JPH03178900A - Developing type structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to expandable and collapsible structures.

The present invention can be applied to a deployable space structure that is folded and stored in the cargo hold of a space transportation vehicle, transported to space, and then deployed and used there.
The unfolding operation is simple and easy, and it is convenient for pre-assembling wiring, piping, etc.

[Conventional technology]

We will list and discuss some representative examples of deployable structures that have been proposed and studied so far.

FIG. 6 shows a truss structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 123293/1983, which has a special purpose of freely deforming the truss form. In this structure, the truss member 16 is
They are combined to form a square, and each triangle is assembled into a truss shape. If this structure is considered as a type of deployable structure, four of the six diagonally extending truss members 16 are simply rotated at both ends, and the remaining two are expanded and contracted while being simply rotated at both ends. It can be stored and expanded. The number of joints is 12 rotary joints and 2 expansion joints, and the number of members involved in the storage and deployment movement is nine per compartment, and successive deployment is possible.

FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) show a truss structure disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-25634. This structure has two upper and lower
The book diagonal has a bending joint in the center, and both ends are connected to the stile by rotating joints. The four diagonal members of the pond are connected at one end to the frame member by a rotary joint, and at the other end by a rotary sliding joint that slides on the stringer member. For storage, the upper and lower diagonals can be folded up and the other diagonals' rotary sliding joints can be folded up by sliding them over the stringers.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

There are a large number of deployable structures that have been proposed so far, but surprisingly few have gone beyond the theoretical plans and become concrete. There are probably many other reasons for this, but the most critical issue is whether or not it is possible to really achieve smooth development as we think on paper. For example, in the structure shown in Figure 6, a total of 14 joints (12 rotations and 2 expansion/contraction joints per section) need to move uniformly, and 9 members can deploy synchronously. There is a risk that frictional forces or other irregularities may cause some members to move too far, straining other joints and causing the deployment motion to become stuck.

Everyone experiences on a daily basis that once a degree of fixation occurs, it is extremely difficult to recover from it. The example in Figure 7 uses a rotary sliding joint and is similar to the former in that it has fewer joints, but requires a complicated joint structure such as a bending joint and the fact that the direction of rotation of the rotary joint is not constant. do.

Therefore, the present invention can reduce the number of members involved in unfolding and folding for storage, can obtain smooth unfolding and folding operations that cannot be expected with conventional structures, and can be compactly stored. The purpose is to provide a deployable structure that can be

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention effectively uses rotary sliding joints to reduce the total number of joints, obviates the use of complex joints, and reduces the number of members involved in unfolding and folding, so that the unfolding and folding motions are improved compared to conventional structures. It's so smooth that it's hard to resist.
Therefore, the present invention provides a one-dimensional expandable structure that can be easily expanded and stored automatically and sequentially or simultaneously.

That is, the deployable structure of the present invention is based on a truss structure in which a plurality of frame members are connected by a plurality of stringers and one or more diagonal members. Both ends of the longerons are connected to the frame members by rotary joints whose rotation axes are all parallel. One end of the diagonal member is connected to one of the frame members through a rotary joint whose axis of rotation is parallel to the rotary joint. The other end of the diagonal member is a guide provided on the other frame member so as to extend in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction of the rotary joint within a plane formed by the other frame member and to be located in the center of the plane. means or means parallel to the stringer and both ends connected to one stile and the other stile via a rotating joint, the rotation axis of the joint is parallel to the rotation axis of both ends of the longeron, and the distance between the rotation axes is It is connected via a rotary sliding joint to the same guiding means as the stringer.

In another aspect of the invention, one end of the stringer is connected to one of the stile members by a rotary joint, and the other end is connected to the guiding means of the other stile by a rotary sliding joint.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the stringers each have equal lengths and the diagonals each have equal lengths.

[For production]

Expandable structure of the present invention: Since it is constructed as described above, the longitudinal members of the structure that are adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction are folded at the connection points with the frame members so that they overlap each other, and at this time, The storage state can be achieved by sliding the other end of the material along the guide means. This folding motion is a combination of rotation around parallel axes and simple sliding, so there is no risk of any hindrance to the motion.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1st
The figure shows an example of a structure in which simultaneous expansion and folding is performed. As shown in FIG. 1(a), the frame material 31 is formed by assembling three link materials 31a in a triangular shape. Adjacent triangular frame members 31 are connected by stringers 32 via rotary joints 3o at each vertex of the triangle. The rotation axes 30a of the rotary joint 3o are parallel to each other. A guide member 34 is attached to the central frame member 31, which connects one vertex to the center point of the opposite base and is perpendicular to the base. This guide member 34 is connected to the rotating shaft 30 of the rotary joint 30.
Extends in a direction perpendicular to a. Rotating shaft 30 of rotating joint 30
The two stringers 32 defining a plane parallel to a are each connected to each end of the diagonal member 33 via another rotary joint (not shown). This rotary joint has a rotation axis parallel to the rotary joint 300 rotation axis 30a. Further, the other end of the diagonal member 33 is connected to a rotary sliding joint 35 that can slide on the guide member 34.
is connected to. The diagonal member 33 and the rotary sliding joint 35 are connected to each other so as to enable rotation about a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis 30a of the rotary joint 3o. In this example, the diagonals 33 of the upper section and the diagonals 33 of the lower section are connected to the same rotary sliding joint 35.

In this structure, the rotary sliding joint 35 is connected to the guide member 34.
1(a) in the direction shown by arrow A in FIG. Figure (b)
The folded state shown in is obtained. Deployment can be carried out in the reverse order, and when the rotary sliding joint 35 has finished moving and the stringer 32 is in an upright position, it can be fixed.
A strong truss structure is formed with a triangular cross section and diagonals on the sides of each compartment.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the invention. In this example,
The frame members 4I are connected by stringers 42 via rotary joints 40. Rotary joint 40 has a rotation axis indicated at 40a. Each end of the diagonal member 43 is connected to the stringer member 42 or the frame member 41 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the aforementioned rotation axis. A guide member 44 is provided at the center of the central frame member 41 at right angles to the rotating shaft 40a of the rotary joint 40, and a rotary sliding joint 45 is provided on this guide member 44.

The other end of the diagonal member 43 is connected to this rotary sliding joint 45 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis parallel to the aforementioned rotation axis.

In this structure, the stringer 42 is tilted as shown in FIG. 2(b),
It is folded by sliding the rotary sliding joint 45 in the six directions of the arrows. The deployment may be performed in the reverse order, in which case the rotary sliding joint 45 slides in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2(b).

Still other embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this example, the cross section of the stile material 51 is square, the diagonal material 53 is connected at both ends to the bar-shaped material B 51a of the stile material 51 by a rotary joint 50, and the stringer material 52 has one end connected by the rotary joint 50 and the other end rotated. Each is connected to the frame material 51 by a sliding joint 55. The guide means is two parallel members 51 of the frame material 51.
A is also used as the rotating shaft 50 of all rotary joints 50.
a is perpendicular to this guiding means. Two upper and lower stringers 52
are connected to the same rotary sliding joint 55. Laterally adjacent diagonal members 53 are connected by another diagonal member 56 and held parallel to each other. In this structure, the rotating sliding joint 55 is
It can be folded by moving it in the direction of arrow B. This state is shown in FIG. In addition, the rotating sliding joint 5
5 in the six directions of arrows, the structure expands and the interval between the frame members 51 becomes longer. In this structure, the maximum length when folded and stored is equal to the length of the diagonal member 53, which means that the storage area is smaller than the example shown in FIG. means that it becomes smaller. However, on the other hand, the number of rotating sliding joints increases. In addition, although this structure does not necessarily need to be deployed simultaneously, if two sections are deployed sequentially, the orientation of the truss structure will change every time it is deployed, and the tip of the truss structure will swing significantly from side to side. It is desirable to deploy them simultaneously over the entire length.

FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this example as well, the shape of the frame member is square or rectangular, one end of the diagonal member 63 is connected to one of the members 61a that constitutes the frame member via a rotary joint 60, and the other end guides the stringer member facing 61a. It is connected to this via a rotary sliding joint 65 so as to serve as a means. In this way, the guide means also serves as two stringers, and the rotation axes of all rotary joints 60, including the rotation axis of the rotary sliding joint, are parallel. In this structure, the rotary sliding joint 65 can be folded by moving in the direction of arrow B. A state in the middle of folding is shown in 5th opening). Furthermore, if the rotary sliding joint 65 is moved in the direction of arrow A, the structure unfolds. The number and arrangement of diagonals for individual structures can be selected by design consideration, such as by appropriately selecting the rigidity and redundancy of the structure after deployment.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the deployable structure according to the present invention does not include any bending joints or expansion joints, has simple deployment and storage movements, and has a small storage area. In addition, since the number of joints and the number of parts involved in unfolding and folding movements are small, synchronization of each member during unfolding and folding can be easily achieved, and the unfolding and folding movements can be easily achieved.
The folding motion has a certainty not found in conventional structures.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention in its unfolded state, FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view showing its folded state, and FIG. 2(a) is a further unfolded state of another embodiment. 2(b) is a perspective view of the folded state, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 3 in the folded state. Figure 5 (a) and (b)
6 is a perspective view of yet another embodiment, and FIGS. 6 and 7 (a) and 7) are perspective views showing examples of conventional deployable structures. 20... Rotating joint, 21... Frame material, 22...
... Longer member, 23 ... Diagonal member, 24 ... Guide member, 25 ... Rotating sliding joint. Figure 1 (gate) Figure 1 (b) Figure 2 Figure 5 Figure 4 Figure 6 Figure 7 (a) Figure 7 (b)

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a truss structure in which multiple frames are connected to multiple stringers and one or more diagonal members per section, both ends of the stringers are connected by rotary joints whose rotational axes are parallel to each other. A guide means connected to a stile, with one end of the diagonal member attached to one stile, a rotary joint connecting the stringer and stile member, and a rotary joint whose axial direction is parallel to each other, and the other end provided on the other stile. is connected to the rotary joint by a rotary sliding joint, and the guide means is formed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotary joint within a plane formed by the other stile, and to be located in the center of the plane; An expandable structure that can be brought into an unfolded or folded state by moving the rotary sliding joint along the guide means. (2) In a truss structure in which a plurality of frame members are connected by a plurality of longitudinal members of equal length and diagonal members of equal length, both ends of each of the diagonal members are connected to a rotary joint whose rotation axis directions are all parallel to each other. one end of the stringer is connected to one stile by a rotary joint having a rotation axis parallel to the rotation axis of the diagonal member mounting rotary joint, and the other end is connected to the other stile by a guide. means by a rotary sliding joint, the centerline of said guiding means extends in a direction perpendicular to the centerline of said rotary joint, and the axis of rotation of said rotary sliding joint is parallel to the axis of rotation of said rotary joint; An expandable structure that can be brought into an expanded or folded state by moving a sliding joint along the guide means. (3) In a truss structure in which multiple frame members are connected by multiple longitudinal members and one or more diagonal members per section,
Both ends of the stringer are connected to the stile by a rotating joint whose rotational directions are all parallel, one end of the diagonal is connected to one stile, and the axis is parallel to the rotating joint that connects the stringer and stile. The stile is connected to the stile by a joint, and the other end is connected to a guide means provided between the stile and an adjacent stile by a rotary sliding joint, and the guide means is connected to the stile and the adjacent stile by a rotary joint. an axis of which is parallel to an axis of a rotating joint at each end of the stringer, and the distance between the guiding means and the rotating axis at each end of the stringer is equal, and the rotating sliding joint is moved along the guiding means. a deployable structure that can be placed in an expanded or collapsed state by