JPH067642B2 - Deployable antenna reflector - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a large antenna mounted on an artificial satellite, which is folded and stored in a small size when being transported by a rocket or the like into orbit. The present invention relates to a mesh deployment type antenna for mounting on a satellite which is deployed to form a desired shape.

(Prior Art) As shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9, a conventional mesh deployment antenna for a satellite is equipped with radial ribs 33, 35 on a mesh 34,
36 was stretched and expanded in a petal shape or a fan shape to form a radio wave reflection surface such as a parabolic surface. Therefore, due to the size limitation of the rocket fairing, there is a drawback that the size of the opening diameter is limited to 10 meters at present. Therefore, it is conceivable to fold it in two or three steps like a folding umbrella to make the opening diameter larger, but it is not possible to give rigidity to maintain the mirror surface accuracy after deployment with only radial ribs. It had the drawback of being difficult.
Further, even when the rigidity can be secured, since the elastic meshes 34, 36 stretched between the radial ribs 33, 35 have the property of forming an inflated surface from the mirror surface of an ideal parabola or the like, The mirror surface error increases as the area around the reflector increases,
In order to achieve a high mirror surface accuracy, it is necessary to increase the number of ribs, which has a drawback that the weight is increased.

On the other hand, the conventional deployable truss structure antenna proposed to solve the drawbacks of the radial ribs has a triangular pyramid-shaped frame structure as one segment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. It is a configuration in which a plurality of segments form a continuous frame structure by combining the segments. FIG. 11 (a) is a diagram showing a state of storage, and FIG. 11 (b) is a diagram showing a state of being expanded, FIG.
(c) is a diagram showing a completely expanded state. However, since only the rod-shaped member is used to maintain rigidity and strength, the weight of the member itself increases and the number of places where the member bends increases, and the number of hinge mechanisms increases accordingly, further increasing the weight. There was a drawback. Further, since there are only three members that can be used to fix the metal mesh per segment, there is a disadvantage that it is disadvantageous for improving the precision of the mirror surface.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In order to solve these drawbacks, the present invention uses a combination of a structure in which members are radially arranged in a frame structure for maintaining rigidity and strength of the entire antenna, and a wire is provided at a member end. The antenna mirror surface is made of metal mesh, and its purpose is to achieve a larger mirror surface accuracy, higher rigidity, and lighter weight than the conventional one with the same storage dimensions as the conventional one. .

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has a structure in which an antenna reflecting mirror surface is formed by a set of hexagonal pyramid-shaped segments, facilitates formation of a large-diameter reflecting mirror, has high storage efficiency, and has high rigidity and high accuracy of the entire antenna. The most important feature is what can be achieved. The conventional antenna reflecting mirror surface develops radial ribs in a petal shape or a fan shape and is not suitable for increasing the diameter of the mirror surface, increasing rigidity, and increasing accuracy, but the present invention solves them. different.

(Operation) When launching a satellite, fold the antenna small and restrain it with a belt. After striking, release the restraint of the belt on the track using explosives, deploy by the deployment drive means such as springs attached to each hinge, and fix it at the deployment completed position by the latch mechanism of the hinge. To form a mirror surface shape.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is an embodiment of the present invention and is an example in which a large deployable antenna is mounted on a communication satellite. FIG. 1 (a) shows a state in which the solar cell paddle 5 is slightly deployed from the storage state in the rocket at the time of launching the rocket for placing the communication satellite on the geostationary orbit. Reference numeral 37 is a restraint for holding the antenna before launch in a housed state, and 38 is a holding and releasing device for releasing the restraint 37 on the track. Fig. 1
(b) is a state in which the deployment is further advanced than in FIG. 1 (a), the solar cell paddle 5 is fully deployed, and the antenna mirror frame 1 is being deployed. FIG. 1 (c) is a perspective view of the large deployable antenna in a fully deployed state. Reference numeral 1 is an antenna mirror surface frame formed by a member having a radial structure, 2 is a metal mesh stretched on the antenna mirror surface frame 1, 3 is an antenna sub-reflector capable of folding a column, 4 is a satellite body, 5 Is a foldable solar array paddle. With such a deployment structure, as a result, the large deployment antenna can be housed in a small space within the rocket fairing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the basic structure of the antenna mirror surface frame 1 formed by the members having the radial structure. FIG. 2 (a) is a fully expanded state, and FIG. 2 (b) is a folded state. FIG. 6 forms a radial structure A 6
Reference numeral 7 denotes a book member, and each of 7 is a hinge portion concentratedly connected to one place. The six members 9 forming the radial structure B, which are centrally connected to each other at the hinge portion 8, are provided at the hinge portion 10.
Is connected to the tip end of the member 6 via the so as to prevent the member 6 from spreading outward. Furthermore, by connecting the hinge portions 10 to each other with the wire 11, the twisting of the hexagonal pyramid formed by 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 is prevented. The wires 11 are capable of restraining the hinges so that the distance between the hinge portions does not exceed a predetermined value when the antenna is in the deployed state, and the distance between the hinge portions can be shortened when the antenna is in the housed state. It is possible to use restraints such as flexible belts, plates and rods. The three members 13 that are centrally connected to each other at the hinge portion 12 are connected to the hinge portion 7, and form a structure C that restricts the distance between the hinge portions 7.

By repeating a large number of the above structures, the effect is that the frame structure forming the antenna mirror surface can be efficiently housed, and at the same time, the rigidity and accuracy as a mirror surface can be maintained by the frame structure. . FIG. 2 (c) is a diagram showing a state of being stored. Each member is folded at its hinge portion, and is held in a housed state by a restraint 37 such as a wire or a clamp. The restraint 37 is released from the restraint on the track by a holding / releasing device such as a wire, a cutter, or a separation nut.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge portion 12, and FIG. 3 (a) shows a state of storage. The three members 13 are connection parts 1
It is attached to the hinge base 15 via 4 and can rotate about the rotation axis 16. FIG. 3 (b) shows a state at the time of unfolding, in which the member 13 can be opened by the force of the spring 17 attached to the rotary shaft 16 and is latched and fixed at the final position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge portion 8.
FIG. 4 (a) shows the state when stored, and FIG. 4 (b) shows the state after being expanded by the spring 21. Its structure is similar to that of the hinge portion 12 shown in FIG. 3, except that the number of members 13 is increased from three to six. That is, the six members 9 are the connecting portions 18
Is attached to the hinge base 19 via a spring 21, is deployed by a spring 21 around the rotary shaft 20, and is fixed at the final position.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge portion 7. Regarding the method of connecting the members 6 and 13 to the hinge base 22 and the deploying mechanism using the springs 23 and 24, the hinge portion 1 described above is used.
2, the same as the hinge part 8, but the hinge base 22 has a two-stage structure so that the members 6 and 13 do not collide with each other.
In addition, the vertices of the hexagonal pyramids formed by the members 6 and 13 are positioned on the same axis to improve the storage efficiency of the members. Further, the bottom surface of the hinge base 22 is hexagonal so that the hinge bases 22 can be close to each other without a gap during storage.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge portion 10. The method of connecting the members 6 and 9 to the hinge base 25 and the deploying structure using the springs 26, 27 are the same as those of the hinges 12, 8, 7 described above, but the mounting portions of the members 6 and 9 have the same radiation. It is arranged on the upper side so that the members do not collide with each other, and the apexes of the hexagonal pyramid formed by the members are located on the same axis line, so that the storage efficiency of the members is improved. Also,
The tension wire 11 is attached to the hinge base 25 through a rotatable wire attachment 28, and the tension wire 11 is inserted inward by a rotating mechanism at the time of storage, and is rotated outward at the time of deployment, so that the wire
The position of the hinge portion 10 on the mirror-finished frame 1 is restricted by 11. Further, the bottom surface of the hinge base 25 is hexagonal like the hinge base 22, so that the hinge bases 25 can be close to each other without a gap during storage.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a deployment mechanism and a latch mechanism of the attachment portion of the member to the hinge base. Member connection part 29
Is attached to the hinge base 30 via the rotary shaft 31,
The connecting portion 29 and the rotary shaft 31 are integrally rotatable with respect to the hinge base 30. On one or both sides of the rotary shaft 31, one end is fixed to the hinge base 30, and one end is fixed to the rotary shaft 31 by a spring 32.
Therefore, a rotational torque in the developing direction is given to the connecting portion 29. Each member whose fixation has been released on the track is automatically expanded by this expansion mechanism and is latched and fixed by the latch mechanism.
The member connecting portion 29 constituting the latch mechanism has a cutout portion, and the pawl 33 attached to the hinge base 30 when the member rotates to the position where the deployment is completed is the torque of the spring 35 fixed to one end of the pawl rotating shaft 34. It fits into the notch and fixes the rotation of the member. By using the member 39 which can be folded and expanded to receive a tensile force and a compressive force, the hinge portions 7 are connected to each other, and the distance between them is restrained, so that rigidity and strength are increased.

FIG. 12 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 12 (a) is a fully expanded state, and FIG. 12 (b) is a diagram showing a folded state. A restraint member 36, such as a wire, for connecting the hinge portions 7 is provided to restrain the distance between the hinge portions 7 after the expansion to enhance rigidity and strength.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, a large mesh deployment antenna for mounting on a satellite can be realized in a light weight, can be accommodated in a small size for transportation in orbit, and the rigidity of a frame after deployment can be achieved. There is an advantage that accuracy can be maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a large deployable antenna according to the present invention is mounted on a communication satellite, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a basic structure of an antenna mirror surface frame formed by members having a radial structure. The figure shows an example of the structure of the hinge portion 12, the fourth
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the hinge part 8, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the hinge part 7, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the hinge part 10, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a deployment mechanism and a latch mechanism of the attachment portion of the member of FIG. 8, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional satellite antenna mounted on a satellite, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional mesh antenna mounted on a satellite. , 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an example in which a conventional truss deploying antenna is mounted on a communication satellite, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a basic structure of a conventional truss deploying antenna mirror surface frame, and FIG. 12 is another embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the basic structure of the antenna mirror surface frame described. 1 ... Antenna mirror surface frame, 2 ... Antenna mirror surface metal mesh, 3 ... Antenna sub-reflector, 4 ... Satellite body,
5 ... Solar paddles, 6,9,13 ... Frame members, 7,8,
10,12 …… Hinge part, 11 …… Wire, 14,18,29 …… Connecting part, 15,19,22,25,30 …… Hinge base, 16,20,31 …… Rotary axis, 17,21 , 23,24,26,27,32,35 …… Spring, 28 …… Wire mount, 33 …… Claw, 34 …… Claw rotating shaft, 36 …… Restricting member, 37 …… Restricting tool, 38 …… Holding and releasing device, 39 ... Restraint member

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Six first elongate members of substantially equal length.
(6) and the first hinge part that centrally connects them in one place
A radial structure A having (7), six second elongated members (9) having a different length from the first elongated member (6), and a second hinge portion (8) concentratingly connecting them. A radial structure B having
Connecting the tips of the first and second elongated members (6, 9) 6
Six restraints (1) for restraining the distance between the third hinge portion (10) and the six hinge portions so as not to exceed a predetermined value.
The hexagonal pyramid frame structure having 1) is used as one segment, the third hinge portion (10) of the hexagonal pyramid-shaped segments share each other, and three third elongated members (13) of approximately equal length And a member tip of the structure C having a fourth hinge portion (12) for centrally connecting them in one place is connected to the first hinge portion (7) of the radial structure A which is the apex of the hexagonal pyramidal segment. With this structure, a frame structure in which a plurality of segments is formed is formed, and each of the hinge portions is provided with means for driving each member to be deployed and a latch mechanism for latching and fixing the position of each member after the deployment. A developed antenna reflector, wherein an antenna mirror surface is formed by a metal mesh stretched on the surface formed by B.