Hinge provided with springs and capable of achieving linkage unfolding

Abstract

The invention discloses a hinge with springs capable of realizing linkage unfolding, which can realize linkage unfolding of a space multi-body mechanism (such as a solar wing, an antenna and an extension rod) adopting the hinge with the springs, and overcomes the limitation that the traditional hinge with the springs cannot realize linkage unfolding. A spatial mechanism belt spring hinge achieving a linkage unfolding function is composed of a hinge connector, a spring fixing piece, a spring, a long fixing screw, a first rotating wheel, a second rotating wheel, an idle wheel, a linkage gear, a shaft connecting rod, a first shaft, a second shaft, a third shaft, a short fixing screw and the like. The main function is that the unfolding speed and track of space mechanisms such as a solar wing are controllable in the unfolding process, that is, when a hinge is unfolded, all components on the unfolding mechanism are controlled to be unfolded in order and in a controllable mode under the action of a linkage gear, and the unfolding process is prevented from affecting other devices on a satellite.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a spring-loaded hinge that enables linked deployment, belonging to the technical field of solar panel deployment mechanisms. Background Technology

[0002] Spring-loaded hinges are used for the deployment of solar panels or other mechanisms in spacecraft. The deployment of spring-loaded hinges is achieved by only two flexible springs. Since there is no fixed rotation axis during the deployment process, the speed and trajectory of the solar panels and other multi-body mechanisms during deployment in space are uncontrollable, which may lead to interference with other products on the satellite, thus limiting its application in the aerospace field. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem solved by this invention is: in order to solve the problem of uncontrollable unfolding trajectory during the unfolding process of ordinary spring hinges, a spring hinge that can realize linkage unfolding is provided, which can ensure that the spring hinge can be installed in linkage, so that the unfolding speed and trajectory between multiple moving parts of the space unfolding mechanism are controllable.

[0004] The technical solution of this invention is:

[0005] A spring-loaded hinge capable of simultaneous deployment includes: a hinge joint, a spring, a first rotating wheel, a second rotating wheel, an idler wheel, a linkage gear, a shaft connecting rod, a first shaft, a second shaft, and a third shaft;

[0006] The two ends of the spring are connected to two hinge joints, and a first rotating wheel and a second rotating wheel are respectively installed on the two hinge joints;

[0007] The first rotating wheel is a half-circle gear. The second rotating wheel consists of two parts: part A is a half-circle gear with the same tooth profile as the first rotating wheel and meshes with the first rotating wheel; part B meshes with the idler gear. Part A and part B are an integral structure and are coaxial.

[0008] One shaft is fixed on the second rotating wheel and is coaxial with the gear shaft of part A of the second rotating wheel; three shafts are fixed on the first rotating wheel and are coaxial with the gear shaft of the first rotating wheel; a linkage gear is mounted on the three shafts;

[0009] The shaft connecting rod connects the first, second, and third shafts. The idler wheel is installed on the second shaft and meshes with the linkage gear. The linkage gear is connected by a rope to another linkage gear with a spring hinge on the other rotation axis of the space unfolding mechanism.

[0010] Furthermore, the spring is a belt spring.

[0011] Furthermore, it also includes a short fixing screw and a spring retaining plate, with the short fixing screw passing through the spring retaining plate to fix both ends of the spring to the hinge head.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes long fixing screws for fixing the first rotating wheel and the second rotating wheel to the two hinge joints respectively.

[0013] Furthermore, the B part of the second rotating wheel, the idler wheel, and the linkage gear have the same tooth profile, and the gear transmission ratio is 1:X:1, that is, the B part of the second rotating wheel and the linkage gear have the same number of teeth, and there is no requirement for the number of teeth of the idler wheel.

[0014] Furthermore, during unfolding, the spring provides power, causing the first and second rotating wheels to rotate relative to each other. Parts A of the first and second rotating wheels mesh and rotate, which in turn causes the second rotating wheel to rotate, driving an idler wheel meshing with part B. The idler wheel then drives the linkage gear to rotate. The linkage gear is connected to another linkage gear with a spring hinge via a rope, enabling synchronized unfolding with the other spring hinge or at a fixed proportional speed.

[0015] Furthermore, the spring eventually unfolds to a 180° flat state.

[0016] Furthermore, the B section of the second rotating wheel rotates at the same speed as the linkage gear, and the linkage gear is linked to the spring-loaded hinge linkage gear on another rotating axis of the unfolding mechanism via a rope, thus enabling controllable unfolding speed of the two spring-loaded hinges.

[0017] Furthermore, by adjusting the diameter ratio of the wheels fixed to the rope on the linkage gears of different spring hinges, the relative rotation speed and rotation angle between the relatively moving parts of the space deployment mechanism can be achieved.

[0018] Furthermore, the first, second, and third axes are connected together by a rigid shaft connecting rod, which allows the second rotating wheel to rotate only along a specific designed trajectory, thus making the unfolding trajectory of the spring hinge controllable and consequently the unfolding trajectory of multiple components of the space mechanism controllable.

[0019] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are:

[0020] (1) During the deployment process, the gear-spring hinge of the present invention, with the cooperation of the shaft connecting rod, can ensure that the solar array can be deployed along a specific trajectory, making the solar array more stable during deployment and preventing interference with other products on the satellite.

[0021] (2) In this invention, a spring-loaded hinge linkage gear is connected to another spring-loaded hinge linkage gear on the other rotation axis of the spatial deployment mechanism via a rope, thereby achieving synchronous deployment with the other spring-loaded hinge. Part B of the second rotating wheel rotates at the same speed as the linkage gear. The linkage gear and the spring-loaded hinge linkage gear on the other rotation axis of the deployment mechanism are linked via a rope, enabling controllable deployment speeds of the two spring-loaded hinges. By adjusting the diameter ratio of the wheels fixed to the rope on the linkage gears of different spring-loaded hinges, the relative rotational speed and rotational angle between the relatively moving parts of the spatial deployment mechanism can be adjusted.

[0022] (3) The first, second and third axes of the present invention are connected together by a rigid shaft connecting rod, so that the second rotating wheel can only rotate according to a specific design trajectory, realizing the controllable unfolding trajectory of the spring hinge, thereby making the trajectory of multiple components of the space mechanism controllable when unfolding, and also improving the unfolding stiffness of the hinge. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the gear-spring hinge of the present invention in the retracted state;

[0024] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the gear-spring hinge of the present invention in its fully extended state;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first rotating wheel 5;

[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second rotating wheel 6;

[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a linkage gear structure. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The specific embodiments of the present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] This invention relates to a spring-loaded hinge capable of coordinated deployment, suitable for the deployment requirements of solar arrays in the aerospace field. It enables the coordinated and orderly deployment of space multi-body mechanisms such as solar arrays using spring-loaded hinges. When the hinge is in the retracted state, the flexible spring connecting the hinge joint is in an elastic bending state. When the solar array deploys, the solar array's clamping device releases its clamping state, and the gear-spring hinge, under the driving force of the spring, completes the process from retraction to deployment. During the solar array deployment process, the spring-loaded hinges on different axes are synchronously deployed through a linkage device on the linkage gear.

[0030] The hinge's closed and open states are as follows Figure 1 , Figure 2As shown. The technical feature of the gear-spring hinge is that it incorporates a linkage device, enabling controllable speed and trajectory during unfolding and increasing hinge rigidity. The gear-spring hinge overcomes the limitation of traditional spring hinges, which rely solely on the elasticity of the spring for unfolding and cannot accommodate a linkage device.

[0031] Specifically, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the present invention provides a spring hinge that can realize linkage deployment, including: hinge joint 1, spring 3, first rotating wheel 5, second rotating wheel 6, idler wheel 7, linkage gear 8, shaft connecting rod 9, first shaft 10, second shaft 11 and third shaft 12;

[0032] The two ends of the spring 3 are connected to two hinge joints 1, and the first rotating wheel 5 and the second rotating wheel 6 are respectively installed on the two hinge joints 1;

[0033] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the first rotating wheel 5 is a half-circle gear, and the second rotating wheel 6 includes two parts. Part A is a half-circle gear with the same tooth shape as the first rotating wheel 5 and meshes with the first rotating wheel 5. Part B meshes with the idler wheel 7. Part A and Part B are an integral structure and are coaxial.

[0034] A shaft 10 is fixed on the second rotating wheel 6 and is coaxial with the gear shaft of part A of the second rotating wheel 6; a three-shaft 12 is fixed on the first rotating wheel 5 and is coaxial with the gear shaft of the first rotating wheel 5; a linkage gear 8 is mounted on the three-shaft 12;

[0035] Shaft connecting rod 9 connects shaft 10, shaft 11, and shaft 12. Idler wheel 7 is mounted on shaft 11 and meshes with linkage gear 8. Linkage gear 8 is connected via rope to another linkage gear with a spring hinge on the other rotation axis of the space unfolding mechanism. Figure 5 As shown.

[0036] In this invention, the spring 3 is a spring-loaded hinge. The spring-loaded hinge also includes a short fixing screw 13, a spring fixing plate 2, and a long fixing screw 4; the short fixing screw 13 passes through the spring fixing plate 2 to fix both ends of the spring 3 to the hinge joint 1. The long fixing screw 4 is used to fix the first rotating wheel 5 and the second rotating wheel 6 to the two hinge joints 1 respectively.

[0037] Preferably, the B part of the second rotating wheel 6, the idler wheel 7, and the linkage gear 8 have the same tooth profile, and the gear transmission ratio is 1:X:1, that is, the B part of the second rotating wheel and the linkage gear have the same number of teeth, and there is no requirement for the number of teeth of the idler wheel.

[0038] During unfolding, spring 3 provides the main power, driving the first rotating wheel 5 and the second rotating wheel 6 to rotate relative to each other. Parts A of the first rotating wheel 5 and the second rotating wheel 6 mesh and rotate, causing the second rotating wheel 6 to rotate synchronously. This drives the idler wheel 7, which meshes with part B, to rotate. The idler wheel 7 then drives the linkage gear 8 to rotate. The linkage gear 8 is connected to another linkage gear 8 with a spring hinge via a rope, enabling synchronous unfolding with the other spring hinge. Spring 3 eventually unfolds to a 180° straight position.

[0039] Since space mechanisms such as solar panels are composed of multiple hinges and solar panels, they belong to typical space multibody dynamics systems. During the deployment process, their configuration and inertia are constantly changing. If a linkage system is not used, the rotation angle and speed differences between the solar panels on the solar panel are very large, and the deployment trajectory is greatly affected by the initial conditions, which has a certain degree of randomness. The solar panel deployment process is uncontrollable. This invention solves this problem by installing a linkage device, that is, the two linkage gears 8 with spring hinges are connected by a rope.

[0040] When a multibody system is deployed, if the rotation angle of spring hinge B is greater than that of spring hinge A, a tension difference will be generated on the two linkage ropes connected to the linkage gears of the two hinges. This will generate an additional torque on the hinges. For spring hinge A, the additional torque is a driving force, which increases the rotation speed of spring hinge A. For spring hinge B, it is a deployment resistance torque, which decreases the deployment speed of spring hinge B.

[0041] Conversely, if the rotation angle of spring hinge A is greater than that of spring hinge B, a tension difference will be generated on the two linkage ropes connected to the linkage gears of the two hinges, thereby generating an additional torque on the hinges. For spring hinge B, the additional torque is a driving force, which increases the rotation speed of spring hinge B, while for spring hinge A, it is a resisting torque, which decreases the unfolding speed of spring hinge A.

[0042] Ultimately, the spring hinges A and B are made to unfold at the same angle, thus allowing them to unfold synchronously.

[0043] In this design, the B parts of the linkage gear, idler gear, and second rotating wheel must have the same tooth profile and a gear ratio of 1:X:1. The B part of the second rotating wheel 6 rotates at the same speed as the linkage gear 8. The linkage gear 8 is linked to the spring-loaded hinge linkage gear on another rotating axis of the unfolding mechanism through a rope, thus realizing the controllable unfolding speed of the two spring-loaded hinges.

[0044] Furthermore, by adjusting the diameter ratio of the wheels fixed to the rope on the linkage gears 8 of different spring-loaded hinges, the relative rotational speed and rotational angle between the relatively moving parts of the space deployment mechanism can be adjusted. The first axis 10, the second axis 11, and the third axis 12 are connected together by a rigid shaft connecting rod 9, ensuring that the second rotating wheel 6 can only rotate along a specific designed trajectory. This achieves controllable deployment trajectory of the spring-loaded hinges, thereby enabling the space...

[0045] The trajectories of multiple components of the mechanism are controllable when they are deployed.

[0046] The parts of this invention not described in detail are common knowledge to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A spring-loaded hinge capable of simultaneous deployment, characterized in that, include: Hinged joint (1), spring (3), first rotating wheel (5), second rotating wheel (6), idler wheel (7), linkage gear (8), shaft connecting rod (9), first shaft (10), second shaft (11) and third shaft (12); The two ends of the spring (3) are connected to two hinge joints (1), and the first rotating wheel (5) and the second rotating wheel (6) are respectively installed on the two hinge joints (1); The first rotating wheel (5) is a half-circle gear, and the second rotating wheel (6) includes two parts. Part A is a half-circle gear with the same tooth shape as the first rotating wheel (5) and meshes with the first rotating wheel (5). Part B meshes with the idler wheel (7). Part A and Part B are an integral structure and are coaxial. A shaft (10) is fixed on the second rotating wheel (6) and is coaxial with the gear shaft of part A of the second rotating wheel (6); a three-shaft (12) is fixed on the first rotating wheel (5) and is coaxial with the gear shaft of the first rotating wheel (5); a linkage gear (8) is mounted on the three-shaft (12); The shaft connecting rod (9) connects the first shaft (10), the second shaft (11) and the third shaft (12). The idler wheel (7) is installed on the second shaft (11) and meshes with the linkage gear (8). The linkage gear (8) is connected to the other rotating axis of the space unfolding mechanism via a rope.

2. The spring hinge capable of realizing linkage expansion according to claim 1, wherein: The spring (3) is a belt spring.

3. The spring hinge according to claim 1, which can be realized with linkage deployment, is characterized in that: It also includes a short fixing screw (13) and a spring fixing plate (2), the short fixing screw (13) passing through the spring fixing plate (2) to fix the two ends of the spring (3) to the hinge joint (1).

4. The spring hinge capable of realizing linkage deployment according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes long fixing screws (4) for fixing the first rotating wheel (5) and the second rotating wheel (6) to the two hinge joints (1) respectively.

5. The spring hinge capable of realizing linkage deployment according to claim 1, wherein: The B part of the second rotating wheel (6), the idler wheel (7) and the linkage gear (8) have the same tooth profile and the gear transmission ratio is 1:X:

1. That is, the B part of the second rotating wheel and the linkage gear have the same number of teeth, and there is no requirement for the number of teeth of the idler wheel.

6. A spring-loaded hinge capable of linkage deployment according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the spring hinge unfolds, the spring (3) provides power, and the spring (3) drives the first rotating wheel (5) and the second rotating wheel (6) to rotate relative to each other. The A part of the first rotating wheel (5) and the second rotating wheel (6) mesh and rotate, thereby causing the second rotating wheel (6) to rotate synchronously, driving the idler wheel (7) meshing with the B part to rotate. The idler wheel (7) drives the linkage gear (8) to rotate. The linkage gear (8) is connected to the linkage gear (8) of another spring hinge through a rope, so as to realize the synchronous or fixed-proportional speed unfolding with the other spring hinge.

7. The spring hinge capable of realizing linkage expansion according to claim 6, wherein: The spring (3) eventually unfolds to a 180° straight state.

8. The spring hinge capable of realizing linkage deployment according to claim 1, wherein: The B part of the second rotating wheel (6) rotates at the same speed as the linkage gear (8). The linkage gear (8) is linked with the spring hinge linkage gear on another rotating axis of the unfolding mechanism through a rope, so that the unfolding speed of the two spring hinges can be controlled.

9. A spring-loaded hinge capable of linkage deployment according to claim 8, characterized in that: By adjusting the diameter ratio of the wheels fixed to the rope on the linkage gears (8) of different spring hinges, the relative rotation speed and rotation angle between the relatively moving parts of the space unfolding mechanism can be adjusted.

10. A spring-loaded hinge capable of linkage deployment according to claim 6, characterized in that: The first axis (10), the second axis (11) and the third axis (12) are connected together by a rigid shaft connecting rod (9), so that the second rotating wheel (6) can only rotate according to a specific design trajectory, realizing the controllable unfolding trajectory of the spring hinge, thereby making the trajectory of multiple components of the space mechanism controllable when unfolded.

Images