Low-profile manipulator interface system
AssigneeMacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Corporation
InventorsGAVIN HAY, MICHAEL ROBERT HONEYBROWN, PETER KRIMBALIS, JUSTIN CHARBONNEAU
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a low mass system for releasably securing a robotic arm to a spacecraft and also securing various payloads to the robotic arm and to each other, permitting the robotic arm to be both moved from one location to another suitably equipped location on a spacecraft to another and to allow the free end of the robotic arm to be secured to any payload also similarly equipped such that this payload may be manipulated by the robotic arm.
Claims11
An interface coupling system for releasably securing a selected object to a spacecraft and securing various payloads to the selected object and to each other, comprising:
- a) an active interface assembly including
- a first coupling located at its proximal end for structurally attaching it to the selected object,
- electrical connections for electrically connecting it to said selected object,
- a second coupling located at its distal end,
- an active interface assembly latch mechanism;
- an active interface assembly alignment mechanism;
- a computer control system connected to said active interface assembly latch mechanism;
- b) a passive interface assembly including
- a first coupling located at its proximal end complementary to said second coupling on the active interface assembly for structurally attaching said passive interface assembly to said second coupling,
- a second coupling located at its distal end for affixing said passive interface assembly to a desired object,
- a passive interface assembly alignment mechanism complementary to said active interface assembly alignment mechanism;
- passive latch features complementary to, and engageable with, said active interface assembly latch mechanism;
- and
- c) a sensor mechanism mounted and configured for sensing the forces and moments that occur during a sequence of aligning the active and passive interface assemblies together, said sensor mechanism being connected to said computer control system;
- and
- d) said computer control system being programmed with instructions to use the sensed forces and moments output from said sensor mechanism to control the alignment of said active and passive interface assemblies until they are sufficiently aligned to initiate a latching sequence to releasibly and rigidly lock said active and passive interface assemblies together.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.