JPS6215904A - Expansion type antenna reflection mirror - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of storage and to attain high rigidity and high accuracy of the entire antenna by forming an antenna reflection mirror surface by the set of hexagonal cone-shaped segments so as to facilitate the forming of a large aperture reflection mirror. CONSTITUTION:Six members 6 forming the radiation structure A and a hinge 7 collecting and coupling them at a point are provided. Further, six members 9 collected and coupled to a point by a hinge 8 to form radial structure B are coupled with the tip of the members 6 via a hinge 10 to limit the spread of the members 6 toward the outside. Moreover, the torsion of the hexagonal cone consisting of the members 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 is prevented by coupling the hinges 10 by a wire 10. Three members 13 collected and coupled to a point by a hinge 12 are coupled by the hinges 7 to form a structure C restricting the distance among the hinges 7. The structures above are repeated for many number of times to store efficiently the frame structure and the rigidity and accuracy as the mirror surface are kept by the frame structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a large antenna mounted on an artificial satellite, which can be folded into a small size and stored when transported into orbit by a rocket or the like. The present invention relates to a mesh deployable antenna for use on a satellite that is deployed in orbit to form a desired shape.

(Prior art) As shown in FIG. 8 or 9, a conventional mesh deployable antenna for a satellite is developed by stretching meshes 34 and 36 on radial lips 63° 35 in a petal-like or fan-like shape, and extending it in the shape of a parabolic surface. It was intended to form a radio wave reflecting surface.

Therefore, due to the size limitations of rocket fairings, the current size limit is an opening diameter of 10 meters. Therefore.

It is conceivable to make the aperture larger by folding it into two or six stages like a folding umbrella, but the radial lip alone is not enough to maintain the mirror precision after unfolding. The drawback was that it was difficult. Furthermore, even if rigidity can be ensured, the elastic mesh 34, 36 stretched between the radial lips 33, 55 has the property of forming a surface that bulges inward from the mirror surface of an ideal parabola. The mirror surface error increases around the reflector,
In order to achieve high mirror precision, it is necessary to increase the number of mirrors, which has the disadvantage of increasing weight.

On the other hand, the conventional deployable truss structure antenna that has been proposed to solve the drawbacks of the radial lip has a triangular pyramidal frame structure as one segment, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. This is a configuration in which a plurality of segments form a continuous frame structure by connecting the segments.

1 Figure 11 (a) is a diagram showing the state when stored, Figure 11 (b) is a diagram showing the state in which it is being expanded, and Figure 11 (C) is a diagram showing the fully expanded state. be. However, since only rod-shaped members are used to maintain rigidity and strength, the weight of each member increases, and there are many places where the member bends, which increases the number of hinge mechanisms, which further increases the weight. There was a drawback to that. Furthermore, since the number of members that can be used to fix the metal mesh per segment is only three, there is a disadvantage in that it is disadvantageous for achieving high precision mirror surfaces.

(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 arranged in a radial shape in a frame structure to maintain the rigidity and strength of the entire antenna.

The end of the antenna is stretched with wire, and the mirror surface of the antenna is made of metal mesh.The purpose is to expand the antenna to a larger size than before, with the same storage dimensions as before, and to achieve high mirror precision, high rigidity, and light weight. It is about realization.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has a structure in which an antenna reflecting mirror surface is formed by a collection of hexagonal pyramid-shaped segments, and in addition to being easy to form a large-diameter reflecting mirror and having high storage efficiency, the antenna The most important feature is that it can achieve high overall rigidity and high precision.

Conventional antenna reflecting mirror surfaces develop radial lips into a petal-like or fan-like shape, and are not suitable for increasing the diameter, rigidity, and precision of the mirror surface, but the present invention solves these problems. different.

(Function) When launching a satellite, the antenna is folded into a small size and restrained with a belt, etc. After a meeting, the restraint of the belt is released using explosives in orbit, and a 9 is attached to each hinge part. It is expanded by an expansion driving means such as a spring, and is fixed at the fully expanded position by a latch mechanism of the hinge part to form a mirror-like shape.

(Example) FIG. 1 shows an example of the present invention in which a large deployable antenna is mounted on a communication satellite.

FIG. 1(a) shows a state in which the solar battery paddle 5 is slightly expanded from the state in which it is stored in the rocket at the time of rocket launch to place a communication satellite on a geosynchronous orbit. 3
7 is a restraint device for holding the antenna in a stored state before launch, and 38 is a holding and releasing device for releasing the restraint device 37 on orbit. FIG. 1(b) is a diagram showing a state in which the deployment has further progressed compared to FIG. 1(a), the solar battery paddle 5 is completely 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 expanded state. 3 is the antenna sub-reflector whose support can be folded, 4 is the satellite body, 5 is the
is a collapsible solar array paddle. With such a deployable structure, the large deployable antenna can be stored in a small space within the rocket fairing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the basic structure of the antenna mirror frame 1, which is made up of members with a radial structure.

Figure 2 (a) shows the fully expanded state, Figure 2 (b)
) is a diagram showing how it is folded. Reference numeral 6 indicates six members forming the radial structure A, and reference numeral 7 indicates a hinge portion that centrally connects them at one location. The six members 9, which are concentratedly connected at one place by the hinge part 8 and form the radial structure B, are connected to the tip of the member 6 via the hinge part 10, and the outward expansion of the member 6 is prevented. is suppressing shi. moreover,
By connecting the hinge parts 10 with wires 11, the hexagonal pyramid formed by 6.7, 8, 9 degrees 10 is prevented from twisting.
The book member 13 is coupled to the hinge part 7 and forms a structure C that restricts the distance between the hinge parts 7.

By repeating the above structure many times, the frame structure that forms the antenna mirror surface can be efficiently housed, and at the same time, the frame structure can maintain the rigidity and precision of the mirror surface. 0 FIG. 2(C) is a diagram showing the stored state. Each member is folded at its hinge portion and held in the stored state by a restraining device 37 such as a wire or a clamp. The restraint device 37 is released from restraint on the track by a holding and releasing device such as a wire, cutter, or separation nut.
FIG. 3(a) is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge portion 12.
) is the state when stored. The three members 13 are the connecting parts 14
It is attached to the hinge stand 15 via a hinge and is rotatable around a rotating shaft 16. FIG. 5(b) shows the unfolded state, in which the member 13 can be opened by the force of a spring 17 attached to the rotating shaft 16 and latched in the final position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the hinge part 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 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 connected to the hinge base 1 via the connecting portion 18.
Salt 9 is attached to 9, and it is expanded by a spring 21 around the rotation axis 20 and fixed at the final position.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the structure of the hinge portion 7 in a perspective view. The method of connecting the members 6 and 16 to the hinge stand 22 and the unfolding mechanism using the springs 23 and 24 are the same as those for the hinge part 12 and the hinge part 8, but the hinge stand 2
2 has a two-tiered structure to prevent members 6 and 13 from colliding with each other, and the apexes of the hexagonal pyramid formed by members 6 and 13 are located on the same axis, thereby increasing the storage efficiency of the members. It's increasing. Further, the bottom surface of the hinge base 22 is hexagonal, so that the hinge bases 22 come close to each other without any gaps when stored.

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 unfolding mechanism using the springs 26 and 27 are the same as those of the hinge parts 12 and 8.7, but the members 6 and 9
The parts are mounted on the same radial line to prevent the members from colliding with each other, and the apexes of the hexagonal pyramids formed by the members are located on the same axis, increasing the efficiency of storing the members. In addition, the tension wire 11 is attached to the hinge base 25 via a rotatable wire attachment mechanism 28.
When stored, it moves inward by a rotation mechanism, and when deployed, it rotates outward, and the position of the hinge part 10 in the mirror frame 1 is restrained by the wire 11. Also, by making the bottom of the hinge stand 25 hexagonal like the hinge stand 22,
When stored, the hinge stands 25 are arranged to approach each other without any gaps.

FIG. 7 shows an example of an unfolding mechanism and a latch mechanism for attaching a member to a hinge stand.

The member connecting portion 29 is attached to the hinge stand 30 via a rotating shaft 51, and the connecting portion 29 and the rotating shaft 61 are integrally rotatable with respect to the hinge stand 30. There is a spring 32 on one or both sides of the rotating shaft 31, which has one end fixed to the hinge stand 30 and one end fixed to the rotating shaft 31.

A rotational torque is applied to the connecting portion 29 in the unfolding direction.

Each member released from fixation on the orbit is automatically deployed by this deployment mechanism and latched by the latch mechanism. There is a notch in the member connecting portion 29 constituting the latch mechanism, and when one member rotates to the fully expanded position, a pawl 63 is attached to the hinge base 30 and a spring 35 is fixed to one end of the pawl rotating shaft 34. The rotation of the member is fixed by fitting it into the notch with the torque of . The hinge parts 7 are connected together using a member 39 that can be folded and unfolded to receive tensile force and compressive force, and by restricting the distance between them, rigidity and strength are increased.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 (a) shows the fully expanded state, and Figure 12 (b)
) is a diagram showing how it is folded. A restraining member 36, such as a wire, is provided to connect the hinge parts 7 together, and the distance between the hinge parts 7 after deployment is restricted to increase rigidity.
increasing strength.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a lightweight large mesh deployable antenna for use on a satellite, and also to be able to store it in a small size for transportation to orbit, and to have a frame after deployment. It has the advantage of being able to maintain rigidity and precision.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Fig. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a large deployable antenna according to the present invention mounted on a communication satellite, and Fig. 2 shows the basic structure of the antenna mirror frame made up of radial structural members. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the hinge part 12, FIG. 4 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, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the unfolding mechanism and latch mechanism for attaching members to the hinge part, and FIG.
The figure shows an example of a conventional satellite-mounted mesh antenna, Figure 9 shows an example of a conventional satellite-mounted mesh antenna, and Figure 10 shows an example of a conventional truss deployable antenna mounted on a communication satellite. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the basic structure of a conventional truss deployable antenna mirror frame.
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the basic structure of the antenna mirror frame described in other embodiments. 1... Antenna mirror frame, 2... Antenna mirror metal mesh, 3... Antenna sub-reflector, 4... Satellite body, 5... Solar battery paddle, 6,9.1! l
...Frame member, 7,8,10.12...Hinge part, 11...Wire, 14°18.29...Connection part, 15.19. ．． 22,25.30...Hinge stand, 1
6.20.31... Rotating axis, 17, 21, 23, 24
, 26, 27, 32. . 35...Spring, 28...Wire installation tool, 53...
- Pawl, 34... pawl rotation axis, 36... restraint member,
37... Restraint device, 38... Holding and releasing device, 39...
・Restraint member Figure 3 Figure 5 (0n
(b) 7 children Kamezumi 7F71 (of
Cb) 42 table antenna + ag chiq leap (row 7 nrana * 10 times (α) (b) Collection of functions antenna 11 diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A radial structure A having six elongated members (6) of approximately equal length and a hinge part (7) that centrally connects them to one place, and six elongated members (6) of different lengths from the elongated members (6). A radial structure B that has a book elongated member (9) and a hinge part (8) that centrally connects them; and six hinge parts (10) that connect the tips of the elongated members of structure A and structure B; 6
Six restraints (11) that restrict the distance between the hinge parts
A hexagonal pyramidal frame structure having a hexagonal pyramidal structure is one segment, the hexagonal pyramidal segments share a hinge part (10), and three elongated members (13) of approximately equal length are centrally connected in one place. By connecting the tip of the member of structure C having a hinge part (12) to the hinge part (7) of radial structure A, which is the apex of the hexagonal pyramidal segment, a frame structure in which a plurality of segments are continuous is formed. The antenna mirror surface is provided with a means for deploying each member and a latch mechanism for latching and fixing the position of each member after deployment at each hinge portion, and a metal mesh stretched over the surface formed by the radial structure B. A deployable antenna reflector characterized by forming an antenna reflector.