Antenna and method with self-holding deployment locking device having zero strut stiffness

Abstract

The present invention provides an antenna and method with a zero strut stiffness self-holding deployment and locking device in the field of satellite technology in aerospace technology, including a plate-shaped antenna, sub-plates, and deployment and locking hinges. The plate-shaped antenna is split into multiple sub-plates arranged in sequence, and the sub-plates are connected by deployment and locking hinges; on both sides of the sub-plates, an inner web, a middle web, and an outer web are connected in sequence from the inside to the outside. The inner web is fixedly connected to the sub-plate in the same plane, and both the middle web and the inner web, and the outer web and the middle web are connected by rotating hinges and torsion springs. The design logic of this invention is clear, the method is simple and feasible, and it is convenient to operate and implement, meeting the requirements of high storage ratio and deployment and locking of the plate-shaped antenna. It has been proven by simulation and tests that this technology is effective and feasible and has a wide range of applications in engineering.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of satellite technology in aerospace technology, and in particular to an antenna with a zero-strut stiffness self-retaining deployment locking device and a method thereof. Background Art

[0002] In order to ensure that the satellite-borne flat-plate antenna maintains the most compact folded configuration during the satellite launch state, and can be normally unfolded and locked after the satellite is launched into orbit, and provide the antenna with surface accuracy and rigidity retention functions, it is necessary to carry out innovative research on the design method of the deployment mechanism. Traditional satellite-borne flat-plate antennas generally have the characteristics of large size, heavy weight, and complex deployment mechanism. In order to adapt to the envelope limitation of the launch vehicle fairing, the satellite-borne flat-plate antenna is generally folded, folded and pressed on the side of the satellite body through the deployment mechanism, and then unfolded into a flat-plate antenna through the deployment mechanism after launching into orbit. Traditional flat-plate antenna deployment tests generally have the process characteristics of long preliminary preparation cycle, time-consuming and labor-intensive precision debugging, and complex state conversion procedures. With the vigorous development of my country's aerospace industry, especially the rapid development of lightweight and miniaturization technology in recent years, the demand for lightweight and thin-plate payloads has become increasingly urgent. At the same time, in order to meet the launch requirements of the launch vehicle, the flat-plate payload needs to be folded, folded and pressed on the satellite platform in the launch state. Therefore, the development of a new flat-plate antenna deployment mechanism with a high storage ratio and reliable and reliable deployment has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0003] The present invention relates to a method for self - maintaining stiffness and deploying and locking without a support rod for a plate - shaped antenna. After the plate - shaped antenna is deployed in orbit from the stowed state, the folding and self - locking functions of the mechanisms on both sides of the antenna plate are used to provide stiffness for the deployed flat antenna. Currently, there is no record of the method for self - maintaining stiffness and deploying and locking without a support rod for a plate - shaped antenna in the published literature and materials. After investigation, a patent for invention titled "Deploying Mechanism for Folding Double - Wing Plates of an Aircraft" (Zhong Shihong, Patent No.: ZL201010291506.4) is disclosed. In this method, a gas - actuated device drives a slider to move linearly along a linear guide rail. Two connecting rods are each hinged to a rocker, and the other end of each rocker is respectively hinged to a wing - plate rotating shaft fixed on a wing - plate bracket. When the slider moves, the wing plate is driven to rotate through the transmission of the rocker. This invention is a connecting - rod mechanism driven by a power device. Therefore, this literature and the inventive method introduced in the present invention belong to different technical fields. A paper titled "Design and Dynamic Analysis of Deployable Mechanisms for Solid - Surface Antennas" (Guo Hongwei, et al., Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology, 2019, 51(7) 1 - 8) is disclosed, which introduces a deployable antenna mechanism for a solid - surface reflector and analyzes the antenna deployment function and structural dynamics. Therefore, this literature and the inventive method introduced in the present invention belong to different technical directions and different technical application scopes. A paper titled "Design and Verification of a Deployment and Locking Mechanism for a Thin - Film Spacecraft" (Sun Liang, et al., Machine Design and Manufacturing Engineering, 2019, 48(7) 67 - 70) is disclosed, which introduces a study on a new type of deployable and lockable thin - film spacecraft deployment and locking mechanism based on space application standards, mainly used for the locking and release of spacecraft support arms and thin - film sail bodies, providing a platform for the inflation and deployment of the sail body. However, the present invention introduces a self - maintaining stiffness and deploying and locking mechanism without a support rod for a plate - shaped antenna, which is a stiffness - maintaining system for a plate - shaped antenna after deployment. Therefore, this literature and the inventive method introduced in the present invention belong to different technical fields.

[0004] Through searching the prior art patent documents, it is found that the Chinese utility model patent publication number is CN102983383B, which discloses a new type of deployed locking device, which belongs to the field of satellite platform technology and is used to lock the flat antenna. It includes a bottom plate, a rotating device for carrying the device to be deployed and deploying the device to be deployed by rotating itself, a blocking device for stopping the rotating device that has rotated to the position to rotate in the original direction, a rebound prevention device for preventing the rotating device that has stopped rotating in the original direction from rebounding, and a trigger device for triggering the rotation of the rotating device. The rotating device, the blocking device, and the rebound prevention device are fixed on the bottom plate; the present invention triggers the rotation of the rotating device through the trigger device, and when the rotating device carrying the device to be deployed rotates to the position, the rotating device is locked by the blocking device and the rebound prevention device. The device is only used to lock the deployed or to-be-deployed flat antenna, while the present invention introduces an antenna and a method with a zero-strut stiffness self-retaining deployment locking device, which is deployed and locked under the effect of the plate antenna itself. Therefore, the document and the invention method introduced in the present invention belong to different inventive concepts. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the defects in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an antenna and method having a self-retaining deployment locking device with zero strut stiffness.

[0006] According to the present invention, an antenna with a zero-strut stiffness self-retaining deployment locking device includes a plate-shaped antenna and an deployment locking hinge, wherein the plate-shaped antenna includes a plurality of sub-plates arranged in sequence, and the sub-plates are connected by the deployment locking hinge;

[0007] The inner web, middle web and outer web are connected to the sub-plate body on both sides from inside to outside, the inner web and the sub-plate are fixedly connected in the same plane, and the middle web and the inner web, and the outer web and the middle web are connected by rotating hinges and torsion springs.

[0008] In some embodiments, the unfolding locking hinge is used to fold or unfold the plurality of sub-panels;

[0009] The plate antenna moves between a folded state and an unfolded state by unfolding a locking hinge;

[0010] When the plate antenna is in a folded state, the sub-boards are folded in a zigzag shape during the folding process and finally become folded;

[0011] When the plate-shaped antenna is in the unfolded state, the sub-board bodies unfold in a zigzag shape during the unfolding process and finally form a plane.

[0012] In some embodiments, when the planar antenna is in the deployed state, on the same side, the outer web and the middle web are flipped inward towards the inner web side by an obtuse angle under the action of the torsion spring and locked into a triangular crossbeam;

[0013] When the planar antenna is in the folded state, the outer web, the middle web, and the inner web are in the same plane as the connected sub-board body under the action of the adjacent sub-boards.

[0014] In some embodiments, the inner web, the middle web, and the outer web can be folded or deployed within a range of 180° under the action of the rotating hinge.

[0015] In some embodiments, for an antenna with a self-holding deployment and locking device having zero strut stiffness, the following steps are included:

[0016] S1. According to the antenna aperture, the sub-boards are sequentially spliced through the deployment and locking hinges to form a planar antenna;

[0017] S2. The webs between the sub-boards correspond to each other, and the webs are connected by rotating hinges for 180° deployment;

[0018] S3: The sub-boards are deployed through the deployment and locking hinges. During the deployment process between the sub-boards, they are deployed in a zigzag pattern and finally form a plane. The webs on both sides of the sub-board body are deployed into a plane along with the sub-board body;

[0019] S4: The outer web and the middle web on both sides of the sub-board body are flipped inward towards the inner web side by an obtuse angle under the action of the torsion spring and locked into a triangular crossbeam to ensure the surface accuracy and stiffness of the antenna after deployment;

[0020] S5: When the six webs on both sides of the sub-board body are in the same plane, the sub-boards are folded between each other through the deployment and locking hinges. During the folding process between the sub-boards, they are folded in a zigzag pattern and finally form a folded shape to retract the antenna. At the same time, the webs are connected by rotating hinges for 180° deployment.

[0021] In some embodiments, in step S, the sub-boards are folded in a zigzag pattern by 180° in sequence.

[0022] In some embodiments, after the sub-boards are sequentially connected in sequence, the webs on both sides of the sub-board body correspond to each other one by one. After the webs are connected by rotating hinges, they can be deployed by 180° along with the sub-boards.

[0023] In some embodiments, in step S, between the inner web and the middle web, and between the middle web and the outer web, they are connected by rotating hinges and can be folded into an obtuse angle. The rotating hinge is a planar hinge.

[0024] In some embodiments, between the inner web and the middle web, and between the middle web and the outer web, the torsion spring provides the torque for folding when acting as the rotating hinge.

[0025] In some embodiments, the following formula represents the stiffness after forming the triangular crossbeam in step S:

[0026] Let b T be the width of the inner web, middle web, or outer web, and h T be the height of the triangular cross-section formed by the inner web, middle web, and outer web. Therefore, the moment of inertia of the designed triangular cross-section is:

[0027]

[0028] Meanwhile, let b A be the width of the planar antenna, and h A be the thickness of the planar antenna. Therefore, the moment of inertia of the antenna board cross-section is:

[0029]

[0030] Therefore, the cross-sectional flexural stiffness k of the unfolded antenna board is k = 2·E A ·I A + E T ·I T , where E A is the elastic modulus of the planar antenna, and E T is the elastic modulus of the triangular beam.

[0031] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0032] 1. Without changing the structure form of the flat antenna itself and without changing the characteristics of the antenna system, the present invention can effectively ensure the surface accuracy and holding stiffness after the antenna board is unfolded by inventing the self-locking unfolding frame structure on the side of the antenna board.

[0033] 2. The zero-strut stiffness self-holding unfolding and locking mechanism of the thin-plate antenna provided by the present invention has a simple structure, is convenient for installation and adjustment, and is safe and reliable in use; all components used can be realized by ordinary machining, and the processing technology is good.

[0034] 3. The zero-strut stiffness self-holding unfolding and locking method of the thin-plate antenna provided by the present invention can realize the rapid integration of the unfolding mechanism and the thin-plate antenna, requires a small operating space, has good mobility and flexibility, and can meet the rapid process conversion requirements of satellites.

[0035] 4. The structure of the present invention has good stiffness stability and can meet the unfolding requirements of thin-plate antennas with various lengths and weights.

[0036] 5. The present invention not only meets the requirements of unfolding and locking of the thin-plate antenna, but also has a clear design logic, a simple and feasible method, is easy to operate and implement, and can be especially extended to the situation of parallel development of multiple satellites, effectively reducing the satellite development cycle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non - limiting embodiments read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0038] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the steps of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the antenna of the present invention from the folded state to the unfolded state.

[0040] Reference numerals in the figures:

[0041] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0042] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. The following embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the present invention in any form. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present invention, several changes and improvements can still be made. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0043] Example 1

[0044] The antenna provided by the present invention with a zero - strut - stiffness self - holding deployment locking device includes a plate - shaped antenna 2 and a deployment locking hinge 4. The plate - shaped antenna 2 is connected to the satellite platform 1. Preferably, the plate - shaped antenna 2 is a thin - plate antenna. The plate - shaped antenna 2 includes a plurality of sub - plates 3 arranged in sequence. The sub - plates 3 are connected by the deployment locking hinge 4, and the deployment locking hinge 4 is used to fold or unfold the plurality of sub - plates 3.

[0045] Preferably, the plate - shaped antenna 2 moves between the folded state and the unfolded state through the deployment locking hinge 4;

[0046] When the plate - shaped antenna 2 is in the folded state, the sub - plates 3 are folded in a zig - zag manner during the folding process and finally in a folded shape;

[0047] When the plate - shaped antenna 2 is in the unfolded state, the sub - plate bodies 300 are unfolded in a zig - zag manner during the unfolding process and finally in a plane.

[0048] On both sides of the daughter board body 300 of the daughter board 3, an inner web 5, a middle web 6, and an outer web 7 are sequentially connected from the inside to the outside. The inner web 5 is fixedly connected to the daughter board body 300 of the daughter board in the same plane. The middle web 6 and the inner web 5, and the outer web 7 and the middle web 6 are connected by a rotating hinge 8 and a torsion spring 9 respectively. Preferably, the range of folding or unfolding of the inner web 5, the middle web 6, and the outer web 7 under the action of the rotating hinge 8 is 0° - 180°. Specifically, the torsion spring 9 provides the torque for folding for the rotating hinge 8 between the inner web 5 and the middle web 6, and between the middle web 6 and the outer web 7. Preferably, the rotating hinge 8 is a planar hinge.

[0049] More specifically, when the plate antenna 2 is in the unfolded state, on the same side, the outer web 7 and the middle web 6 are flipped towards the inner web 5 side by an obtuse angle under the action of the torsion spring 9 and locked into a triangular crossbeam to ensure the surface accuracy and stiffness of the antenna after unfolding. When the plate antenna 2 is in the folded state, the outer web 7, the middle web 6, and the inner web 5 are in the same plane as the connected daughter board body 300 under the action of the adjacent daughter board 3.

[0050] In the above embodiments, the structure of the present invention is simple, the installation and adjustment are convenient, and the use is safe and reliable; each component used can be realized by ordinary machining, and the processing technology is good. Without changing the structure form of the flat antenna itself and without changing the characteristics of the antenna system, by inventing the self-locking unfolding frame structure on the side of the antenna board, the surface accuracy and the maintaining stiffness of the antenna board after unfolding can be effectively guaranteed.

[0051] Example 2

[0052] The present invention also provides a method for self-maintaining stiffness and unfolding and locking of a plate antenna without a support rod, which uses the device of Embodiment 1 and includes the following steps:

[0053] For an antenna with a self-maintaining stiffness and unfolding and locking device without a support rod, it includes the following steps:

[0054] S1. According to the antenna aperture, the daughter boards 3 are sequentially spliced through the unfolding and locking hinge 4 to form the plate antenna 2;

[0055] S2. The webs between the daughter boards 3 correspond to each other, and the webs are connected by the rotating hinge 8 for 180° unfolding;

[0056] S3: Unfold the daughter boards 3 through the unfolding and locking hinge 4. During the unfolding process between the daughter boards 3, they are unfolded in a zigzag shape and finally form a plane. The webs on both sides of the daughter board 3 are unfolded into a plane along with the daughter board body 300;

[0057] S4: The outer webs 7 and middle webs 6 on both sides of the daughter board body 300 are flipped towards the inner web 5 side by an obtuse angle under the action of the torsion spring 9 and locked into a triangular crossbeam to ensure the surface accuracy and stiffness of the antenna after deployment;

[0058] S5: When the six webs on both sides of the daughter board body 300 are in the same plane, the daughter boards 3 are folded through the deployment locking hinge 4. During the folding process of the daughter boards 3, a zigzag folding is performed and finally the antenna is folded into a folded shape. At the same time, the webs are connected by a rotating hinge 8 for 180° deployment.

[0059] Among them, in step S5, the daughter boards 3 are folded in a zigzag shape by 180° in sequence. When the daughter boards 3 are connected in sequence, the webs on both sides correspond to each other one by one. After the webs are connected by the rotating hinge 8, they can be deployed by 180° along with the daughter boards 3.

[0060] Among them, in step S4, the inner web 5 and the middle web 6, and the middle web 6 and the outer web 7 are connected by a rotating hinge 8 and can be folded into an obtuse angle. Preferably, the obtuse angle is 120°. Preferably, the rotating hinge 8 is a planar rotating hinge. The torsion spring 9 provides the torque for folding for the rotating hinge 8 (planar rotating hinge) between the inner web 5 and the middle web 6, and between the middle web 6 and the outer web 7.

[0061] Among them, the following formula is the stiffness after forming the triangular crossbeam in step S4:

[0062] Let b T be the width of the inner web 5 or the middle web 6 or the outer web 7, and h T be the height of the triangular cross-section formed by the inner web 5, the middle web 6, and the outer web 7. Therefore, the moment of inertia of the designed triangular cross-section is:

[0063]

[0064] At the same time, let b A be the width of the plate antenna 2, and h A be the thickness of the plate antenna 2. Therefore, the moment of inertia of the antenna board cross-section is:

[0065]

[0066] Therefore, the cross-sectional bending stiffness k of the antenna board after deployment = 2·E A ·I A +E T ·I T , where E A is the elastic modulus of the plate antenna 2, and E Tis the elastic modulus of the triangular beam. Since both of the above two items are positive numbers much greater than zero, the above unfolding method can provide stiffness guarantee for the antenna panel and support for the surface accuracy and stiffness of the antenna after unfolding.

[0067] It has been proved by simulation and experiment that this method can effectively solve the requirement of stiffness self-maintaining unfolding and locking of the plate antenna without struts, creating a new design method for the subsequent satellite design, and this invention will be widely applied in this field.

[0068] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation to this application.

[0069] The specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which does not affect the essence of the present invention. Without conflict, the embodiments of this application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other arbitrarily.

Claims

1. An antenna with a self-holding deployment and locking device having zero strut stiffness, characterized in that: It comprises a plate-shaped antenna (2) and an unfolding locking hinge (4), wherein the plate-shaped antenna (2) comprises a plurality of sub-boards (3) arranged in sequence, and the sub-boards (3) are connected via the unfolding locking hinge (4); The two sides of the sub-plate (3) are connected with an inner web (5), a middle web (6) and an outer web (7) in sequence from the inside to the outside, the inner web (5) and the sub-plate (3) are fixedly connected in the same plane, and the middle web (6) and the inner web (5) as well as the outer web (7) and the middle web (6) are connected via a rotating hinge (8) and a torsion spring (9); When the plate-shaped antenna (2) is in an unfolded state, on the same side, the outer web (7) and the middle web (6) are flipped at an obtuse angle toward the inner web (5) under the action of the torsion spring (9) and then locked into a triangular crossbeam; When the plate-shaped antenna (2) is in a folded state, the outer web (7), the middle web (6) and the inner web (5) are affected by the adjacent sub-boards (3) and are located in the same plane as the connected sub-boards (3).

2. The antenna with a self-holding deployment and locking device having zero strut stiffness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The unfolding locking hinge (4) is used to fold or unfold the plurality of sub-panels (3); The plate-shaped antenna (2) moves between a folded state and an unfolded state via the unfolding locking hinge (4); When the plate-shaped antenna (2) is in a folded state, the sub-boards (3) are folded in a zigzag shape during the folding process and finally form a folded shape; When the plate-shaped antenna (2) is in an unfolded state, the sub-plates (3) unfold in a zigzag shape during the unfolding process and finally form a plane.

3. The antenna with a zero strut stiffness self-holding deployment locking device according to claim 1, wherein: The inner web (5), the middle web (6) and the outer web (7) can be folded or unfolded in a range of 0°-180° under the action of the rotating hinge (8).

4. A method for self - maintaining stiffness and deploying and locking of a plate - shaped antenna without a support rod, characterized in that, The antenna with the zero-strut stiffness self-retaining deployment locking device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 comprises the following steps: S1, sequentially splicing the sub-boards (3) through the unfolding locking hinges (4) according to the antenna diameter to form the plate-shaped antenna (2); S2, the webs between the sub-plates (3) correspond to each other, and the webs are connected by the rotating hinge (8) to be unfolded 180 degrees; S3: the sub-panels (3) are unfolded by the unfolding locking hinges (4), the sub-panels (3) unfold in a zigzag shape during the unfolding process and finally form a plane, and the webs on both sides of the sub-panels (3) unfold into a plane along with the sub-panels (3); S4: The outer webs (7) and the middle webs (6) on both sides of the sub-plate (3) are flipped at an obtuse angle toward the inner web (5) under the action of the torsion spring (9) and then locked into a triangular crossbeam, so as to ensure the shape accuracy and rigidity of the antenna after it is deployed; S5: When the six webs on both sides of the sub-board (3) are in the same plane, the sub-boards (3) are folded together through the unfolding locking hinge (4). During the folding process, the sub-boards (3) are folded in a zigzag shape and finally the antenna is folded in a folded shape. At the same time, the webs are connected by the rotating hinge (8) to unfold 180 degrees.

5. The method for self - maintaining stiffness and deploying and locking of a plate - shaped antenna without a strut according to claim 4, wherein: In step S5, the sub-boards (3) are folded at 180° in a zigzag pattern in sequence.

6. The method for self-retaining stiffness expansion and locking of a plate antenna without a strut according to claim 4, characterized in that, After the sub-boards (3) are connected in sequence, the webs on both sides of the sub-boards (3) correspond to each other one by one. After being connected by the rotating hinge (8), the webs can be unfolded at 180° along with the sub-boards (3).

7. The method for self-retaining stiffness expansion and locking of a plate antenna without a strut according to claim 4, characterized in that, In step S4, between the inner web (5) and the middle web (6), and between the middle web (6) and the outer web (7), they are connected by the rotating hinge (8) and can be folded into an obtuse angle, where the rotating hinge (8) is a planar hinge.

8. The method for self-retaining expansion and locking of the stiffness of a plate-shaped antenna with zero struts according to claim 7, characterized in that, Between the inner web (5) and the middle web (6), and between the middle web (6) and the outer web (7), the torsion spring (8) provides torque for the rotating hinge (8) during folding.

9. The method for self - maintaining stiffness, deploying and locking of a plate - shaped antenna without a support rod according to claim 4, characterized in that, The following formula is the stiffness after forming the triangular cross beam in step S4: Let b T be the width of the inner web (5) or the middle web (6) or the outer web (7), and h T be the height of the triangular cross-section formed by the inner web (5), the middle web (6) and the outer web (7). Therefore, the moment of inertia of the designed triangular cross-section is as follows: Meanwhile, let b A be the width of the plate antenna (2), and h A be the thickness of the plate antenna (2). Therefore, the moment of inertia of the antenna plate cross-section is: Therefore, the cross-sectional bending stiffness k of the antenna board after unfolding is k = 2·E A ·I A +E T ·I T , where E A is the elastic modulus of the plate-shaped antenna (2), and E T is the elastic modulus of the triangular beam.

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