Folding and unfolding type load transfer mechanism

Abstract

The folding and unfolding type load transferring mechanism comprises a driving module and a folding and unfolding module, the driving module comprises a mounting frame, seven hinges, a motor and a speed reducer, and the folding and unfolding module comprises seven same first connecting rods, seven same second connecting rods and a pushing disc. The driving rod is driven to drive the driven rod to rotate, folding and unfolding actions of the mechanism are completed, and the load receiving and transferring functions are achieved; the posture correcting function of the load is achieved through the design of a net-shaped structure and a guide opening. According to the invention, the integrated design of receiving, attitude correction and transfer functions of the load can be realized, and the device has the advantages of compact structure, light weight, small size, single drive, high reliability and the like, and is suitable for receiving and transferring the load in a space environment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of aerospace, and in particular to a folding load transfer mechanism. Background Art

[0002] In the field of aerospace, load transfer mechanism is a commonly used mechanical device. At present, conventional load transfer mechanisms mostly use devices such as robotic arms or slides, but such mechanisms are not suitable for certain application scenarios, such as: 1) The robotic arm has the disadvantages of complex structure, heavy weight, large space occupation, many drive components and complex control system; 2) The slide is mainly used to realize the load transfer function. If the load reception-correction function is to be realized, supporting auxiliary mechanisms are often required, which also have the problems of complex system and low reliability.

[0003] In recent years, with the increasing demands of aerospace missions, increasingly stringent requirements have been placed on load transfer mechanisms in terms of quality, size, reliability, and integration. Conventional load transfer mechanisms are no longer suitable. Therefore, to address these issues, a solution with a compact structure, lightweight, high integration, small footprint, low resource requirements, and simple actuation is urgently needed to achieve an integrated design for receiving, correcting, and transferring loads in space environments. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a foldable load transfer mechanism to solve the above-mentioned problems existing in the existing load transfer mechanisms.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is to provide a foldable load transfer mechanism, comprising a driving module and a foldable module;

[0006] The driving module includes a mounting frame, n hinges, a motor, and a reducer; the folding and unfolding module includes n identical first connecting rods, n identical second connecting rods, and a pushing plate; wherein n is ≥ 5 and is a positive integer;

[0007] A through hole is formed at the center of the mounting frame, through which the load passes to achieve a transfer function; the edge of the through hole is a guide opening structure, which serves as a guide when the front end of the load enters the through hole; the n hinges are fixed to the mounting frame and located on one side of the central through hole, and are used to connect the mounting frame and the n first connecting rods; the reducer is mounted on the mounting frame and connected to the hinge located at the outermost position of the n hinges to achieve the function of reducing the speed and amplifying the torque; the motor is mounted on the reducer to provide power to the mechanism;

[0008] One end of the n first connecting rods is mounted on the mounting frame via a hinge, and the other end is connected to n second connecting rods via a pin, and the angle formed at the hinge joint of each connected first connecting rod and the second connecting rod ranges from 0° to 150°; the first connecting rod directly driven by the motor among the first connecting rods is set as the active rod, and the rest are driven rods; the other end of the n second connecting rods is mounted on the pushing disk via a hinge, driving the pushing disk to move, thereby realizing the reciprocating transfer function of the load.

[0009] Further, is the hinge spacing angle, n is the number of hinges, then:

[0010] 1) The size is such that the load will not fall or get stuck in the mesh structure during reception, correction and transfer;

[0011] 2) n should be adjusted according to the shape and size of the load to ensure that the load will not escape from the mesh structure;

[0012] 2)

[0013] Furthermore, by adjusting the length of the first connecting rod and the second connecting rod, the control mechanism can be extended to meet the following requirements: in, is the installation diameter of the hinge on the mounting frame, is the installation diameter of the hinge on the pushing plate, l1 is the length of the first connecting rod, and l2 is the length of the second connecting rod. At this time, the transfer stroke of the mechanism is the longest.

[0014] Furthermore, the load's external structure cannot have sharp corners or protruding shapes.

[0015] Furthermore, the motor has a power-off holding torque to achieve a self-locking holding function of the mechanism.

[0016] Furthermore, during the load receiving process, the motor drives the active rod to rotate inward through the reducer. Under the joint action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod connected to the active rod rotates inward in the opposite direction to the active rod, thereby pushing the push plate to move away from the mounting frame. The remaining driven rods and the second connecting rods rotate inward in opposite directions under the drive of the push plate, so that the mechanism realizes the deployment action.

[0017] Furthermore, during the load posture correction process, the load falls into the mesh structure, one end of the load slides along the connecting rod under the action of gravity, and stops at a balanced position, thereby achieving load posture correction.

[0018] Furthermore, during the load transfer process, the motor drives the active rod to rotate outward through the reducer. Under the joint action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod connected to the active rod rotates outward, and the rotation direction is opposite to that of the active rod, thereby pulling the pushing disk to move in the direction close to the mounting frame. The remaining driven rods and the second connecting rod are driven by the pushing disk and rotate outward in opposite directions to each other, so that the mechanism can realize the folding action; the load in the mesh structure passes through the through hole under the pressure of the pushing disk and the guidance of the first connecting rod and the guide port structure of the mounting frame, thereby realizing the load transfer.

[0019] Furthermore, the diameter of the through hole is larger than the outer diameter of the load.

[0020] The beneficial effects achieved by the foldable load transfer mechanism provided by the present invention are:

[0021] (1) The present invention adopts an integrated design of receiving, uprighting and transferring loads, with high functional integration.

[0022] (2) The present invention adopts a high folding and unfolding ratio structural design, which has the advantages of compact structure, light weight, small size and high reliability.

[0023] (3) The present invention adopts a single drive design, which can control multiple actions using only a single motor, thereby improving the reliability of the mechanism and belonging to a linkage mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention when receiving a load;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention when transferring load;

[0027] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the first connecting rod in the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the partial structure of the second connecting rod in the present invention;

[0029] Figures 5(a) to (c) are schematic diagrams of the load-correcting process of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following is a detailed description of the foldable load transfer mechanism proposed by the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. The advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description and claims. It should be noted that the drawings are highly simplified and not to exact scale, and are intended solely to facilitate and clarify the purpose of illustrating the embodiments of the present invention.

[0031] The core concepts of this invention lie in 1) an integrated design for receiving, uprighting, and transferring payloads, and 2) a high-fold-to-expand structural design. This design offers advantages such as compact structure, light weight, small size, single drive, and high reliability, making it particularly suitable for receiving and transferring payloads in space environments.

[0032] like Figure 1 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, a foldable load transfer mechanism of this embodiment includes a drive module and a foldable module. The drive module includes a mounting frame 1, seven hinges 6, a motor 2, and a reducer 3. The mounting frame 1 has a through hole at the center, through which the load 10 passes to achieve the transfer function. The edge of the through hole is a guide opening structure, which can play a guiding role when the front end of the load 10 enters the through hole. Seven hinges 6 are fixed to the mounting frame 1 at 30° intervals and located on one side of the central through hole, used to connect the mounting frame 1 and seven first connecting rods 9. The reducer 3 is installed on the mounting frame 1 and connects the hinge 6 located at the outermost position of the seven hinges 6 to achieve the function of reducing the speed and amplifying the torque. The motor 2 is installed on the reducer 3 to provide power for the mechanism. The folding module includes seven identical first connecting rods 9, seven identical second connecting rods 5, seven hinges 6 and a pushing disk 8. One end of the seven first connecting rods 9 is installed on the mounting frame 1 through the hinge 6, and the other end is connected to the seven second connecting rods 5 through a pin, and the angle formed at the hinge between the first connecting rod 9 and the second connecting rod 5 is in the range of 0° to 150°. The purpose is to 1) prevent the folding module from moving to a dead point position and being unable to complete subsequent folding actions, and 2) utilize the inclination angle of the connecting rod to enable the load 10 to complete the posture correction action. In addition, the first connecting rod 9 in the first connecting rod 9 that is directly driven by the motor 2 is called the active rod 4, and the rest are driven rods 7; the other end of the seven second connecting rods 5 is installed on the pushing disk 8 through the hinge 6, driving the pushing disk 8 to move, thereby realizing the reciprocating transfer function of the load 10.

[0033] The working principle of this embodiment is:

[0034] The process of receiving the load 10 is as follows: the motor 2 drives the active rod 4 to rotate inward through the reducer 3. Under the combined action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod 5 connected to the active rod 4 also rotates inward in the opposite direction of the active rod 4, thereby pushing the push plate 8 away from the mounting frame 1. The remaining driven rods 7 and the second connecting rod 5, driven by the push plate 8, rotate inward in opposite directions, causing the mechanism to deploy. After the push plate 8 moves to the specified position, the motor 2 is powered off, the mechanism deployment is complete, and the self-positioning torque of the motor 2 is used to achieve a self-locking retention function. After the mechanism is deployed, the load 10 falls into the mesh structure formed by the first connecting rod 9 and the second connecting rod 5 from above, completing the load 10 reception function.

[0035] The posture correction process of the load 10 is as follows: as shown in Figures 5(a) to (c), after the load 10 falls into the mesh structure, one end of the load 10 slides along the connecting rod under the action of gravity and stops at the equilibrium position, realizing the posture correction function of the load 10.

[0036] The transfer process of load 10 is as follows: Figure 2 As shown, in contrast to the process of receiving the load 10, the motor 2 drives the active rod 4 through the reducer 3 to rotate outward. Under the combined action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod 5 connected to the active rod 4 also rotates outward in the opposite direction of the active rod 4, thereby pulling the push plate 8 toward the mounting frame 1. The remaining driven rods 7 and the second connecting rod 5 are driven by the push plate 8 to rotate outward in opposite directions, causing the mechanism to fold. The load 10 in the mesh structure passes through the through hole under the pressure of the push plate 8 and the guidance of the first connecting rod 9 and the guide opening structure of the mounting frame 1, realizing the transfer function of the load 10.

[0037] In this embodiment, the selection of the active rod 4, the installation position and number of the reducer 3 and the motor 2 are not fixed. Any number of reducers 3 and motors 2 can be installed without interfering with other structures, and they can also be installed in any position, and any first connecting rod 9 can be selected as the active rod 4.

[0038] Anything not described in detail in this specification belongs to the prior art known to those skilled in the art. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative 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 scope of equivalents of the claims be encompassed within the present invention.

Claims

1. A foldable load transfer mechanism, characterized in that: Including driving module and folding module; The driving module includes a mounting frame, n hinges, a motor, and a reducer; the folding and unfolding module includes n identical first connecting rods, n identical second connecting rods, and a pushing plate; wherein n is ≥ 5 and is a positive integer; A through hole is formed at the center of the mounting frame, through which the load passes to achieve a transfer function; the edge of the through hole is a guide opening structure, which serves as a guide when the front end of the load enters the through hole; the n hinges are fixed to the mounting frame and located on one side of the central through hole, and are used to connect the mounting frame and the n first connecting rods; the reducer is mounted on the mounting frame and connected to the hinge located at the outermost position of the n hinges to achieve the function of reducing the speed and amplifying the torque; the motor is mounted on the reducer to provide power to the mechanism; One end of the n first connecting rods is mounted on the mounting frame via a hinge, and the other end is connected to n second connecting rods via a pin, and the angle formed at the hinge joint of each connected first connecting rod and the second connecting rod ranges from 0° to 150°; the first connecting rod directly driven by the motor among the first connecting rods is set as the active rod, and the rest are driven rods; the other end of the n second connecting rods is mounted on the pushing disk via a hinge, driving the pushing disk to move, thereby realizing the reciprocating transfer function of the load.

2. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: is the hinge spacing angle, n is the number of hinges, then: 1) The size is such that the load will not fall or get stuck in the mesh structure during reception, correction and transfer; 2) n should be adjusted according to the shape and size of the load to ensure that the load will not escape from the mesh structure 3. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: By adjusting the length of the first link and the second link, the control mechanism can expand the stroke. in, is the installation diameter of the hinge on the mounting frame, is the installation diameter of the hinge on the pushing plate, l1 is the length of the first connecting rod, and l2 is the length of the second connecting rod. At this time, the transfer stroke of the mechanism is the longest.

4. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The load's external structure cannot have sharp corners or protruding shapes.

5. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: The motor has a power-off holding torque to achieve the self-locking holding function of the mechanism.

6. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein: During the load receiving process, the motor drives the active rod to rotate inward through the reducer. Under the joint action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod connected to the active rod rotates inward, and the rotation direction is opposite to that of the active rod, thereby pushing the pushing plate to move away from the mounting frame. The remaining driven rods and the second connecting rods rotate inward in opposite directions under the drive of the pushing plate, so that the mechanism can realize the deployment action.

7. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 6, wherein: During the load posture correction process, the load falls into the mesh structure, one end of the load slides along the connecting rod under the action of gravity, and stops at a balanced position, thereby achieving load posture correction.

8. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to claim 6, wherein: During the load transfer process, the motor drives the active rod to rotate outward through the reducer. Under the joint action of multiple connecting rods, the second connecting rod connected to the active rod rotates outward, and the rotation direction is opposite to that of the active rod, thereby pulling the pushing disk to move in the direction close to the mounting frame. The remaining driven rods and the second connecting rod are driven by the pushing disk to rotate outward in opposite directions, so that the mechanism can realize the folding action; the load in the mesh structure passes through the through hole under the pressure of the pushing disk and the guidance of the first connecting rod and the guide port structure of the mounting frame, thereby realizing the load transfer.

9. The foldable load transfer mechanism according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein: The diameter of the through hole is larger than the outer diameter of the load.

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