Geometric Locking Linkage for Shock-Free Component Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for releasably connecting components in aerospace applications, such as rocket launch vehicles, often face challenges in efficiently separating stages and payloads without causing damage or generating after-shocks, and require tangential or circumferential tension loads, which can lead to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A connection system featuring locking devices with multi-bar linkage assemblies and an actuator that transitions from a geometrically locked to an unlocked configuration by applying an unlocking force directly to the linkage elements, allowing for reversible connection and disconnection of components without breaking them, and utilizing a pyrotechnic system for rapid shape morphing to facilitate separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If pyrotechnic bolts are used to hold components together and explosively shear them for separation, then separation can be achieved, but damage and after-shocks may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the pyrotechnic explosive system with a mechanical linkage-based locking and release mechanism. The locking devices use bar linkages that can be mechanically actuated to release the clampband, eliminating the need for explosive charges and thereby preventing damage and after-shocks while still achieving rapid separation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a mechanical intermediary system consisting of locking devices with bar linkages that mediate between the actuation force and the clampband release. This intermediary mechanism allows controlled, non-explosive separation by translating actuation motion into linkage movement that releases the locking elements.
2Strength
If clampbands are used for temporarily joining components, then joining is achieved, but tangential or circumferential tension loads are required which can lead to inefficiencies and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional clampband design by replacing it with a locking device that uses bar linkages to create a geometrically locked configuration. Instead of relying on tangential tension loads to maintain the clamped relationship, the system uses the mechanical geometry of the linkages in an over-center position to provide inherent locking strength without requiring continuous tensile forces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the joining function into distinct components: the clampband provides the clamping force, while separate locking devices with bar linkages provide the geometric locking. This segmentation allows the locking mechanism to maintain the connection through its structural configuration rather than through tension loads on the clampband itself.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a mechanical locking system is used for separation, then damage is minimized, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the locking function and the release mechanism into an integrated system where the bar linkages serve both as structural elements that provide geometric locking and as the mechanism for controlled release. The actuator simply needs to move the linkages from their over-center locked position to their under-center released position, combining multiple functions into a unified structure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables secure and efficient separation of components while minimizing the risk of after-shocks and debris, allowing for precise clamping force adjustment and compatibility with various interface profiles, reducing manufacturing tolerances, and eliminating the need for tangential tension loads.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing a pyrotechnic system for rapid shape morphing to facilitate separation
Data Source
AI summary
A connection system is provided for releasably connecting a first component and a second component in a first direction parallel to a reference longitudinal axis, including one or more locking devices and an actuator. Each locking device has a geometrically locked configuration and an unlocked configuration. In the geometrically locked configuration the locking device is capable of reversibly geometrically locking together the first component and the second component in a mutually clamped relationship along the first direction, each locking device comprising at least two linkage elements pivotably mounted to one another about a common clamp axis. The actuator device is configured for transitioning each locking device from the geometrically locked configuration to the unlocked configuration by selectively applying to each respective locking device an unlocking force directly to the respective linkage elements at the respective common clamp axis, in a second direction parallel to a reference transverse axis.