JPH02106499A - Antenna development test device on ground - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To permit the correct antenna development test on the ground by shifting a carrier along a guide rail in correspondence with the shift of a suspending member and setting the gravity compensating tension by a suspended member laid onto a pulley and a weight member in the gravity direction, in the development of a reflecting plate. CONSTITUTION:A plurality of guide rails 20 which constitute a gravity compensating system are laid in correspondence with the developed passages of a plurality of reflecting plates 11 of a development antenna 10, and each carrier 21 is installed in shiftable ways onto each guide rail 20. Each carrier 21 is equipped with a drive motor built in, and a plurality of pulleys 22 are arranged in the lower edge part of the drive motor in correspondence with the guide rail 20. A string-shaped suspending member 23 is laid onto each pulley 22, and the reflecting plate 11 which is development-driven by a development driving mechanism is installed at one edge, and a weight member 24 for compensating gravity is installed at the other edge. The shift quantity of the suspended member 23 in development is detected by a potentiometer 26 which is interlocking with a detecting member 25, and a driving motor for the carrier 21 is drive- controlled according to the detection signal.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is directed to, for example, a deployable antenna mounted on a spacecraft such as an artificial satellite and used in outer space on the ground. This invention relates to an antenna ground deployment test device used for conducting deployment tests.

(Prior Art) In general, a deployable space antenna 10 includes a plurality of reflectors 11 called antenna pedals, as shown in FIG.
are arranged in combination in a rotatable manner (indicated by arrows in the figure) so that they can be freely expanded, and the plurality of reflecting plates 11 are expanded from a folded state into a parabolic shape by an expansion drive mechanism (not shown).

Before such a deployable antenna 10 is mounted on a spacecraft, a folding and deploying test is conducted on the ground under conditions similar to the weightless state in the space environment to ensure product reliability.

FIG. 5 shows the main parts of a conventional antenna ground deployment testing device. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a gravity force that is placed via a support member 2 at a predetermined position on each deployment path of the plurality of reflectors 11. This is a pulley that forms a compensation system. An intermediate portion of a string-like hanging member 3 is wrapped around the pulley 1. This hanging member 3 has the tip of the reflector 11 attached to one end thereof,
A gravity compensation weight member 4 called a counterway is attached to the other end. As shown in FIG. 6, when the weight of the reflector 11 is mlg, this weight member 4 is applied with a moment of mlgLl around the rotation axis 11a of the reflector 11, so this weight member 4 compensates for the moment of mlgLl. It is set to apply a tension of m2g. As a result, when the reflector plate 11 is deployed, an inverse moment m2gL2 of the moment m+gLt is applied due to the gravity caused by the hanging member 3 and the weight member 4, and the reflector plate 11 is deployed in a weightless state similar to the space environment without the influence of gravity. .

However, in the above antenna ground deployment test device, due to the configuration of its gravity compensation system, as the reflector 11 is deployed,
As shown in FIG. 7, the hanging member 3 wrapped around the pulley 1 is in the T' state in which it is displaced from the gravitational direction T of the reflection plate 11, so gravity compensation cannot be performed accurately.
The problem was that accurate ground deployment tests were difficult. According to this, a weight of mg, which is the sum of the tension of the hanging member 3 when deployed, is applied to the reflector plate 11 during deployment, which adversely affects the deployment operation. was becoming difficult.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional antenna ground deployment testing device, gravity compensation cannot be performed as the reflector is deployed, and accurate ground deployment testing cannot be performed.

This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is an antenna ground deployment test device that has a simple configuration, can realize accurate gravity compensation, and realizes as accurate a ground deployment test as possible. The purpose is to provide

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an antenna ground deployment testing device that conducts a zero-gravity deployment test of a deployable antenna in which a plurality of reflectors are each rotatably disposed so as to be freely deployable. , a carrier provided with a plurality of guide rails laid in correspondence with the direction in which the plurality of reflectors are deployed, a pulley attached to each of the guide rails so as to be freely guided, and a carrier wrapped around the pulley and with one end is attached to the reflecting plate, and a weight member is attached to the other end of the hanging member, and the movement of the carrier is controlled by detecting the displacement of the hanging member as the reflecting plate is deployed. The lowering member is configured to include a control means for making the lowering member correspond to the direction of gravity.

(Function) According to the above configuration, when each reflecting plate is deployed, the carrier is moved along the guide rail in response to the displacement of the hanging member as the reflecting plate is deployed, and the carrier is wrapped around the pulley. The gravity compensation tension by the hanging member and the weight member is set in the direction of gravity. Therefore, the gravity compensating tension in the direction of gravity is always applied to the reflector plate even during its deployment, so that an accurate antenna ground deployment test can be realized.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an antenna ground deployment testing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a plurality of guide rails 2o forming a gravity compensation system correspond to deployment paths of a plurality of reflectors 11 of the deployment antenna 10. are installed respectively. A carrier 21 (only a portion is shown in the figure for convenience of illustration) is movably mounted on each of the guide rails 20. For example, this carrier 21 has a built-in drive motor (not shown) as a drive source, and at its lower end, for example, a plurality of pulleys 22 22 correspond to the guide rail 20, as shown in FIG. It will be arranged as follows. A string-like hanging member 23 is wound around this pulley 22.22, and this hanging member 2
The reflective plate 11, which is driven to be deployed by the deployment drive mechanism (not shown), is attached to one end of the mirror 3. A weight member 24 for gravity compensation is attached to the other end of this hanging member 23.

Further, a detection member 25 of a gravity compensation system is similarly rotatably provided in the plurality of carriers 21.

A ring-shaped detection portion 25a is formed at the tip of this detection member 25, and the hanging member 23 is inserted through this detection portion 25a. As shown in FIG. 3, a rotation detector, for example, a potentiometer 2
No. 6 operating section 26a is attached. The output end of this potentiometer 26 is connected to a comparator 27, and this comparator 27 is connected to the carrier 21 through a driver (not shown).
is connected to a drive motor (not shown).

Note that the detection member 25 is arranged so that its rotational load torque is very small 1, and when a minute rotational biasing force is applied to the detection portion 25a by the suspension member 23, the suspension It is rotated in accordance with the amount of displacement of the lowering member 23,
The operating portion 26a of the potentiometer 26 is activated.

In the above configuration, when the reflection plate 11 is deployed via a deployment drive mechanism (not shown), the hanging member 23 configuring the gravity compensation system is displaced with respect to the direction of gravity as the reflection plate 11 is deployed. . Then, with the displacement of the hanging member 23, the detecting portion 25a of the detecting member 25 is rotated in the same direction, and the operating portion 2 of the potentiometer 26 is
6a. Here, the potentiometer 26 detects the amount of displacement of the hanging member 23 and outputs the detection signal to the comparator 27. This comparator 27 compares the detection signal with a preset reference level (gravity direction), determines a drive signal corresponding to the amount of displacement, and outputs the drive signal to the driver (not shown). and the above carrier 21
The drive motor (not shown) is controlled. As a result, the carrier 21 is moved to a predetermined position on the guide rail 20 corresponding to the deployment angle of the reflector 11, and the pulley 22.
A hanging member 23 wound around the reflecting plate 11 is set in the direction of gravity of the reflecting plate 11.

In this manner, the antenna ground deployment test device controls the movement of the carrier 21 along the guide rail 20 in response to the displacement of the suspension member 23 of the gravity compensation system as the reflector 11 is deployed, and controls the movement of the carrier 21 along the guide rail 20. By configuring the gravity compensating tension by the hanging member 23 and the weight member 24 wound around the reflection plate 11 to be set in the direction of gravity,
Even during its deployment, gravity-compensating tension in the direction of gravity is always applied, making it possible to conduct deployment tests in a weightless state similar to the space environment. Thereby, the reliability of the ground deployment test of the deployable antenna 10 can be ensured as much as possible.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the potentiometer 26 is used to detect the displacement of the hanging member 23, but the invention is not limited to this, and various optical, magnetic, electrical, etc. This can be realized using the following detection method.

In addition, in the above embodiment, as a driving source for the carrier 21,
Although the case has been described in which the drive motor is disposed internally, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to arrange a drive source externally. Therefore, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the present invention provides an antenna that has a simple configuration and is capable of realizing accurate gravity compensation, thereby realizing as accurate a ground deployment test as possible. Ground deployment test equipment can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the external appearance of an antenna ground deployment test device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram shown to explain the main parts of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a circuit of a potentiometer. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a deployable antenna to which the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are diagrams showing main parts of a conventional antenna ground deployment test device. 10... Deployment antenna, 11... Reflector, 20...
・Guide rail, 21...carrier, 22...pulley,
23... Hanging member, 24... Weight member, 25...
・Detection member, 26... Potentiometer, 27...
Comparator. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an antenna ground deployment testing device for conducting a zero-gravity deployment test of a deployable antenna in which a plurality of reflectors are arranged so as to be rotatable and freely deployable, a plurality of reflectors are installed corresponding to the direction in which the plurality of reflectors are deployed. a carrier having a guide rail, a carrier having a pulley attached to each of the guide rails so as to be freely guided; and a carrier wrapped around the pulley, having one end attached to the reflector plate and a weight member attached to the other end. and a control means for controlling the movement of the carrier by detecting the displacement of the hanging member as the reflecting plate is deployed, and causing the hanging member to correspond to the direction of gravity. Antenna ground deployment test equipment.