キネマティックカップリングのラッチ完了条件の幾何学的導出の基礎的検討

抄録

In this paper, geometrical approach is introduced to find latch completion condition of kinematic coupling. The kinematic coupling is a fixture that exactly constrains 6 degrees of freedom between two parts with high repeatability. Therefore, the kinematic coupling is used in various types of deployable space structures. In previous studies, a latch completion equation which shows the relationship between the slope angle of v-groove and allowable upper limit of friction coefficient is calculated through algebraic approach using force and torque equilibrium. The derived latch completion condition can provide a guideline for designing latch mechanism. However, it requires whole new calculation to find latch completion condition again when the point which nesting force is applied is changed. With the geometrical approach, allowable upper limit of friction coefficient for given slope angle of v-groove can be estimated in a short amount of time by drawing figures and doing a few simple calculations. In order to verify the applicability of geometrical approach, 2-dimensioned kinematic coupling model consisting of v-groove/sphere pair and flat/sphere pair is considered. The latch completion condition is calculated in both geometrical and algebraic way, and the same equation is derived, which proves that the geometrical approach is also applicable for solving latch condition problem.