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A flex-drive actuator for a satellite boom hinge or other hinge applications. Using a motor-driven cog and a unique drive chain, the hinge can be reversibly driven between open and closed positions, thereby deploying or stowing the boom and attached payload. The chain includes links designed so that

A flex-drive actuator for a satellite boom hinge or other hinge applications. Using a motor-driven cog and a unique drive chain, the hinge can be reversibly driven between open and closed positions, thereby deploying or stowing the boom and attached payload. The chain includes links designed so that, when bent in one direction, the chain pre-buckles into a rigid circular arc form that matches the deployment path of the hinge. This pre-buckling essentially converts the chain into a rigid gear segment that can carry a moment to actuate the hinge. As the cog retracts the chain and the hinge closes, the circular shape of the chain de-buckles on the free side of the cog, where the chain can be stored as a straight section inside of a boom tube or folded into a magazine. The flex-drive actuator can accommodate any desired actuation angle by addition of links to the chain.

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1. A hinge and actuator assembly, said hinge including a first hinge body and a second hinge body connected by a hinge pin, wherein the hinge connects a satellite boom section to a satellite body or another boom section, said assembly comprising: a cog mounting cartridge fixed to the first hinge bod

1. A hinge and actuator assembly, said hinge including a first hinge body and a second hinge body connected by a hinge pin, wherein the hinge connects a satellite boom section to a satellite body or another boom section, said assembly comprising: a cog mounting cartridge fixed to the first hinge body;a drive motor mounted to the cog mounting cartridge or to the first hinge body;a drive cog pivotably mounted to the cog mounting cartridge and coupled to an output shaft of the drive motor, where a pivot axis of the drive cog is parallel to a pivot axis of the hinge pin, and where rotation of the output shaft of the drive motor causes rotation of the drive cog;a terminal mounting bracket fixed to the second hinge body; anda drive chain comprising:a plurality of links; anda plurality of pivot pins having a pivot axis which is parallel to the pivot axis of the hinge pin;wherein each pair of adjacent links are connected by a pivot pin,and the links also include an abutment surface at each end where adjacent links make compressive contact;wherein a link at a first end of the drive chain is pivotably attached to the terminal mounting bracket on the second hinge body, a second end of the drive chain is not attached to anything, and the drive chain passes through a channel in the cog mounting cartridge where the drive cog engages with the pivot pins on the links of the drive chain, and a rotation of the drive cog translates the drive chain and causes the hinge to open or close, andwherein the pivot pins and the abutment surfaces are positioned on each of the links to cause the drive chain to prebuckle into a rigid circular arc shape, outside the channel and extending between the first hinge body and the second hinge body, which matches a motion of the second hinge body relative to the first hinge body. 2. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising: one or more drive pins in each of the links of the drive chain, where the pivot pins are located near each end of each link and the drive pins are located between the pivot pins,where the drive cog engages with the pivot pins and with the drive pins to move the chain. 3. The assembly of claim 2 wherein each of the links of the drive chain includes two of the pivot pins and three or fewer of the drive pins. 4. The assembly of claim 3 wherein the pivot pins and the drive pins are equally spaced along a length of the links. 5. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the channel in the cog mounting cartridge is configured to guide the drive chain into engagement with the drove cog in an orientation which is substantially perpendicular to the first hinge body, and the channel further supports the drive chain laterally and radially relative to the drive cog. 6. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the links are configured with the pivot pins at a location which is further from the hinge pin than the abutment surfaces are from the hinge pin. 7. The assembly of claim 1 wherein the hinge actuator is configured such that the drive chain is positioned between the drive cog and the hinge pin. 8. The assembly of claim 1 further comprising: a latching device which latches an edge of the first hinge body to an adjacent edge of the second hinge body to secure the hinge in a closed position. 9. The assembly, of claim 1 further comprising: a latching device which applies a force or torque to the drive cog which creates residual tension in the drive chain when the hinge is in the closed position. 10. A self-actuated satellite boom hinge, said boom hinge comprising: a satellite body;a deployable boom having at least one section;a first hinge body fixed to a first section of the deployable boom;a second hinge body connected to the first hinge body by a hinge pin, said second hinge body being fixed to the satellite body or to a second section of the deployable boom;a cog mounting cartridge fixed to the first hinge body;a drive motor mounted to the cog mounting cartridge or to the first hinge body;a drive cog pivotably mounted to the cog mounting cartridge and coupled to an output shaft of the drive motor, where a pivot axis of the drive cog is parallel to a pivot axis of the hinge pin, and where rotation of the output shaft of the drive motor causes rotation of the drive cog;a terminal mounting bracket fixed to the second hinge body; anda drive chain comprising:a plurality of links; anda plurality of pivot pins having a pivot axis which is parallel to the pivot axis of the hinge pin;wherein each pair of adjacent links are connected by a pivot pin,and the links also include an abutment surface at each end where adjacent links make compressive contact;wherein a link at a first end of the drive chain is pivotably attached to the terminal mounting bracket on the second hinge body, a second end of the drive chain is not attached to anything, and the drive chain passes through a channel in the cog mounting cartridge where the drive cog engages with the pivot pins on the links of the drive chain, and a rotation of the drive cog translates the drive chain and causes the boom hinge to open or close,and wherein the pivot pins and the abutment surfaces are positioned on each of the links to cause the drive chain to prebuckle into a rigid circular arc shape outside the channel which follows a motion of the second hinge body relative to the first hinge body. 11. The boom hinge of claim 10 wherein the deployable boom and an attached payload are deployed when the boom hinge closes, and the deployable boom and the attached payload are stowed when the boom hinge opens. 12. The boom hinge of claim 10 further comprising: a latching device which latches an edge of the first hinge body to an adjacent edge of the second hinge body to secure the boom hinge in a closed position. 13. The boom hinge of claim 10 further comprising: a latching device which applies a force or torque to the drive cog which creates residual tension in the drive chain when the boom hinge is in the closed position. 14. The boom hinge of claim 10 further comprising: one or more drive pins in each of the links of the drive chain, where the pivot pins are located near each end of each link and the drive pins are located between the pivot pins,where the drive cog engages with the pivot pins and with the drive pins to move the chain, andwhere the pivot pins and the drive pins are equally spaced along a length of the links. 15. The boom hinge of claim 10 wherein the channel in the cog mounting cartridge is configured to guide the drive chain into engagement with the drove cog in an orientation which is substantially perpendicular to the first hinge body, and the channel further supports the drive chain laterally and radially relative to the drive cog. 16. The boom hinge of claim 10 wherein the links are configured with the pivot pins at a location which is further from the hinge pin than the abutment surfaces are from the hinge pin, and the boom hinge is configured such that the drive chain is positioned between the drive cog and the hinge pin. 17. A flex-drive satellite boom hinge actuator comprising: a hinge including two halves connected by a hinge pin, where the hinge couples sections of a deployable satellite boom;a drive cog driven by a motor; anda drive chain,wherein the drive chain pre-buckles into a rigid circular arc shape that matches a relative path of the two halves of the hinge,wherein the drive chain includes:a plurality of links; anda plurality of pivot pins which are offset from a centerline of each of the links,wherein each pair of adjacent links are connected by a pivot pin;wherein the links also each include an abutment surface at each end configured to make compressive contact with the abutment surface of an adjacent link, andthe pivot pins and the abutment surfaces are positioned on each of the links to cause the drive chain to form the circular arc shape when driven by the drive cog. 18. The flex-drive hinge actuator of claim 17 wherein the links are configured with the pivot pins at a location which is further from a hinge pin of the hinge than the abutment surfaces are from the hinge pin. 19. The flex-drive hinge actuator of claim 18 wherein the hinge actuator is configured such that the drive chain is positioned between the drive cog and the hinge pin.