Orderly folding retraction tooling for large-size planar film structure and film folding method

Abstract

An orderly folding retraction tooling for a large-size planar film structure, comprising a tooling structural support frame (1), an outer-film auxiliary support rod, a guiding device, a pulling device, and fold-line forming plates. The fold-line forming plates are configured, when a film is being folded, to be inserted into fold-line holes (12) provided on a lower film support plate (2) and an upper film support plate (3), enabling the film to fold. All the fold-line forming plates are sequentially inserted to realize the formation of fold lines on a large-size planar film, and then the upper film support plate and the fold-line forming plates are sequentially removed to complete folding and pressing of the large-size planar film, thereby solving the problem of difficulty in forming fold lines and maintaining the positions during folding of a large-size film structure. Further provided is a film folding method.

Description

Large-size planar thin film structure orderly folding storage tool and thin film folding method TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the technical field of large-size thin film processing tool, and particularly relates to a large-size planar thin film folding auxiliary tool design method, which can be used for the auxiliary folding of a large-size high polymer material thin film structure. BACKGROUND

[0002] The high polymer material thin film structure has the advantages of light weight, high strength and low cost, and is widely used in aerospace large-size space deployable structures. In order to facilitate the deployment and transportation of large-size planar thin film structures, the large-size thin film structure generally needs to be reduced in size by winding or folding.

[0003] Through reasonable design of the folding mode of the large-size planar thin film structure in space, the compliant and tear-free deployment of the large-size thin film structure can be realized, and the structural and functional integrity of the thin film is ensured. The envelope diameter of the commonly used large-size thin film structure in space is more than 1m, and the storage ratio is more than 5, which requires complex fold design and distribution. Due to the strength and flatness requirements of the thin film structure, the surface of the large-size high polymer thin film structure cannot be processed by cutting or bending to form folds.

[0004] The existing fold structure of the large-size planar thin film structure in space usually adopts the form of film surface marking or pasting back plate, which realizes the construction of the thin film fold by making differences in the thickness direction of the thin film. The film surface marking method will affect the strength of the thin film structure, and is not suitable for scenes requiring large tension or high film surface thickness. The pasting back plate method will affect the weight and stiffness characteristics of the thin film structure, which has a more obvious negative impact on large-size thin films. The large-size thin film has larger geometric size and more fold design, so more back plates are needed to construct the folds, which is not conducive to improving the structural reliability, reducing the launch quality and assembly process complexity. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application provides a design method for large-size planar thin film structure orderly folding storage tool. For large-size thin film structures with high storage ratio, orderly folding storage is an important means to realize the compliant deployment of the thin film and avoid tearing of the thin film during deployment.

[0006] A fixture for the orderly folding and storage of large-size planar thin-film structures includes: a fixture structure support frame; a thin-film support plate assembly, including a lower thin-film support plate and an upper thin-film support plate; a thin film located between the lower and upper thin-film support plates of the thin-film support plate assembly, with the inner end of the thin film fixed to the inner end of the thin-film support plate assembly; crease holes designed according to the thin film crease pattern on the lower and upper thin-film support plates; an outer auxiliary support rod for fixing the outer end of the thin film; a guide device connected to the outer auxiliary support rod for moving the outer auxiliary support rod along the folding direction; a pulling device connected to the guide device for applying a flattening pulling force to the thin film to be folded; and a crease construction plate for folding the thin film by inserting it into the crease holes provided on the lower and upper thin-film support plates.

[0007] The guiding device includes a slider and a slide rail, with the slider mounted on the slide rail; the slide rail is fixed to the tooling structure support frame; and the outer auxiliary support rod of the membrane is mounted on the slider.

[0008] A support rod connecting plate is provided on the slider; the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is fixed on the support rod connecting plate.

[0009] The pulling device includes a fixed pulley, a traction rope, and a weight block; one end of the traction rope is connected to the slider, and the other end of the traction rope is connected to the weight block.

[0010] The crease holes in the lower and upper support plates of the film are made according to the crease position when the annular film is folded inward by 50% radially. The upper support plate is made with reference to the peak crease, and the lower support plate is made with reference to the valley crease. Among them, the Miura crease hole is V-shaped, and the opening angle and opening length are referenced to the innermost Miura crease peak crease. The Z-shaped crease hole is I-shaped, and the opening length is designed according to the length of the peak crease and valley crease at the corresponding position of each crease in the 50% fold state.

[0011] The tooling support frame provides structural support for the auxiliary tooling used in folding large-size planar films. The lower film support plate, upper film support plate, slide rails, and fixed pulleys are mounted on the tooling support frame. The tooling support frame is constructed from 4040 aluminum alloy profiles. The total height of the tooling support frame is approximately 1.4m, ensuring that the lower film support plate is more than 1.2m above the ground. The upper film support plate is suspended from the tooling support frame to avoid the tooling affecting the film folding process. Hand operating space is provided above the tooling support frame for installing the folding structure plate on the upper film support plate.

[0012] The film is supported by the inner edge of the film lower support plate and the outer auxiliary support rod of the film, the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is connected with the support rod connecting plate and the sliding block, the support rod connecting plate is connected with the weight block through the nylon rope around the fixed pulley, the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is moved along the slide rail under the gravity of the weight block, and the film is provided with outward flattening force.

[0013] The film lower support plate and the film upper support plate are provided with crease holes designed according to the film creases, and the orderly construction of the creases of the large-size planar film structure can be realized by sequentially inserting the crease construction plates into the crease holes. The film lower support plate and the film upper support plate are made of polymer materials, the surface is provided with weight reduction holes, and the two sides of the crease holes are provided with mounting holes matched with the detachable magnetic blocks of the crease construction plates and are installed with magnetic materials.

[0014] The crease construction plate is made of polymer materials, one side of the crease construction plate is provided with a handle, the installation and disassembly of the crease construction plate are facilitated, and the two ends of the handle side of the crease construction plate are designed with detachable magnetic blocks, and the installation of the crease construction plate is completed through the magnetic force between the magnetic materials in the crease holes of the film lower support plate and the film upper support plate.

[0015] The outer shape of the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is the same as the shape of the outer edge of the film, which is composed of six Z-crease area rods and 24 Miura-crease area rods, and the rods are connected through hinges composed of bolts and bearings. The length of the six Z-crease area rods is 700mm, which is the constraint size designed for the film creases. The 24 Miura-crease area rods are installed in groups of four on each side of the outer ring hexagon of the film, and the length is 4 equal parts of the side length of the outer ring hexagon of the film. During the film crease construction process, the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is pulled outward along the slide rail to flatten the film under the traction of the weight block, and when the film construction plate is inserted into the film lower support plate and the film upper support plate, the film moves inward due to the generation of creases, and the outer auxiliary support rod of the film is folded inward along the radial direction of the film according to the film crease design through manual operation, and the movement and folding of the outer auxiliary support rod of the film along the slide rail and the shape of the outer edge of the film are completed.

[0016] Since the film creases are Miura creases and Z creases connected alternately in the circumferential direction, during the film crease construction process, the six Z-crease area rods drive the film at their respective positions to fold along the radial direction, and the four Miura-crease area rods on each side of the outer ring hexagon of the film fold in a “W” shape, and the central ridge line is outwardly protruded along the radial direction while receiving the outer film.

[0017] The outer auxiliary support rod of the film, the support rod connecting plate and the sliding block are connected through bolts, which are used to realize the shape retention and flattening ability of the outer auxiliary support rod of the film to the outer edge of the film.

[0018] The simulation and test results of the flattening force during the reference film unwinding process of the weight block suggest that the value is 0.1 kg to 0.5 kg.

[0019] The large-size planar film folding auxiliary tool is applied to the crease construction process of a large-size planar film structure. The film has the following characteristics: a hexagonal annular film structure is used, the hexagon of the inner ring of the annular film structure is rotated by 30° clockwise compared with the hexagon of the outer ring, and the creases in the annular film are composed of Miura creases and Z creases which are connected alternately along the circumferential direction. The crease holes in the lower support plate and the upper support plate of the film are punched according to the crease positions when the annular film is folded radially inward by 50%. The upper support plate of the film is punched with reference to the peak crease, and the lower support plate of the film is punched with reference to the valley crease. The shape of the Miura crease hole is "V", and the hole angle and length are referenced to the peak crease of the innermost Miura crease. The shape of the Z crease hole is "one", and the hole length is designed according to the length of the peak crease and the valley crease corresponding to the position of each ring of creases under the condition of 50% folding.

[0020] The crease construction plate needs to be matched with the crease holes of the upper support plate and the lower support plate of the film. The shape and length of the Miura crease construction plate are uniform, and the length of the Z crease construction plate needs to be designed individually according to the installation position.

[0021] The folding process of the large-size planar film structure is as follows: first, the inner edge of the large-size planar film structure is bonded and fixed to the inner edge of the lower support plate of the film, and the outer edge of the large-size planar film structure is bonded and fixed to the surface of the auxiliary support rod. Under the gravity traction of the weight block, the auxiliary support rod moves along the slide rail to the outside of the annular film to flatten the film structure. Then, when folding the film, the Z crease construction plate and the Miura crease construction plate of the innermost ring of the annular film are inserted downward from the lower support plate of the film, and then the corresponding Z crease construction plate and Miura crease construction plate are inserted from the inside to the outside of the annular film structure in turn. Each time a ring of crease construction plates is inserted, the film structure needs to be arranged, and the process is repeated until all the crease construction work is completed.

[0022] After the crease construction of the large-size planar film structure is completed, the Z crease construction plate and the Miura crease construction plate installed on the upper support plate and the lower support plate of the film are removed from the outside to the inside of the annular film structure in turn. Each time a ring of crease construction plates is removed, the creases in this ring need to be arranged, and the auxiliary support rod on the outside of the film is pulled inward to compress the pre-folded film structure. After the compression of all the creases is completed, the upper support plate of the film is removed, and the folding of the large-size planar film structure is completed.

[0023] The crease structure plate needs to be matched with the crease holes of the upper and lower film support plates. The Miura crease hole opening shape is "V" shape, and the opening angle and length are referenced to the innermost circle Miura crease peak crease, so the shape and length of the Miura crease structure plate are uniform. The Z-shaped crease hole opening shape is "one" shape, and the opening length is designed according to the length of the peak and valley creases corresponding to each circle of creases in the 50% folded state, so the length of the Z-shaped crease structure plate needs to be designed one by one according to the installation position.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0025] By using large-size plane folding auxiliary tooling, the film structure tensioning work, the film structure crease structure work, and the film structure folding and pressing work can be sequentially carried out, which greatly reduces the difficulty and cost of large-size film structure crease structure, improves the accuracy of the crease structure position, and improves the efficiency of large-size plane film structure crease structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool structure.

[0027] Fig. 2 is a partial side view of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool.

[0028] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a partial structure of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool.

[0029] Fig. 4 is a partial schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool stretching and flattening mechanism.

[0030] Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool film outer side auxiliary support rod unfolding.

[0031] Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool film outer side auxiliary support rod folding.

[0032] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool upper film support plate structure.

[0033] Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool Z-shaped crease structure plate structure.

[0034] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of a large-size plane film structure orderly folding and storing tool Miura crease structure plate structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The application provides a design method of an orderly folding storage tool for large-size planar thin film structure.

[0036] The application provides the orderly folding storage tool for large-size planar thin film structure, which comprises a tool structure support frame 1, a lower thin film support plate 2, an upper thin film support plate 3, a Z-shaped crease structure plate 4, an outer thin film auxiliary support rod 5, a support rod connecting plate 6, a fixed pulley 7, a sliding block 8, a sliding rail 9, a weight block 10 and a Miura crease structure plate 11.

[0037] The tool structure support frame 1 is used for providing structural support of the large-size planar thin film folding auxiliary tool, and the lower thin film support plate 2, the upper thin film support plate 3, the fixed pulley 7 and the sliding rail 9 are installed on the tool structure support frame 1. The tool structure support frame 1 is installed by using 4040 aluminum alloy profiles. The total height of the tool structure support frame 1 is about 1.4 m, so that the height of the lower thin film support plate 2 from the ground is greater than 1.2 m, and the upper thin film support plate 3 is installed on the tool structure support frame 1 in a hanging manner, so as to avoid the influence of the tool on the folding process of the thin film. A hand operation space is reserved above the tool structure support frame 1 for installing the Z-shaped crease structure plate 4 and the Miura crease structure plate 11 from above the upper thin film support plate 3.

[0038] The thin film is fixed on the inner edge of the lower thin film support plate 2 and the outer thin film auxiliary support rod 5, the outer thin film auxiliary support rod 5 is connected with the support rod connecting plate 6 and the sliding block 8, the support rod connecting plate 6 is connected with the weight block 10 by winding a nylon rope around the fixed pulley 7, and the movement of the outer thin film auxiliary support rod 5 along the sliding rail 9 under the gravity of the weight block 10 is realized, so as to provide the thin film with an outward flattening force.

[0039] The lower thin film support plate 2 and the upper thin film support plate 3 are provided with crease holes 12 according to the crease design of the thin film, and the Z-shaped crease structure plate 4 and the Miura crease structure plate 11 are sequentially inserted into the crease holes 12, so as to realize the orderly construction of the creases of the large-size planar thin film structure. The lower thin film support plate 2 and the upper thin film support plate 3 are made of a polymer material, and the surface is provided with weight reduction holes 13. The two sides of the crease holes 12 are provided with mounting holes 15 matched with the detachable magnetic blocks 14 on the Z-shaped crease structure plate 4 and the Miura crease structure plate 11 and are installed with magnetic materials.

[0040] The Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 are made of a polymer material, and one side of the Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 is provided with a handle, so that the Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 are convenient to install and disassemble, and the handle side of the Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 is designed with detachable magnetic blocks 14, and the installation of the Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 is completed through the magnetic force between the magnetic material in the folding hole of the lower film supporting plate 2 and the upper film supporting plate 3.

[0041] The outer shape of the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 is the same as the shape of the outer edge of the film. The film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 is composed of 6 Z-folding area rods 16 and 24 Miura-folding area rods 17, and the rod members are connected through hinges composed of bolts and bearings; 4 rods of the 24 Miura-folding area rods 17 are installed in each side of the outer circle hexagon of the film as a group, and the length is 4 equal parts of the length of the side of the outer circle hexagon of the film; one Z-folding area rod 16 is arranged on each sliding block, and one group of Miura-folding area rods 17 are hinged between the adjacent two Z-folding area rods 16; during the folding process of the film, the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 is pulled out along the sliding rail 9 by the heavy block 8 to flatten the film, and when the Z-folding structure plate 4 and the Miura folding structure plate 11 are inserted into the lower film supporting plate 2 and the upper film supporting plate 3, the film drives the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 to move inward due to the generation of the folding, and the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 is folded inward along the radial direction of the film by artificial folding according to the film folding design, so as to complete the movement and folding of the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 along the sliding rail 9 and the shape of the outer edge of the film.

[0042] Since the film folding is the Miura folding and the Z-folding which are connected alternately in the circumferential direction, during the folding process of the film, the 6 Z-folding area rods drive the film at the respective positions to fold along the radial direction Z, and the 4 Miura-folding area rods on each side of the outer circle hexagon of the film fold in the "W" shape, and the central ridge line is outwardly protruded along the radial direction while receiving the outer side film after cooperating with the Miura-folding.

[0043] The film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5, the supporting rod connecting plate 6 and the sliding block 8 are connected through bolts, so as to realize the shape preserving and flattening ability of the film outer side auxiliary supporting rod 5 to the outer edge of the film.

[0044] The mass of the heavy block 10 is referred to the flattening force simulation and test results in the film unfolding process, and is suggested to be 0.1 kg-0.5 kg.

[0045] The large size plane film folding auxiliary tool is applied to the crease construction process of a large size plane film structure. The film has the following characteristics: a hexagonal annular film structure is used, the hexagon of the inner ring of the annular film structure is rotated by 30° clockwise compared with the hexagon of the outer ring, and the creases in the annular film are composed of Miura creases and Z creases which are connected alternately along the circumferential direction. The crease holes 12 in the lower film supporting plate 2 and the upper film supporting plate 3 matched with the Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 are punched according to the crease position when the annular film is folded inward by 50% along the radial direction. The upper film supporting plate 3 is punched according to the peak crease, and the lower film supporting plate 2 is punched according to the valley crease. The Miura crease hole is punched in the shape of "V", the hole angle and the hole length are referred to the peak crease of the Miura crease of the innermost ring of the film, and the Z crease hole is punched in the shape of "one", the hole length is designed according to the length of the peak crease and the valley crease corresponding to the position of each ring crease when the film is folded inward by 50%.

[0046] The Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 need to be matched with the crease holes 12 of the upper film supporting plate 3 and the lower film supporting plate 2. The shape and length of the Miura crease construction plate 11 are uniform, and the length of the Z crease construction plate 4 needs to be designed individually according to the crease holes 12 of the installation position.

[0047] The folding process of the large size plane film structure is as follows: first, fix the large size plane film structure on the surface of the lower film supporting plate 2 and the outer auxiliary supporting rod 5 of the film, and realize the flattening of the film structure under the gravity traction of the weight block 10. When starting to fold the film, first insert the Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 of the innermost peak crease of the annular ring downward on the lower film supporting plate 2, then install the Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 of the next valley crease, and then install the Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 of the next peak crease. By inserting the Z crease construction plate 4 and the Miura crease construction plate 11 of the corresponding position in turn above the upper film supporting plate 3 and below the lower film supporting plate 2, the construction of all creases is completed.

[0048] After the large size planar thin film structure fold line construction is completed, the Z-shaped fold line construction plate 4 and the Miura fold line construction plate 11 of the outermost circle of valley fold lines of the annular thin film structure need to be removed first, after the circle of valley fold lines is arranged, the thin film outer side auxiliary support rod 5 is used to fold in and compress the circle of valley fold line thin film structure. The Z-shaped fold line construction plate 4 and the Miura fold line construction plate 11 of the next circle of peak fold lines are removed inward, similarly, after the circle of peak fold lines is arranged, the thin film outer side auxiliary support rod 5 is used to fold in and compress the folded circle of peak fold line thin film structure. Then, the Z-shaped fold line construction plate 4 and the Miura fold line construction plate 11 are removed from outside to inside in sequence, and after each circle of Z-shaped fold line construction plate 4 and Miura fold line construction plate 11 is removed, the circle of fold lines is arranged and the folded circle of thin film structure is folded in and compressed by the thin film outer side auxiliary support rod 5. After the compression of all the fold lines is completed, the thin film upper support plate 3 is removed, and the folding of the large size planar thin film structure is completed.

Claims

1. A large size planar thin film structure orderly folding and storing tool, characterized in that, The utility model relates to a kind of thin film folding device, including: Tooling structure support frame, film support plate group, be set on the tooling structure support frame, film support plate group includes film lower support plate and film upper support plate; Film is located between the film lower support plate and the film upper support plate of film support plate group, and the inner end of film is fixed in the inner end of film support plate group;Film lower support plate and film upper support plate are opened with crease hole according to film crease design;Film outer side auxiliary support rod is used to fix the outer end of film; Guiding device is connected with the film outer side auxiliary support rod, so that the film outer side auxiliary support rod is moved in folding direction; Pulling device is connected with the guiding device, and is used to exert flattening pulling force on the film to be folded; Crease structure plate is used to make film fold in the crease hole provided on film lower support plate and film upper support plate.

2. The large-size planar thin film structure facing order folding storage tool according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guiding device includes a sliding block and a sliding rail, the sliding block is arranged on the sliding rail, the sliding rail is fixed on the tooling structure support frame, and the film outer side auxiliary support rod is arranged on the sliding block.

3. The large-size planar thin film structure facing order folding storage tool according to claim 2, characterized in that, A support rod connecting plate is arranged on the sliding block, and the film outer side auxiliary support rod is fixed on the support rod connecting plate.

4. The large-size planar thin film structure oriented folding and storing tooling according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pulling device includes a fixed pulley, a pulling rope and a weight block, one end of the pulling rope is connected with the sliding block, and the other end of the pulling rope is connected with the weight block.

5. The large size planar thin film structure oriented folding and storing tooling according to claim 1, wherein, Crease holes on both sides are provided with mounting holes matched with detachable magnetic blocks of the crease structure plate and magnetic materials are installed.

6. The large size planar thin film structure facing order folding storage tool according to claim 1, wherein, The film outer side auxiliary support rod has the same shape as the outer edge of the film.

7. The film outboard assist support rod of claim 6, wherein, The film outer side auxiliary support rod is composed of six Z-fold area rods and 24 Miura-fold area rods, and the rods are connected through hinges composed of bolts and bearings; every four of the 24 Miura-fold area rods are installed on each side of the outer circle hexagon of the film as a group, and the length is 1 / 4 of the length of the side of the outer circle hexagon; one Z-fold area rod is arranged on each sliding block, and one group of Miura-fold area rods is hingedly connected between two adjacent Z-fold area rods; during the film crease construction, the film outer side auxiliary support rod is pulled outward along the sliding rail to flatten the film under the traction of the weight block, and when the film crease plate is inserted into the film lower support plate and the film upper support plate, the film moves inward due to the generation of the crease, and the film outer side auxiliary support rod is folded inward along the radial direction of the film by artificial folding according to the film crease design, to complete the movement and folding of the film outer side auxiliary support rod along the sliding rail and the shape of the outer edge of the film.

8. The large size planar thin film structure facing order folding storage tool according to claim 1, wherein, The crease holes in the film lower support plate and the film upper support plate are opened according to the crease positions when the annular film is folded inward by 50%, the film upper support plate is opened with reference to the peak crease, and the film lower support plate is opened with reference to the valley crease; wherein, the Miura crease hole is opened in the shape of "V", and the opening angle and length are the same as those of the peak crease of the innermost circle Miura crease, and the Z-fold crease hole is opened in the shape of "I", and the opening length is designed according to the length of the peak crease and the valley crease corresponding to the position of each circle crease in the 50% folded state.

9. The method of folding a thin film according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein the method is characterized in that, The to-be-folded film is fixed between the film support plate group and the film outer side auxiliary support rod; the fixed to-be-folded film is flattened through the pulling device; all peak fold structure plates of the Miura fold and the Z-shaped fold located in the annular innermost side are inserted in the downward direction of the lower film support plate, and then the fold structure plates of the Miura fold and the Z-shaped fold corresponding to the positions above the upper film support plate and below the lower film support plate are sequentially inserted in turn, until all the fold structure work is completed.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein: After the fold structure of the large-size planar film structure is completed, the fold structure plates installed on the upper film support plate and the lower film support plate are sequentially removed from the outer ring to the inner ring in turn, each time a circle of fold structure plates is removed, the folds in the circle are arranged and the pre-folded film structure is inwardly gathered and compressed through the film outer side auxiliary support rod; after the compression of all the folds is completed, the large-size planar film structure folding is completed by removing the upper film support plate.

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