the motor current, an angle sensor for collecting the opening degree of the hatch, and so on. According to this embodiment, each sensor may be installed on the hatch and its electric actuation system, and it may have various types, such as sensors for measuring force, strain, angle, and temperature. These sensors are connected to the data acquisition device 203 through a supporting cable to enable the collection of force, strain, angle, temperature data, and so on. It will also be understood that the collected functional parameters are any suitable parameters that affect the function of the hatch and / or reflect the durability of the hatch, which will not be elaborated here.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, the system 200 may also optionally include a protection mechanism ( Figure 2(not shown in the figure) to terminate the test when the hatch undergoes functional degradation. For example, the temperature of the electrical components of the hatch actuation system may have a protective limit, so that when the temperature of the collected electrical components (e.g., the motor) exceeds the temperature threshold, the protection mechanism of the system 200 can terminate the test and perform cooling if appropriate. In this embodiment, terminating the test may include transmitting an instruction to terminate the operation to the collaborative robot 201 so that the collaborative robot 201 no longer operates on the control panel of the hatch.

[0055] Thus, the present disclosure proposes a method and device for optimizing the test cycle for the durability test of a hatch. The present disclosure also proposes a method and system for performing the durability test on a hatch using the optimized test cycle. In the hatch durability test system of the present disclosure, strain, angle, and / or temperature sensors, etc. are arranged on the hatch and its electrical actuation system. The machine vision system and the end effector of the collaborative robot will perform structural adaptation according to the operation method of the control panel of the hatch electrical actuation system. At the same time, a force sensor can also be installed on the end effector to monitor the execution force when operating the control panel. Before the test starts, protection thresholds for different measurement parameters (force, strain, angle, temperature, etc.) can be set according to the characteristics of the hatch, the electrical actuation system, and the control panel, and the machine vision system of the collaborative robot can be set according to the working logic of the indicator lights on the control panel, so as to obtain the current position and state of the control panel by collecting images of the control panel. The upper computer control terminal of the collaborative robot issues corresponding instructions to the collaborative robot according to the obtained control panel position and state information, and the collaborative robot performs the durability test opening and closing door operations according to the instructions issued by the upper computer control terminal, thereby completing the automated test of the hatch durability.

[0056] Although the term "hatch" is used, those skilled in the art will understand that the "hatch" in the present disclosure can include any suitable "door", such as the hatch of an aircraft, the door of a motor vehicle, and the trunk door, etc. It will also be understood that the methods and systems of the present disclosure can be applied to any type of door that can be opened and closed, such as an upward-opening door, a downward-opening door, etc.

[0057] The above specific embodiments include references to the accompanying drawings, which form part of the specific embodiments. The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments that can be practiced through description. These embodiments are also referred to as "examples" herein. Such examples may include elements other than those shown or described. However, examples including the elements shown or described are also contemplated. In addition, examples using any combination or arrangement of the elements shown or described, or referring to a specific example (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein, or referring to other examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or described herein are also contemplated.

[0058] In the appended claims, the terms "comprising" and "including" are open-ended, meaning that a system, apparatus, article, or process that includes elements other than those recited after such a term in a claim is still considered to fall within the scope of that claim. Further, in the appended claims, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used merely as labels, and are not intended to indicate a numerical order of their objects.

[0059] Also, the order of the operations illustrated in this specification is exemplary. In alternate embodiments, the operations may be performed in a different order than shown in the figures, and the operations may be combined into a single operation or split into more operations.

[0060] The above description is intended to be illustrative, not restrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or more aspects thereof) may be used in combination with other embodiments. Other embodiments may be used, for example, by one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the above description. The abstract allows the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. The abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Further, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. However, the claims may not recite every feature disclosed herein, as an embodiment may represent a subset of the features. Further, an embodiment may include fewer features than those disclosed in a particular example. Accordingly, the appended claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment. The scope of the embodiments disclosed herein should be determined with reference to the appended claims and the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Claims

1. A method for optimizing the test period of a durability test for a hatch door in an electromechanical coupling form, where the test period includes the time required for the hatch door to open, the time for the hatch door to remain open, the time required for the hatch door to close, and the time for the hatch door to remain closed. The method includes: Applying to the hatch door in the open state a plurality of different stresses that tend to close the hatch door and are less than or equal to the maximum stress; Obtaining a plurality of degradation durations corresponding to the plurality of different stresses, where each of the plurality of degradation durations corresponds to a corresponding one of the plurality of different stresses and is the duration between the time when the corresponding one stress is applied and the time when the hatch door undergoes functional degradation; Determining the minimum degradation duration among the plurality of degradation durations that is greater than or equal to the target duration, where the target duration is equal to the required open-holding duration multiplied by the required number of tests, and the required open-holding duration is less than the expected open-holding duration during normal operation of the hatch door; And Setting the hatch door open-holding duration to the required open-holding duration to obtain an optimized test period, and the stress corresponding to the optimized test period is the stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, It further includes: First applying the maximum stress and determining whether the hatch door undergoes functional degradation during a predetermined duration that is greater than or equal to the expected open-holding duration during normal operation of the hatch door; If the hatch door does not undergo functional degradation during the predetermined duration, setting the hatch door open-holding duration to zero; If the hatch door undergoes functional degradation during the predetermined duration, determining whether the degradation duration corresponding to the maximum stress is the minimum degradation duration.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein It further includes, for each stress among the plurality of different stresses, repeating the method a predetermined number of times to obtain the predetermined number of degradation durations, and selecting the minimum of the predetermined number of degradation durations as the degradation duration corresponding to that stress.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein It further includes: Using a plurality of optimized test periods to perform cyclic tests on the hatch door respectively, where each optimized test period includes the required open-holding duration and different hatch door closed-holding durations; Determining those optimized test periods among the plurality of optimized test periods in which the motor temperature of the hatch door does not exceed the temperature threshold and / or the motor current does not exceed the current threshold during the cyclic test, and selecting the optimized test period with the shortest hatch door closed-holding duration among them as the optimal test period.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein Performing the cyclic test on the hatch door is achieved by an automated operation of a collaborative robot on the control panel of the hatch door.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that It further includes using the optimal test period to perform a durability test on the hatch door.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein During the durability test of the hatch door using the optimized test period: If the hatch door open-holding duration is set to zero, no stress is applied during the durability test; Otherwise, during the durability test, a stress corresponding to the minimum degradation duration is applied to the hatch door in the open state.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The durability test is performed by repeating the optimal test cycle for the required number of tests on the hatch door, where during each optimal test cycle: The position and status of the control panel of the hatch door are acquired by the machine vision device of the collaborative robot; Based on the acquired position and status of the control panel, the operation to be performed is determined and an instruction is issued; The collaborative robot mobilizes its end effector to operate the control panel of the hatch door according to the instruction; and The respective functional parameters of the hatch door are acquired.

9. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The maximum stress, the predetermined duration, the required opening holding duration, the required number of tests, and the threshold are set as required.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein The occurrence of functional degradation of the hatch door includes at least one of the following: a change in the opening degree of the hatch door exceeding the threshold, the motor temperature exceeding the threshold, the motor current exceeding the threshold, and the deformation of the hatch door structure.

11. A hatch door durability test system, comprising: A collaborative robot configured to operate the control panel of the hatch door to perform opening and closing operations on the hatch door, where the collaborative robot includes a machine vision device, an end effector, a host computer control terminal, and a supporting tooling. The machine vision device acquires the current position and status of the control panel by collecting an image of the hatch door control panel. The host computer control terminal issues corresponding instructions according to the acquired position and status information of the control panel, and the collaborative robot thus performs relevant operations through the end effector according to the instructions issued by the host computer control terminal; And A data acquisition device configured to acquire the respective functional parameters of the hatch door for evaluating the durability of the hatch door, where the acquired functional parameters are any suitable parameters that affect the function of the hatch door and / or reflect the durability of the hatch door and include the strain of the hatch door structure, the change in the opening degree of the hatch door, and the motor temperature.

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