RU209609U1 - Device for holding and releasing transformable structural elements - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to space technology, namely to devices for holding and releasing transformable structural elements of a spacecraft in the CubeSat format. installed on the stationary part. The lever contains a spherical recess, and the stationary part - a groove having a radius nominally equal to the radius of the spherical part of the retained element. A spring is located between the lever and the stationary part. The sensor is mounted on a fixed element of the spacecraft structure, containing a stationary part. The holding element also includes a transition lever connected by a screw to the lever. The utility model is aimed at improving the reliability of the device operation due to the stable retention and controlled release of the transformable elements of the spacecraft structure during normal and technological operation.

Description

Technical field

The utility model relates to space technology, namely to devices for holding and releasing transformable structural elements of a spacecraft (SC) of the CubeSat format.

State of the art

At present, high-precision equipment is used in modern spacecraft, as well as highly efficient designs of power supply systems (PSS) that are sensitive to shock. In this regard, there is a need to create mechanical devices for holding and releasing the moving elements of the spacecraft structure with a reduced impact during operation. The priority task in this case is the reliability of the connection and operation of these devices.

Thus, the following solutions known from the prior art are aimed at improving reliability.

Known detachable connection contains installed in the abutting surfaces of the panels two half-body with a rigidly fixed pin and a swivel hook with a working curved surface. The swivel hook is fixed in the open position with a locating pin, and the surfaces of the panels to be joined are pulled together by an eccentric mechanism. As a result, the reliability of the connection is increased (RU 2399800 C1, publication date 09/20/2010, F16B 2/18, E05B 65/00 (2006.01)).

A locking device is known (RU 2753015 C1, publication date 08/11/2021, F16B 2/18, B64G 1/22) containing a bracket, a lever, a tightening element, a spring. The tightening element is made in the form of a rod, fixed on one side on the mounting ball bearing. The threaded part of the fastener is mounted on the retained structural element. The other side of the spherical shape of the rod is placed in the cup of the bracket and in the transport position is drawn in by a hook. The hook is connected by one axis to the lever link, and by the other axis to the bracket. The lever is mounted on an axis passing through the center of the spiral spring and the rib of the bracket. A ball tip of a cable holding the system of locking devices is installed in the recess of the lever arm.

From RU 2121947 C1 (publication date 20.11.1998, B64G 1/22 (2006.01) B64G 1/44 (2006.01) a holder is known, having a crank arm with a crank and a connecting rod, as well as a shoe and an actuator, equipped with an additional lever based on the shoe and pressed to it by a spring connected to the support base, while the axis of rotation of the block lies in the plane of rotation of the additional lever, the block is made in the form of a cam, the supporting surface of the additional lever has a stop interacting with the lever along the thread, and the support base is a body having fasteners for docking with the product, as well as a cradle for the fixed structure and a spring pusher in the form of a support base for the cradle, designed for breaking and escorting until the structure leaves the cradle after turning the additional lever when the holder is triggered.

A device for fixing the hinge assembly is known, which is a hinge assembly with swivel parts. On one of them, a fixing element is installed in the form of a hook fixed on the axis, spring-loaded by a spring. The hard stop interacting with the second part is installed with eccentricity relative to the axis of rotation of the hinge assembly. An axis is fixed on the second part with the possibility of interaction with the inner side of the hook. The hook is made with an angle ϕ between its surface (A) in contact with the given axis and the plane passing through the point of this contact and the axis of rotation of the hinge assembly. This angle satisfies the condition ϕ≤arctgμ, where μ is the minimum coefficient of friction at the point of contact between the axle and the hook. The hook, under the action of a spring, presses on the axis and, due to the angle ϕ, creates a force in direction B, which achieves the choice of backlashes in the joints of the hinge assembly. The reverse movement of the part relative to the part and the re-occurrence of backlash are excluded due to the constant position of the hook relative to the axis due to the friction between them. The technical result of the invention is to increase the reliability of the hinge assembly at low opening speeds of rotary structures and to maintain the rigidity of the opened structure when exposed to external loads exceeding the calculated ones (RU 2368544 C1, publication date 27.09.2009, B64G 1/22, F16B 9/02).

A device for fixing the hinge assembly is known (RU 2657811 C1 publication date 06/15/2018, B64G 1/22, F16B 9/02, F16C 11/10). The device is a swivel assembly with swivel parts. On one of them, a fixing element is installed in the form of a hook fixed on the axis, spring-loaded by a spring. The hard stop interacting with the second part is installed with eccentricity relative to the axis of rotation of the hinge assembly. On the second part, an axis is fixed with the possibility of interacting with the inner side of the hook, while the second part is connected to the third one, with the possibility of rotation and subsequent fixation of the third part relative to the second one in a predetermined position using a latch that provides adjustment of the angular position of the device. EFFECT: invention provides the possibility of adjusting the angular position of the deployable elements of the hinge assembly without loss of reliability of the hinge assembly locking when exposed to external loads.

RU 2232702 C2 (publication date 20.07.2004, B64G 1/22, B64G 1/44) describes a locking and unlocking mechanism, which has an executive body containing a wire with a memory effect. Its free end holds the end of the twisted stretched wire blocking the holder. The holder is made in the form of segments held by a wire from divergence under the force of a mechanical spring. A threaded fixed element (pin) is installed in the threaded hole formed by the segments. When the temperature rises due to heating (for example, electric) wire, its free end is shortened and comes out of the hole formed by the end of the stretched wire. As a result, the wire releases the holder so that the segments move apart under the force of the spring and release the pin. According to the invention, the technical result of the invention is to create a structurally simple device with low power consumption, which must ensure reliable operation.

The presented analysis allows us to judge that in the devices of retention and release, reliability is achieved by developers with different technical solutions, and reliability is understood as a complex property, which, depending on the purpose of the object and the conditions of its use, can include reliability, maintainability, recoverability, durability, and persistence. , readiness or certain combinations of these properties.

The closest analogue is the device according to patent RU 2733303 C1 (publication date 01.10.2020, B64G 1/64). The invention discloses an aerospace retainer that includes a projecting piece on a movable element and a fitting attached to the fixed element. The fitting contains two spring-loaded rotary elements installed in it. The first rotational element, when fixed, falls into the recessed part of the protruding part of the movable element. The second rotational element is a bracket, the axis of rotation of which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the first element. There are two stops. The first stop interacting with the protruding part of the movable element during fixation is made in the form of an adjustable screw screwed into the bracket and fixed with a lock nut. The second stop, which interacts with the electric switch when fixed, is made in the form of a spring-loaded rod mounted on a bracket on the opposite side of the adjustable screw. The invention achieves an increase in the reliability of the operation of the device.

The main disadvantages of this device are:

- creation of additional parasitic resistance on the protruding part (retained element) 1 due to the force generated by the rotational elements (retaining element) 5 and 6;

- uneven force from the holding elements (brackets), which leads to pressing the protruding part against one of the walls of the fitting (stationary part) 3, which creates additional resistance to the movement of the protruding part;

- fixation of the retained element from translational movement in only one direction;

- the operation of the electrical switch (sensor, confirming the fact of operation) 11 creates a constant parasitic (preventing the operation of the device) effect on the retained element.

Utility Model Disclosure

The claimed utility model is aimed at solving the disadvantages of the prototype, namely

- exclusion of the response time of the device of constant parasitic force on the retained element from the side of the device;

- reduction of resistance to movement of the retained element during the operation of the device;

- ensuring the implementation of technological operation that does not require a regular operation of the device.

technical result, achieved during the implementation of the utility model, is to increase the reliability of the operation of the device. Reliability of operation of the device is expressed in stable retention and controlled release of the transformable elements of the spacecraft structure during normal and technological operation.

The technical result is achieved due to the fact that in the device for holding and releasing the transformable elements of the spacecraft structure, including the holding and held elements, as well as the sensor, what is new is that the holding element includes a lever mounted on the stationary part. The lever contains a spherical recess, and the stationary part - a groove having a radius nominally equal to the radius of the spherical part of the retained element. A spring is located between the lever and the stationary part. The sensor is installed on a fixed structural element KA 12, containing a stationary part 1. The holding element also includes a transition lever 3 connected by a screw to the lever 2

The claimed technical solution is illustrated by the drawings below.

Brief description of the drawings

Figures 1-4 illustrate the claimed device for holding and releasing the transformable structural elements of the spacecraft of the CubeSat type.

Figure 1 - main view;

figure 2 - section A-A;

figure 3 - section B-B

figure 4 - General view.

Referring to figures 1-4, the holding and release device consists of a bracket 1, which is a stationary part, on which a lever 2 and a transition lever 3 are installed through the axis 4, which act as a holding element and are fixed on the axis by means of a nut 5. The lever 2 and the transition lever 3 are interconnected by a screw 6.

On the lever 2 and the stationary part 1, a spherical recess 7 and a groove 8 are made, respectively. The spherical recess 7 and the groove 8 have a radius nominally equal to the radius of the spherical part of the retained element 9 clamped between the stationary part 1 and the lever 2. This ensures a tight clamp.

The retained element 9 is provided with an axis with a thread made on it for connection with a transformable element (not shown in Fig.) of the spacecraft structure, which is thus held by the device during the time of transporting the spacecraft to the target orbit.

As a transformable structural element of the spacecraft, for example, transformable umbrella-type antennas, transformable panels with solar cells, etc. are used, which is obvious to a specialist from the prior art. The transformable element after launching into the target orbit changes its geometric characteristics or positions relative to the spacecraft body.

Lever 2 has a hook 10 designed to engage an initiating device (not shown in Fig.), which, for example, is made in the form of an initiating element fixed on the SC body and a holding thread, one end of which can be hooked on the hook 10, and the second is fixed on the initiating element of the initiating device.

The initiating device consists of a thread and an initiating element. The thread is fixed at one end to the hook, and at the other end to the initiating element of the initiating device.

A spring 11 is installed between the stationary part 1 and the lever 2. The stationary part 1 is mounted on a fixed structural element of the spacecraft 12. The design also includes a sensor 13 involved in the process of releasing the retained element 9, which is also fixed on the structural element of the spacecraft 12.

The proposed design of the device provides fixation of the retained element 9 from linear movement in three mutually perpendicular directions, as well as the absence of additional (parasitic) force by the retaining element during the release of the retained element, and the sensor 13 does not create a parasitic effect on the retained element 9, since it is made on a fixed element design KA 1 and starts to work only after the complete release of the retained element.

Parasitic force - a force that prevents the movement of the structural elements of the latch in the direction of actuation, that is, actually preventing the operation of the device.

The transition lever 3 is designed to ensure the technological actuation of the device without the need to actuate the initiating device through the retaining thread 11, namely, by disconnecting the lever 3 from the lever 2 by unscrewing the screw 6. That is, in fact, the technological operation makes it possible to operate the inventive device without supplying a control signal for operation from the onboard network of the spacecraft, which ensures the reliability of the device even in the event of a malfunction of the initiating device, since it will not be necessary to spend time on additional operations to replace, repair or configure the initiating device.

Implementation of the utility model

Further, the operation of the device during normal and technological operation is disclosed.

Regular actuation is actuation of the device directly by a signal from the onboard network of the spacecraft, namely from the initiating device. The initiating device is not part of the design of the claimed device and is used in the descriptive part only for a general understanding of the functioning of the device as part of the spacecraft, that is, a normal operation is a response that is fully consistent with the operation of the device during standard operation of the spacecraft.

Technological actuation is the operation of the device without using signals from the onboard network of the spacecraft (the provided option is without the initiating device), that is, for the purposes of various technological operations, such as checking the operation during device setup, spacecraft testing, etc.

During normal operation, the device operates as follows.

When a control signal is applied to the initiating device, the lever 2 is released. The lever 2, under the action of the force from the spring 11, rotates, thereby releasing the retained element 9, after which the transformable element of the spacecraft structure can open. At the end of the stroke (turn) of lever 2, sensor 13 is triggered by pressing the sensor bracket with lever 2. releasing the retained element by the retainer.

Technological operation of the device is carried out as follows. When the screw 6 is unscrewed from the transition lever 3, the lever 2 is released, that is, it is actually disconnected from the initiating device, which allows the lever 2 to turn under the action of the spring 11, thereby releasing the retained element 9, making it possible to open the transformable element of the spacecraft structure.

Thus, the technical result is achieved due to:

- the absence of parasitic resistance (force) created by the holding elements, namely, since the spring located between the lever 2 and the stationary part 1 creates a force in the direction of the device operation;

- the absence of parasitic resistance (force) created by the sensor, because its operation begins after the retained element is completely released, since its separate location on the spacecraft structural element provides the condition for its operation (pressing lever 2 on the sensor bracket) after the retained element is released;

- making a spherical recess 7 in the lever 2 and a groove 8 in the stationary part 1 having a radius nominally equal to the radius of the spherical part of the retained element 9, which, when the retained element 9 is clamped between the stationary part 1 and the lever 2, together, make it possible to ensure the fixation of the retained element in three mutually perpendicular directions;

- ensuring the possibility of carrying out a technological actuation of the device that allows not to perform a regular actuation due to the separation of the lever 2 from the transition lever 3 by unscrewing the screw 6.

Claims (3)

1. A device for holding and releasing transformable structural elements of the spacecraft, including holding and holding elements, a sensor, characterized in that the holding element includes a lever (2) mounted on a stationary part (1), while the lever (2) contains a spherical recess (7 ), and the stationary part - a groove (8), having a radius nominally equal to the radius of the spherical part of the retained element (9), and between the lever (2) and the stationary part (1) there is a spring (11), and the sensor (13) is installed on fixed element of the spacecraft structure (12). 2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the holding element includes a transition lever (3) connected to the lever (2). 3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the lever (2) and the transition lever (3) are interconnected by a screw (6).

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