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AssigneeMichigan Aerospace Corporation
InventorsGreg Alan RITTER, Anthony Beckman HAYS, Peter TCHORYK, JR., Jane Camile PAVLICH, Gregory Joseph WASSICK
Estimating the term…
For each capture mechanism of a plurality of three capture mechanisms, a necked coupling element received by a corresponding socket slides therealong and engages a corresponding latch lever biased in an open position and rotates the latch lever to a closed position as the necked coupling element is slid within the socket towards a bottom thereof. A latch locked biased against the latch lever engages a notch in the latch lever when the latch lever is closed so as to latch the latch lever in the closed position and thereby capture the necked coupling element within the socket. The latch lever is unlatched by releasing the latch lock from engagement with the latch. Different latch levers incorporate different shaped surfaces that engage different corresponding necked coupling elements captured thereby so as to provide for respectively constraining in one, two and three degrees-of-freedom, respectively.
A docking system comprising a plurality of three capture mechanisms separated from one another and that operate independently of one another, wherein each capture mechanism of said plurality of three capture mechanisms comprises:
A method of capturing a plurality of three necked coupling elements with a corresponding plurality of three corresponding capture mechanisms collectively associated with first and second portions of a docking system, comprising for each necked coupling element of said plurality of three necked coupling elements:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.