JPH0514049A - Expansion type mesh antenna - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To promote the light weight and container performance and to realize a reliable folding expansion operation. CONSTITUTION:A 1st link member 12 freely slidable to a support member 11 is provided through suspension as a longitudinal member, and 2nd link members 13 are formed between the 1st link members 12 as lateral members to form consecutive rectangles, and one end of the 2nd link member 13 is skided with respect to the 1st link member 12, then a desired shape is formed by the combination of plural support structures 10 in which the 1st link members 13 are moved and guided along the support members 11 and folded or expanded to reduce number of components with high rigidity thereby folding or expanding a reflecting mirror mesh 18 formed on the support structure.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a deployable mesh antenna suitable for building on a space station, for example.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of space development, the development of a space station concept is under way. In this space base concept, a method is considered in which the antenna device constructed in the space base is folded and housed on the ground, transported to outer space in the folded state, and deployed in orbit. As such a deployable antenna, a so-called mesh antenna in which a supporting structure is formed by using a composite material such as carbon fiber or boron fiber and a reflecting mirror surface is formed by a mesh material is called an extreme environment in outer space. It is said to be advantageous in terms of rigidity and weight. As a support structure for such a deployable mesh antenna, a combination of well-known deployable truss structures and a so-called deployable rib are used.

However, in the above support structure, since the number of constituent parts is relatively large, it is satisfactory in terms of weight and storability and reliability of operation control, which are particularly important in space development. It wasn't going. Therefore, in the field of space development, there is a strong demand for the development of a deployable mesh antenna that is lightweight, facilitates storage, and is capable of highly reliable operation control.

[0004]

As described above, the conventional deployable mesh antenna has a problem in that it is not satisfactory in terms of weight and storability as well as reliability of operation control. Was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a deployable mesh antenna which can be reduced in weight, improved in storability, and improved in operational control reliability. The purpose is to

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, one end of a plurality of first connecting members is sequentially foldably connected to a supporting member having an intermediate portion provided with a bending portion and suspended. One end of the second connecting member is foldably connected to the other end of the first connecting member, and the other end thereof is bendable and slidable to the other adjacent first connecting members. A plurality of supporting structures that are connected to each other and have wire members stretched in a substantially cross shape between both ends of the first connecting member, and the other end of the second connecting member of the supporting structure is connected to the first connecting member. Drive means for slidingly guiding the first connecting member to one of the supporting members by sliding relative to the supporting member, and a supporting member of the supporting structure in a state where the first connecting member is moved to one end. By bending the bent portion of the supporting member and selectively extending the bending member to linearly extend, the supporting member is provided in parallel. Wire connecting means stretched between two ends of the first connecting members of the plurality of supporting structures combined in a radial shape, and the supporting structure connected to a desired shape through the wire connecting means. The expandable mesh antenna is configured by including a reflecting mirror mesh member additionally provided on the support member.

[0007]

According to the above structure, in the support structure, the second connecting member is slid with respect to the first connecting member via the driving means, so that the first connecting member moves along the supporting member. In the state of being guided to move and transferred to one of them, the supporting member is bent from the bending portion to fold and accommodate the reflecting mirror mesh,
When inverted, it unfolds the reflector mesh. As a result, it is possible to easily reduce the number of components having high rigidity, reduce the weight, promote the storability, and improve the reliability of the operation control.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A deployable truss structure according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a deployable mesh antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention, which comprises eight support structures 10. As shown in FIG. 2, the support structure 10 is suspended by sequentially connecting one end of a plurality of first connecting members 12 to a support member 11 provided with a bent portion 11a in an intermediate portion so as to be slidable. . One end of a second connecting member 13 is foldably connected to the other end of the first connecting member 12, and the other end of the second connecting member 13 is bent to the adjacent first connecting member. Freely and slidably supported. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the second connecting member has its other end biased in the arrow direction with respect to the first connecting member by a spring mechanism (not shown). Further, a spring mechanism (not shown) is built in the support member, and the biasing force of the spring mechanism (not shown) applies a biasing force in the clockwise direction (extension direction). Further, the support structure 10 has a first connecting member 1
A wire member 14 is stretched between the two in a substantially cross shape.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the support structure 10 is 8 with one end fixed to the mounting body 15.
The sheets are radially coupled, and a wire member 16 is stretched between the both ends of the first coupling member 12 so as to be mutually coupled to form a desired shape. Then, a reflecting mirror mesh 18 is attached via studs 17 on these supporting structures to form a reflecting mirror surface (see FIG. 1).

In the above structure, the supporting member 10 of the supporting structure 10 is bent from the bent portion 11a against the spring mechanism (not shown), and the tip end thereof is locked to the mounting body 15. It is folded and accommodated (see FIG. 4A). And
In the support structure 10, the tip end of the support member 11 is the mounting body 15.
When it is disengaged, the spring mechanism (not shown) inverts the spring mechanism to extend it in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 4).
(See (b)). Then, in the support structure 10, the second connecting member 13 is slid at the other end in the arrow direction with respect to the first connecting member 13 by the spring mechanism (not shown). Of the connecting member 13 is guided along the supporting member 11 to be developed into a substantially quadrilateral shape (FIG. 4 (c)).
(Refer to (d)), here, the reflecting mirror mesh 18 on the supporting structure 10 is stretched to form a reflecting mirror surface. At this time, the wire member 16 stretched around the first connecting member 12 of the support structure 10 and the wire member 1 connecting the support structures 10 to each other.
4 is expanded in conjunction with the development of the first and second connecting members 12 and 13. As described above, the eight supporting structures 10 are synchronously deployed and driven with respect to the mounting body to realize the expansion of the reflecting mirror mesh 18.

As described above, the deployable mesh antenna has the first connecting member 1 slidable with respect to the supporting member 11.
2 is used as a vertical member and is suspended, and a quadrangle having the second connecting member 13 as a horizontal member is continuously formed between the first connecting members 12, and one end of the second connecting member 13 is formed. By sliding with respect to the first connecting member 12, the first connecting member 1
3 is guided along the support member 11 to be folded, and a plurality of support structures 10 that are to be expanded are combined to form a desired shape, and the reflector mesh 18 attached to the support structure 10 is folded. Alternatively, it is configured to perform expansion. According to this, it is possible to secure the desired rigidity while minimizing the number of high-rigidity components. Therefore, it is possible to easily reduce the weight of the component and facilitate the storability, and it is also possible to operate with high reliability. Control is realized.

In the above embodiment, the case where the bending of the supporting member 11 and the sliding of the second connecting member 13 are constituted by using the spring mechanism has been described, but the invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to configure the drive control using the driving force of the motor. Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the eight support structures 10 are combined has been described as a representative, but the present invention is not limited to this number of combinations and can be formed. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0014]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a deployable mesh antenna which can be reduced in weight, improved in storability, and improved in operational control reliability. can do.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a deployable mesh antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the support structure shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing details of part of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the operation process of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Support structure, 11 ... Support member, 11a ... Bend part, 1
2 ... 1st connection member, 13 ... 2nd connection member, 14, 1
6 ... Wire member, 15 ... Mounting body, 17 ... Stud, 18
… Reflector mesh.

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An end portion of a plurality of first connecting members is sequentially foldably connected to and suspended from a support member having an intermediate portion provided with a bent portion. One end of the second connecting member is foldably connected to the other end of the first connecting member, and the other end is foldably and slidably connected to the other adjacent first connecting members. A plurality of supporting structures in which wire members are stretched in a substantially cross shape between both ends of the first connecting member, and the other end of the second connecting member of the supporting structure is connected to the first connecting member. Driving means for sliding and guiding the first connecting member to one of the supporting members, and the supporting member of the supporting structure with the first connecting member moved to one end. Bending and extending means that bends the bending portion of the, and selectively extends in a straight line, and the supporting member are arranged in parallel and radially. On the supporting member of the supporting structure, which is connected in a desired shape through the wire connecting means which is stretched between the ends of the first connecting members of the plurality of supporting structures combined with each other, A reflecting mirror mesh member attached to the first connecting member by sliding the second connecting member of the support structure with respect to the first connecting member via the driving means. A deployable mesh antenna, which is configured to be guided along a member and to be folded and deployed.