JPH0561801B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a lightweight deployable structure having high retractability and high rigidity, particularly in large-diameter deployable antennas used for artificial satellites.

[Conventional technology]

In recent years, the performance and reliability of space shuttles, Ariane rockets, etc. have improved, and economic benefits are emerging in space utilization. In particular, large deployable antennas are indispensable for communication in mobile bodies such as ships and vehicles, and deployable framework structures for configuring them have been actively developed. This means that
The deployable structure method is the most economical in space;
This is because it is believed that large structures can be constructed relatively easily.

FIGS. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show the deployable structure used in a conventional deployable antenna disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-28704, when it is stored and when it is deployed, respectively. It is a front view and a side view which show the shape of. In the figure, 180 degree hinge 1a
contains an elastic spring such as a spiral spring that provides the driving force for the unfolding operation, and has a latch device that locks the rotational movement when the elastic spring reaches an opening/closing angle of 180 degrees. Further, the 135 degree hinge 1b has the same structure as the 180 degree hinge 1a, and locks its rotational movement when the opening/closing angle of 135 degrees is reached. These hinges 1a, 1b are configured so that the frames 2a, 2b can be opened and closed under low friction conditions.

The frames 2a and 2b are connected to each hinge 1.
By connecting the ends of a and 1b to each other, a hoop-shaped antenna is formed as a whole, but the frame 2a does not open or close;
Only b moves to open and close, and both are made of tubular members.

In addition, frames 2a, 2b and hinges 1a, 1
A large number of support wires 3 whose tension can be adjusted at predetermined intervals are attached to b, and the support wires 3 support the peripheral edge of the mesh-shaped flexible antenna member 4. As shown in FIG. 7, this flexible antenna member 4 has two upper and lower pieces, each of which is held by a support wire 3. At the same time, these two flexible antenna members 4
are attached by connecting wires 5 so as to pull each other inward. And this bonding wire 5
The length becomes shorter from the periphery toward the center, which allows the flexible antenna member 4 to be a spherical parabolic antenna, and at least one of the flexible antenna members 4 is made of a conductive material. By constructing the material with (radio wave reflection characteristics),
It becomes possible to have a role as an antenna.

Next, the operation will be explained. After the above-mentioned deployable antenna is launched into space, the frame 2 begins to deploy from the retracted state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and accordingly, the two sheets folded between the frames The flexible antenna member 4 will also gradually begin to expand.

Here, the 180 degree hinge 1a, which was folded inside the frame 2 when stored, has an opening/closing angle of 180 degrees.
It is locked by the built-in latch device when the opening and closing angle reaches 135 degrees, and the 135 degree hinge 1b on the outside is similarly locked when its opening/closing angle is 135 degrees. In this way, when all the hinges 1 are locked, the sixth
A substantially octagonal prism hoop-shaped antenna as shown in the figure is formed. Then, a predetermined tension is applied to the two flexible antenna members 4 by the support wire 3 and the coupling wire 5, thereby forming a spherical parabolic surface.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Since the deployable structure used in the conventional deployable antenna is configured as described above, for example, when constructing a large diameter deployable antenna, the frame 2 is connected at each end with hinges 1a and 1b.
a, 2b are expanded to construct a single large-diameter hoop-shaped frame structure, and the mesh-shaped flexible antenna member 4 must be supported by this frame structure, and this flexible antenna The member 4 has no rigid members other than its periphery, so its overall rigidity is reduced, and when an external force such as a control force associated with controlling the antenna pointing direction is applied, it cannot be shaped into the desired shape. There was a problem that it became impossible to hold the .

This invention was made in order to solve such problems, and when constructing a large structure such as a large-diameter antenna reflecting mirror surface support structure, it is possible to ensure high rigidity and have excellent storage properties. The purpose is to obtain a deployed structure.

[Means for solving problems]

The deployable structure according to the present invention includes a plurality of first frames arranged on edges parallel to the axis of a polygonal column, and a plurality of first frames arranged between each end of the first frames adjacent to each other at two bases of the polygonal column. a second frame, a hinge attached to the end of the first frame and the center of the second frame to open and close the frame in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal column; and a hinge extending diagonally from the bottom surface of the polygonal column. a plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures having diagonal cables connected to each other, and the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures are combined so as to share the frame and form their respective bottom surfaces on the same plane. When stored, the second frame is folded between adjacent first frames by the hinge, and when unfolded, the frame is opened in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal column by a drive source built into the hinge. be.

[Effect]

The deployable structure according to the present invention is constructed by connecting a large number of polygonal columnar frame structures that are folded and unfolded by hinges in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal columnar structure. High rigidity can be ensured compared to obtaining a large-diameter deployable structure, and furthermore, the frames of adjacent polygonal columnar frame structures can be deployed without interfering with each other, and are excellent in storage performance.

In addition, the diagonal cable prevents each polygonal columnar frame structure from deforming in the in-plane direction including the bottom surface of the polygonal column after deployment, and also applies compressive force to the frame to suppress backlash at the hinge part, making it more It works to maintain a stable structure.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a frame-coupled state of the deployable structure according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the deployable structure of FIG. 1 in a state in the middle of deployment.

A characteristic feature of the present invention is that when applied as the main structure of a deployable antenna, which is a typical use of a deployable structure, it is possible to form a large-diameter antenna while ensuring high rigidity, and The antenna can be folded compactly. Such ``ensuring high rigidity'' and ``ability to fold compactly'' are merits required of deployable structures in general. To this end, the present invention provides a plurality of polygonal columnar (hexagonal columnar in this example) frame structures 6, three in the embodiment, and a hinge 8 for sharing the frame at the connecting portion of these polygonal columnar frame structures 6. has been established. moreover,
A diagonal cable 9 is provided which is stretched across the diagonal line of the bottom surface of the polygonal column. Further, reference numeral 10 denotes an axial cable that is stretched between both intersection points of a diagonal cable 9 that is stretched across the diagonal lines of the two bases of the polygonal prism, and that prevents the diagonal cable 9 from sagging.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the polygonal columnar frame structure has a plurality of first frames, that is, vertical frames 7 arranged on the edges parallel to the axis of the polygonal column.
a and a second frame arranged between the first frames adjacent to each other on the upper and lower two bases of the polygonal prism, that is, the horizontal frame 7b, and the polygonal plane formed by the horizontal frame 7b, that is, the frames in three directions are joined at the base of the polygonal prism. A three-way hinge 8a connects two-way frames, a two-way hinge 8b connects two-way frames, and a one-way hinge 8c connects one-way frames.

The three-way hinge 8a is used for connecting the polygonal columnar frame structures 6 to each other, and one vertical frame 7a shares the vertical frame of three or two polygonal columnar frame structures 6, and the horizontal frame 7b
Also, the frames 7 are connected so that adjacent parts of the polygonal columnar frame structure 6 are shared.

The two-way hinge 8b is used to connect the corners of the polygonal columnar frame structure 6 that do not have common parts, and the opening/closing angle of the hinge itself is a constant angle (120°) like the three-way hinge 8a. ing.

The one-way hinge 8c is provided to reduce the folding space of the present invention, and is also used to prevent interference between the frames when the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures 6 are combined and folded. That is, this one-way hinge 8c
b is separated at an intermediate position, and the one-way hinge 8c is attached to connect the two at the intermediate position, and the one-way hinge 8c allows a surface perpendicular to the bottom surface of the polygonal column, that is, the outer circumferential surface of the polygonal columnar frame structure 6. It can be opened and closed inside. According to this,
Since the area occupied by the horizontal frame 7b when the deployable structure is folded is determined by the area of the longitudinal section of the frame, the projected area occupied by the horizontal frame 7b after folding is made extremely smaller than in the conventional device. becomes possible. Further, since the opening and closing of the horizontal frame 7b is performed in a plane different from the plane in which the unfolding antenna opens and closes, there is an advantage that frame interference between the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures 6 can be prevented when they are unfolded. be.

Next, the operation will be explained. The deployable structure in this invention has a horizontal frame 7b when stored.
is folded toward the outside of the bottom surface of the polygonal column by a hinge 8c at its center, and the vertical frame 7a
It is held by an external holding device (not shown) in a state where the angle θ between the two parts is approximately 0 degrees. When unfolding, when the holding device is released, the horizontal frame 7b is unfolded by the driving force of a spiral spring (not shown) built in the hinges 8a to 8c, and the angle θ increases. angle θ
When the horizontal frame 7b is expanded to a position where the angle is approximately 90 degrees, the rotation angle of the horizontal frame 7b is fixed by a stopper mechanism (not shown) provided at the hinges 8a to 8c, and the expansion operation is stopped. At this time, the diagonal cable 9 is held at the hinge 8a, with a predetermined tension.
Its length is adjusted in advance so that it is stretched between 8b. Since the diagonal cable 9 is stretched on the diagonal line of the bottom surface of the polygonal column formed by the horizontal frame 7b, there is no possibility that the polygonal columnar frame structure 6 will deform inward on the bottom surface due to some external force. When this occurs, the deformation is restrained and the shape of the polygonal columnar frame structure 6 is stabilized. Further, due to the tension of the diagonal cable 9, a compressive force acts as a reaction force between the horizontal frames 7b, which serves to suppress play in the hinge and increase structural stability.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the axial cable 10 with low axial rigidity is stretched between both intersections of the diagonal cables stretched across the diagonals of the two bottom surfaces of the polygonal prism, the diagonal cable 9 is expanded. It is possible to prevent sagging under certain conditions.

Note that the diagonal cable 9 and the axial cable 10 are not shown in FIG. 2 for the sake of simplicity.

In the above embodiment, the case where the axial cable 10 is a cable with low axial rigidity is shown, but as shown in FIG.
It is also possible to insert a weak spring 12 in the middle of 1,
The same effects as in the above embodiment are achieved. Also, depending on the rigidity value of the diagonal cable 9, the axial cable 1
0 may be omitted.

Further, although the above embodiment shows a case where the polygonal columnar frame structure 6 is a hexagonal column, it is not limited to this, and it is obvious that the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained even if it is a square column or the like. It is.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where there are three polygonal columnar frame structures 6 has been described, but the structure 6
There is no particular limit to the number of polygonal columnar frame structures 6, and it is also possible to combine tens to hundreds of polygonal columnar frame structures 6 to realize a deployable structure with a diameter of several tens of meters.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of first frames arranged on a ridge parallel to the axis of a polygonal prism,
a second frame disposed between each end of the first frame adjacent to each other at the two bases of the polygonal prism;
A polygon having a hinge attached to an end of the frame and the center of the second frame to open and close the frame in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal column, and a diagonal cable stretched across a diagonal line of the bottom surface of the polygonal column. A plurality of columnar frame structures are provided, and the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures are combined to form the bottom surfaces on the same plane while sharing the frame, and when stored, the hinges allow the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures to The two frames are folded between the adjacent first frame, and when unfolded, the drive source built into the hinge opens the frame in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal prism, so that a large structure can be constructed. This has the effect of providing a deployable structure that can ensure high rigidity and has excellent storage properties.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a deployable structure according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the structure in FIG. 1 during storage and deployment, and FIG. 3 is another embodiment of the present invention. An explanatory diagram showing a deployable structure according to an example, FIG. 4 is a front view showing a conventional deployable antenna when it is stored, FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional deployable antenna when it is stored, and FIG. 6 is a conventional deployable antenna. 7 is a front view showing the conventional deployable antenna when it is deployed. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the conventional deployable antenna when it is deployed. In the figure, 3 is a support wire, 4 is a flexible antenna member, 5 is a coupling wire, 6 is a polygonal columnar frame structure, 7a is a vertical frame, 7b is a horizontal frame, 8a is a three-way hinge, and 8b is a two-way hinge ,
8c is a one-way hinge, 9 is a diagonal cable, 10,
11 is an axial cable, and 12 is a spring. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A plurality of first frames arranged on edges parallel to the axis of the polygonal prism, and a second frame arranged between each end of the first frames adjacent to each other on the two bases of the polygonal prism. a frame, a hinge attached to an end of the first frame and a center of the second frame to open and close the frame in a direction intersecting the bottom surface of the polygonal column;
and a plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures having diagonal cables stretched across diagonal lines of two bottom surfaces of the polygonal column, and the plurality of polygonal columnar frame structures are each arranged on the same plane while sharing the frame. When stored, the second frame is folded between the adjacent first frames by the hinge, and when unfolded, the frame is folded into the polygonal column by a drive source built into the hinge. A deployable structure that opens in the direction that intersects the bottom of the. 2. Development according to claim 1, comprising an axial cable that is stretched between both intersection points of a diagonal cable stretched between diagonals of two bottom surfaces of a polygonal prism, and that prevents the diagonal cable from sagging. Structure.