Payload Locking Mechanism With Segmented Pivot Latches
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for the solvable attachment of payloads to carriers in space travel lack sufficient functional reliability, leading to potential failures in payload release mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A device with a locking unit featuring a movable locking mechanism between locking and release positions, coupled with a triggering element that translates to move the locking mechanism between positions, ensuring reliable attachment and release of payloads.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a locking mechanism with pivoting bolts and grooves is used to secure payload to carrier, then the attachment strength is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into multiple independent pivoting bolts that can operate separately, with each bolt providing individual locking action. This segmentation allows the system to achieve high attachment strength through multiple contact points while maintaining manageable complexity by using simple, repeatable units
Solution Approach 2:
The pivoting bolts are positioned to engage with grooves in a nested configuration, where the bolts rotate within a defined space to lock into the grooves. This nesting approach maximizes the locking capability within a compact structure, improving attachment strength without proportionally increasing device complexity
2Adaptability or versatility
If a release mechanism is added to enable payload detachment, then the operational versatility is improved, but the reliability of the release process deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The release function is extracted as a separate, dedicated mechanism that acts on the locking bolts independently. The release element can disengage the pivoting bolts from their locked position without affecting the locking structure itself, allowing versatile payload detachment while maintaining the reliability of the original locking mechanism
Solution Approach 2:
A release element serves as an intermediary component between the control system and the locking bolts. This mediator translates release commands into mechanical action on the pivoting bolts, providing a reliable and controlled release process that does not compromise the integrity of the locking mechanism
3Reliability
If the locking mechanism is made permanently coupled to the carrier, then the attachment reliability is improved, but the ease of repair deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is segmented into modular components (locking unit, mounting base, trigger element) that can be independently accessed and replaced. This modularity allows the locking mechanism to be permanently coupled to the carrier for high reliability, while individual components can be easily replaced for repair without replacing the entire assembly
Data Source
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AI summary
A device for releasably fastening a payload to a beam comprises a locking unit having a locking mechanism movable between a locking position and a release position, a mounting base with a locking bolt provided at least partially with parallel grooves, wherein the locking mechanism has several pivot latches which, in the locking position, lock the locking bolt in the area of the grooves, and a release element which is exclusively translationally displaceable and is coupled to the pivot latches.