A multi-channel rotatable microwave link space structure

Abstract

This invention provides a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure, comprising: a rotary joint, a joint support, a connecting waveguide, a waveguide support, a waveguide pad, a support pad, a branch waveguide, and a two-dimensional pointing mechanism. Multiple rotary joints are arranged in parallel within the X or Y axis frame of the two-dimensional pointing mechanism. The fixed ends of the rotary joints are fixed to the corresponding X or Y axis frame via the joint support, while the rotating ends are indirectly fixed to the intermediate frame of the two-dimensional pointing mechanism via the connecting waveguide. Multiple connecting waveguides connect the rotating ends of the rotary joints within the X-axis frame to the corresponding rotating ends of the rotary joints within the Y-axis frame, forming multiple inter-joint microwave links. The branch waveguide is fixed at the fixed end of the rotary joint. This invention achieves two-axis multi-channel microwave signal transmission within a limited space through the parallel arrangement of the two-axis rotary joints, and features stable electrical signal transmission, low debugging difficulty, compact structure, easy channel expansion, and good heat dissipation performance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of microwave communication, and particularly relates to a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure. Background Technology

[0002] When a satellite is in orbit, to achieve high-gain, high-speed transmission of microwave signals between the onboard antenna and the ground receiving station or relay satellite, a two-dimensional pointing mechanism is typically used to point the onboard antenna towards the ground receiving station or relay satellite in real time. The transmission of microwave signals during the movement of the two-dimensional pointing mechanism is generally achieved by connecting a rigid waveguide to a rotating joint. This rotatable microwave link and the two-dimensional pointing mechanism are usually integrated into a single design.

[0003] Currently, most rotatable microwave links are single-channel or two-channel. With the increase in satellite communication, the operating modes of spaceborne antennas are becoming more diversified and integrating multiple operating modes. However, due to limitations such as frequency bands and functions, antenna microwave links cannot effectively share channels, and two-channel microwave links can no longer meet the diverse operating modes of current antennas. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure, comprising: a rotary joint, a joint support, a connecting waveguide, a waveguide support, a waveguide pad, a support pad, a branch waveguide, and a two-dimensional pointing mechanism;

[0005] The two-dimensional pointing mechanism includes an X-axis frame, a Y-axis frame, and a middle frame. It can rotate in both the X-axis and Y-axis directions by a motor drive. Multiple rotary joints are arranged in parallel inside the X-axis frame and the Y-axis frame. The fixed end of the rotary joint is fixed to the corresponding X-axis frame or Y-axis frame by a joint bracket. The rotating end of the rotary joint is indirectly fixed to the middle frame by a waveguide.

[0006] Connecting waveguides connect the rotating ends of the rotary joints in the X-axis frame to the corresponding rotating ends of the rotary joints in the Y-axis frame, forming multiple inter-joint microwave links.

[0007] The branch waveguide is fixed at the fixed end of the rotary joint to form an external interface.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the fixed end and the rotating end of the rotary joint are fixed respectively to prevent deformation of the connecting waveguide due to force, heat, etc., from causing a decrease in the coaxiality accuracy of the rotary joint itself, thereby ensuring the stability of electrical performance during microwave signal rotation.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the interior of the X-axis frame includes two rotary joints arranged in parallel, and the fixed ends of the rotary joints are fixed to the X-axis frame by two joint supports 2.

[0010] The Y-axis frame includes two parallel rotary joints. The fixed ends of the rotary joints are fixed to the Y-axis frame via two joint supports 2. The rotating ends of the four rotary joints are indirectly fixed to the intermediate frame via four connecting waveguides. The four connecting waveguides connect the four rotating ends of the rotary joints in the X-axis frame to the corresponding four rotating ends of the rotary joints in the Y-axis frame, forming a multi-channel microwave link between the joints.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the structure further includes four branch waveguides, which are respectively fixed to the fixed ends of four rotary joints to form external interfaces.

[0012] In one possible implementation, assembly positioning is provided between the rotary joint and the connecting waveguide, between the rotary joint and the branch waveguide, and between each microwave link of the connecting waveguide.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the connecting waveguide includes straight waveguides, curved waveguides, and spatial waveguides combined according to spatial conditions, with multiple channels arranged symmetrically and waveguides having the same specifications at symmetrical positions.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the connecting waveguide is designed with heat dissipation fins to increase the heat dissipation area of ​​the waveguide, making it suitable for high-power microwave signal transmission.

[0015] In one possible implementation, waveguide gaskets for filling gaps are provided between the segmented waveguides of the connecting waveguide; the straight waveguides in the connecting waveguide are soft waveguides, which allow for bending deformation within a small range, and are used to adjust spatial assembly gaps that cannot be adjusted by the waveguide gaskets; and a support gasket for filling gaps is provided between the connecting waveguide and the intermediate frame.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the structure further includes a waveguide support that secures the connecting waveguide to the intermediate frame to improve the mechanical environmental resistance of the connecting waveguide.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0018] 1) This invention achieves the transmission of two-axis multi-channel microwave signals in a limited space by using two axes in parallel with a rotary joint; by improving the coaxiality of the rotary joint itself and cooperating with the step-by-step positioning connection of the microwave link, the stability of the electrical performance of the microwave signal during rotation and transmission is improved.

[0019] 2) The multi-channel microwave link of the present invention adopts a symmetrical layout, so that the microwave link length of the symmetrical channels is the same, which reduces the difficulty of phase matching of microwave signals between different channels, reduces the specifications of components, and reduces production costs and assembly difficulty.

[0020] 3) By selecting gaskets and soft waveguides, this invention eliminates assembly stress between different parts of the microwave link, thereby improving structural stability;

[0021] 4) The waveguide of this invention improves the heat dissipation performance of the product by designing heat dissipation fins, which facilitates the transmission of high-power microwave signals;

[0022] 5) This invention utilizes a branch waveguide to convert the compact waveguide output of a multi-channel microwave link into a standard output, simplifying the difficulty of external connection. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0024] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0027] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Please refer to... Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure provided as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] This embodiment is a four-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure, mainly including: a rotating joint 1, a joint support 2, a connecting waveguide 3, a waveguide support 4, a waveguide pad 5, a support pad 6, a branch waveguide 7, and a two-dimensional pointing mechanism 8; the connecting waveguide 3 includes a straight waveguide 31, a bent waveguide 32, and a spatial waveguide 33.

[0029] The two-dimensional pointing mechanism 8 includes an X-axis frame 81, a Y-axis frame 82, and an intermediate frame 83. It can achieve rotation of the X-axis and Y-axis in two directions by being driven by a motor.

[0030] In this embodiment, the rotary joint 1 has a dual-channel fixed end and two single-channel rotating ends to achieve dual-channel input and output of microwave signals. Two rotary joints 1 are arranged in parallel inside the X-axis frame 81, with the fixed ends of the rotary joints 1 fixed to the X-axis frame 81 via two joint supports 2. Two rotary joints 1 are also arranged in parallel inside the Y-axis frame 82, with the fixed ends of the rotary joints 1 fixed to the Y-axis frame 82 via two joint supports 2. The rotating ends of the four rotary joints 1 are indirectly fixed to the intermediate frame 83 via four-way connecting waveguide 3 flanges. The four-way connecting waveguide 3 connects the four rotating ends of the rotary joints 1 inside the X-axis frame 81 to the corresponding four rotating ends of the rotary joints 1 inside the Y-axis frame 82, forming a multi-channel microwave link between the joints. Branch waveguides 7 are fixed at the fixed ends of the four rotary joints to form external interfaces. These external interfaces adopt standardized settings, converting the compact waveguide outlets of the fixed ends of the rotary joints into standard outlets, effectively simplifying external connection difficulties.

[0031] The fixed end and rotating end of the rotary joint 1 are fixed respectively, which can effectively prevent the waveguide 3 from deforming due to force and heat, thereby reducing the coaxiality accuracy of the rotary joint 1 itself and ensuring the electrical performance is stable during the rotation of the microwave signal.

[0032] It should be noted that this embodiment uses a four-channel rotatable microwave link space structure, but four channels are not a limited number in this embodiment. In actual use, it can be expanded on both sides of the X-axis frame 81 and Y-axis frame 82 as needed.

[0033] Assembly positioning is designed between the rotating joint 1 and the connecting waveguide 3, between the rotating joint 1 and the branch waveguide 7, and between each microwave link of the connecting waveguide 3. In this embodiment, the positioning pin hole plus positioning pin is used to ensure that the waveguide ports of the entire microwave link are aligned, thereby ensuring that there is no loss of electrical performance such as standing wave and insertion loss during the transmission of microwave signals.

[0034] The four-way connecting waveguide 3 includes a straight waveguide 31, a bent waveguide 32, and a space waveguide 33; the specific combination depends on the connection requirements. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, in this embodiment, spatial waveguides 33 are used to connect narrow spaces, and the multiple channels are arranged symmetrically with identical waveguide specifications at symmetrical positions. This symmetrical arrangement of multiple channels facilitates axial pairing of channels and ensures that the microwave link lengths of symmetrical channels are identical, reducing the difficulty of phase matching of microwave signals between different channels. It also reduces the number of components, lowers production costs, and simplifies assembly.

[0035] The connecting waveguide 3 is designed with heat dissipation fins, which can increase the heat dissipation area of ​​the waveguide, making it especially suitable for high-power microwave signal transmission, accelerating heat dissipation, and ensuring the reliability of the equipment. In this embodiment, the heat dissipation fins are distributed on the curved waveguide 32. Of course, if the installation and assembly space permits, they can also be installed on the straight waveguide 31 or the space waveguide 33.

[0036] Waveguide gaskets 5 are provided between the segmented waveguides of the connecting waveguide 3 to fill gaps; support gaskets 6 are provided between the connecting waveguide 3 and the intermediate frame 83 to fill gaps. The processing length of each segmented waveguide of the connecting waveguide 3 has a negative tolerance. The waveguide gaskets 5 are composed of different thicknesses and are used to adjust the assembly gaps between the segmented waveguides of the connecting waveguide 3, ensuring seamless connection between waveguide openings while preventing assembly stress. The specific installation position and quantity of the waveguide gaskets 5 are selected according to the actual assembly situation.

[0037] The straight waveguide 31 can be a soft waveguide, which allows for bending deformation within a small range and is used to adjust the spatial assembly gaps that the waveguide gasket 5 cannot adjust. In this embodiment, due to space constraints, the middle two connecting waveguides 3 are composed of soft waveguides connecting the spatial waveguide 33. The waveguide gasket 5 can only adjust the assembly gaps in the vertical direction, while the assembly gaps in the front-back and left-right directions are adjusted by the soft waveguide.

[0038] The bracket spacers 6 are composed of different thicknesses and are used to adjust the assembly gap between the connecting waveguide 3 and the intermediate frame 83, indirectly ensuring stress-free assembly of the rotating end of the rotary joint 1, thereby ensuring the coaxiality of the rotation of the rotary joint 1. The specific installation position and quantity of the bracket spacers 6 are selected according to the actual assembly situation.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the waveguide bracket 5 fixes the connecting waveguide 3 to the intermediate frame 83, preventing the connecting waveguide 3 from easily deforming due to excessive length and improving the mechanical environmental resistance of the connecting waveguide 3. In this embodiment, the waveguide bracket 5 is used to fix the two outer connecting waveguides 3.

[0040] This invention achieves multi-channel microwave signal transmission across two axes within a limited space through a parallel two-axis layout of a rotary joint. The fixed and rotating ends of the rotary joint are fixed to ensure its coaxiality, and the step-by-step positioning and connection of the microwave link ensures stable electrical performance of the microwave signal during rotation and transmission. The symmetrical layout of the multiple channels reduces the difficulty of phase matching between different channels, reduces component specifications, and lowers production costs and assembly complexity. The standardized external interface and excellent heat dissipation facilitate high-power microwave signal transmission. The compact and stable structure, along with easily expandable channel count, makes it particularly suitable for multi-channel microwave signal transmission using onboard two-dimensional scanning antennas.

[0041] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. A multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure, characterized in that, include The two-dimensional pointing mechanism includes an X-axis frame, a Y-axis frame, and a middle frame, and can achieve rotation in both the X and Y axes by being driven by a motor. Connecting waveguides connect the rotating ends of the rotary joints in the X-axis frame to the corresponding rotating ends of the rotary joints in the Y-axis frame, forming multiple inter-joint microwave links. The X-axis frame includes two parallel rotary joints inside, and the fixed ends of the rotary joints are fixed to the X-axis frame by two joint brackets (2). The Y-axis frame includes two rotating joints arranged in parallel. The fixed ends of the rotating joints are fixed to the Y-axis frame by two joint brackets (2). The rotating ends of the four rotating joints are indirectly fixed to the middle frame by four connecting waveguides. The four connecting waveguides connect the four rotating ends of the rotating joints in the X-axis frame to the corresponding four rotating ends of the rotating joints in the Y-axis frame, forming a multi-channel microwave link between the joints. The four branch waveguides are fixed to the fixed ends of the four rotary joints to form external interfaces.

2. The multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, Assembly positioning is provided between the rotary joint and the connecting waveguide, between the rotary joint and the branch waveguide, and between each microwave link of the connecting waveguide.

3. The multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The connecting waveguide is composed of straight waveguides, curved waveguides and spatial waveguides combined according to the spatial conditions. The multiple channels adopt a symmetrical layout, and the waveguides at symmetrical positions have the same specifications.

4. The multi-channel rotatable microwave link spatial structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connecting waveguide is designed with heat dissipation fins to increase the heat dissipation area of ​​the waveguide, making it suitable for high-power microwave signal transmission.

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