Ultra-light flexible solar wing with ultrahigh storage ratio

Abstract

The invention relates to an ultralight and ultrahigh-storage-ratio flexible solar wing, and belongs to the technical field of solar wing devices. The device comprises two solar box blankets, two scissor rods, two single-fork hinges, a pressing device and a lifting rod. Wherein the lifting rod is axially and horizontally placed; the two solar box blankets are axially and symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the lifting rod in parallel. The middle positions of the opposite side walls of the two solar box blankets are each provided with a scissor rod. A single-fork hinge is mounted at the bottom of each scissor rod; the two single-fork hinges are in butt joint with the lifting rod from the two sides of the lifting rod respectively. A pressing device is arranged on the side wall of the solar box blanket; clamping of the solar box blanket structure is achieved through the pressing device; the flexible solar wing has the advantages of being light in weight, small in folding size, good in configuration expandability and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of solar wing devices and relates to an ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing. Background Art

[0002] With the development of aerospace technology, the demand for electricity of spacecraft is increasing, which will lead to a significant increase in the mass and envelope space of the currently widely used rigid solar wings, posing new challenges to the solar wings.

[0003] The Starlink satellite developed by SpaceX uses a stacked launch method. The solar wings configured must adapt to a smaller launch envelope to meet the launch requirements. Therefore, the Starlink satellite is equipped with a solar wing using a scissor rod, which has a very low envelope in the folded state. The power source for the solar wing scissor rod to unfold is the root motor, which directly drives the rod to unfold. This method has high requirements on the motor driving torque and the strength of the root of the scissor rod, and does not meet the actual use requirements. Summary of the invention

[0004] The technical problem solved by the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and propose an ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, which has the advantages of light weight, small folded volume, good configuration scalability, etc.

[0005] The solution of the present invention is:

[0006] An ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, comprising two solar box blankets, two scissor rods, two single-fork hinges, a clamping device and a lifting rod;

[0007] Among them, the lifting rod is placed axially horizontally; two solar box blankets are axially parallel and symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lifting rod; a scissor rod is installed in the middle position of the opposite side walls of the two solar box blankets respectively; a single-fork hinge is installed at the bottom of each scissor rod; two single-fork hinges are connected to the lifting rod from both sides of the lifting rod respectively; the side walls of the solar box blanket are provided with a clamping device; the clamping device is used to clamp the solar box blanket structure.

[0008] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the lifting rod is a double-rod folding structure; the two rods are connected by a hinge to achieve relative rotation, folding or unfolding of the two rods; the top of the lifting rod is connected to two single-fork hinges by a hinge to achieve the rotation of the lifting rod as a whole relative to the single-fork hinge; in the initial state, the lifting rod rotates to an axially horizontal state.

[0009] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the solar box blanket includes an upper solar panel, a lower solar panel, a solar blanket and a solar cell array;

[0010] Among them, the upper solar panel and the lower solar panel are both horizontally placed rectangular plate structures; the solar blanket is a flexible structure; the solar blanket is folded and placed on the upper surface of the lower solar panel; the surface of the solar blanket is attached with a solar cell array; the upper solar panel is installed on the upper surface of the folded solar blanket; one end side wall of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the upper solar panel by a hinge; the other end side wall of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the lower solar panel by a hinge.

[0011] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, a guide rope is arranged perpendicular to the fold direction of the solar blanket; the guide rope passes through the fold of the solar blanket, and the two ends of the guide rope are respectively connected to the upper solar panel and the lower solar panel.

[0012] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the upper solar panel and the lower solar panel both adopt a carbon fiber panel + aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure; springs are evenly arranged at the joints between the upper solar panel and the solar blanket, and the tension is evenly distributed on the solar blanket through the springs to achieve tensioning after the solar blanket is unfolded.

[0013] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the clamping device is a memory alloy puller; the clamping device is installed on the external star body; the memory alloy puller is a non-pyrotechnic clamping and releasing device.

[0014] In the above-mentioned ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the deployment process of the solar wing is divided into three stages, namely, deployment of the lifting rod, deployment of the solar box blanket and deployment of the solar blanket.

[0015] In the above-mentioned ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the process of the lifting rod deployment stage is as follows:

[0016] The lifting rod is rotated to a vertical state through a hinge at the top; the two rods of the lifting rod are rotated to an unfolded state through a hinge, so that the entire lifting rod is in a vertical unfolded state.

[0017] In the above-mentioned ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the process of the solar box blanket unfolding stage is:

[0018] The two solar box blankets are respectively rotated upward by 90 degrees through the single-fork hinge, so that the two lower solar panels corresponding to the two solar box blankets are arranged vertically opposite to each other.

[0019] In the above-mentioned ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, the process of the solar blanket unfolding stage is as follows:

[0020] The clamping device is unlocked to release the solar box blanket; the upper solar panel of the corresponding solar box blanket is driven to move horizontally outward by the scissor rod; the upper solar panel drives the solar blanket to unfold; and the guide rope is used to guide the solar blanket during the unfolding process.

[0021] The beneficial effects of the present invention compared with the prior art are:

[0022] (1) The present invention adopts a scissor-type unfolding mechanism, so that the height of the solar wing in the folded state is less than 150 mm, and the unfolded area can reach 34 square meters, which is much higher than the size of traditional rigid and semi-rigid solar wings;

[0023] (2) The solar wing of the present invention is unfolded in three steps to achieve a T-shaped configuration after unfolding, meeting the overall requirements of the satellite;

[0024] (3) The solar wing of the present invention realizes the solar wing's orientation to the sun within the range of ±90° and ±170° through the A-axis and B-axis motors; avoids the use of the conventional SADA mechanism with slip rings and reduces the use cost;

[0025] (4) The present invention uses a linkage release mechanism to achieve the release of multiple pressing points by a single release mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the flexible solar wing structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the solar box blanket of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the solar box blanket of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a solar cell array of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the spring of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the lifting rod of the present invention being unfolded;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the solar box blanket of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the unfolded solar blanket of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0035] The present invention proposes a high storage ratio flexible solar wing suitable for stacked satellites, which adopts the solution of "lifting rod + two flexible battery arrays", which can keep the battery array away from the star, reduce the shading of the battery array and the impact on thermal control. In this solution, the flexible battery panels on both sides adopt a rope-driven high storage ratio scissor-bar deployment mechanism, which achieves a higher deployment area while ensuring a smaller folding envelope, and is particularly suitable for stacked satellites.

[0036] Ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, such as Figure 1 As shown, it specifically includes two solar box blankets 1, two scissor rods 2, two single-fork hinges 3, a clamping device 4 and a lifting rod 5. Among them, the lifting rod 5 is placed horizontally in the axial direction; the two solar box blankets 1 are axially parallel and symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lifting rod 5; a scissor rod 2 is installed at the middle position of the opposite side walls of the two solar box blankets 1 respectively; a single-fork hinge 3 is installed at the bottom of each scissor rod 2; the two single-fork hinges 3 are connected to the lifting rod 5 from both sides of the lifting rod 5 respectively; the side wall of the solar box blanket 1 is provided with a clamping device 4; the clamping device 4 is used to clamp the solar box blanket 1 structure.

[0037] In the present invention, the lifting rod 5 is a double-rod folding structure; the two rods are connected by a hinge to achieve relative rotation, folding or unfolding of the two rods; the top of the lifting rod 5 is connected to the two single-fork hinges 3 by a hinge to achieve the overall rotation of the lifting rod 5 relative to the single-fork hinge 3; in the initial state, the lifting rod 5 rotates to an axially horizontal state.

[0038] like Figure 2 As shown, the solar box blanket 1 includes an upper solar panel 6, a lower solar panel 8, a solar blanket and a solar cell array. The upper solar panel 6 and the lower solar panel 8 are both horizontally placed rectangular plate structures; the solar blanket is a flexible structure; the solar blanket is folded and placed on the upper surface of the lower solar panel 8; the solar cell array is attached to the surface of the solar blanket, such as Figure 4 The upper solar panel 6 is installed on the upper surface of the folded solar blanket; one end side wall of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the upper solar panel 6 through a hinge; the other end side wall of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the lower solar panel 8 through a hinge.

[0039] like Figure 3 As shown, a guide rope is provided perpendicular to the fold direction of the solar blanket; the guide rope passes through the fold of the solar blanket, and the two ends of the guide rope are connected to the upper solar panel 6 and the lower solar panel 8 respectively.

[0040] The upper solar panel 6 and the lower solar panel 8 are both made of carbon fiber panel + aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure; springs are evenly arranged at the joint between the upper solar panel 6 and the solar blanket, and the tension is evenly distributed on the solar blanket through the springs to achieve the tensioning of the solar blanket after it is unfolded. Figure 5 shown.

[0041] The clamping device 4 of the present invention is a memory alloy breaker; the clamping device 4 is installed on the external star body; the memory alloy breaker is a non-pyrotechnic clamping and releasing device.

[0042] The unfolding process of the solar wing is divided into three stages, namely, unfolding of the lifting rod 5, unfolding of the solar box blanket 1 and unfolding of the solar blanket.

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, the process of the lifting rod 5 in the unfolding stage is:

[0044] The lifting rod 5 is rotated to a vertical state through a hinge at the top; the two rods of the lifting rod 5 are rotated to an unfolded state through a hinge, so that the entire lifting rod 5 is in a vertical unfolded state.

[0045] like Figure 7 As shown, the process of the solar box blanket 1 in the unfolding stage is:

[0046] The two solar box blankets 1 are respectively rotated upward by 90° through the single-fork hinge 3 , so that the two lower solar panels 8 corresponding to the two solar box blankets 1 are arranged vertically opposite to each other.

[0047] like Figure 8 As shown, the process of the solar blanket unfolding stage is:

[0048] The clamping device 4 is unlocked to release the solar box blanket 1; the upper solar panel 6 corresponding to the solar box blanket 1 is driven to move horizontally outward by the scissor rod 2; the upper solar panel 6 drives the solar blanket to unfold; and the guiding rope is used to guide the solar blanket during the unfolding process.

[0049] Solar wings can be divided into compression and locking, deployment, rapid orientation, tracking and orbit control according to different working stages.

[0050] Compression and locking mode: The solar panels are in a folded and compressed state, which is suitable for assembly, testing, transportation and launch.

[0051] Deployment mode: The solar wing compression release device is unlocked, and the solar wing is orderly deployed and locked from the compression and locking state. The deployment modes mainly include single deployment, double deployment, and triple deployment.

[0052] Rapid orientation mode: The A and B axes of the solar wing rotate rapidly according to satellite instructions to complete the orientation to the sun;

[0053] Tracking mode: The solar panels continuously rotate to track the direction of the sun’s incidence to ensure power generation efficiency;

[0054] Orbit control mode: During the satellite orbit raising and lowering and orbit maintenance, the solar panels rotate and maintain the minimum windward area of ​​the entire satellite.

[0055] The flexible solar wing of the present invention mainly comprises a solar box blanket 1, a scissor rod 2, a single fork hinge 3, a pressing device 4, and a lifting rod 5. Figure 1 As shown. The solar box blanket 1 is the main structure, which mainly includes solar panels and solar blankets. The main function of the solar panels is to store the solar blanket when the solar wings are folded. The sponge on the box panel assembly provides a relatively uniform pressing force to the solar blanket, and assists in tensioning the solar blanket when the solar wings are deployed. It also provides an expansion and contraction guide device, a solar blanket preload spring, a compression release device, and interfaces such as the satellite's Taisen. The box panel assembly is mainly composed of an upper box panel 6 and a lower box panel 8. The upper and lower box panel structures are both made of carbon fiber and aluminum honeycomb panel composite sandwich materials. In order to ensure the lightweight design of the box panel, the upper box panel adopts an aluminum honeycomb + carbon fiber panel sandwich structure as a whole, and an encrypted honeycomb + embedded part is used locally at the compression point. Embedded parts are set at the position where the load-balancing spring is installed on the side of the substrate.

[0056] Secondly, the solar blanket is mainly made by collecting multiple small solar cells and placing them on carbon fiber to form a panel to manufacture solar panels. Since the electromotive force of each solar cell is very small, the voltage is increased by assembling multiple solar cells in series, and multiple solar panels are also called "solar arrays". The expansion and folding of the solar blankets are controlled by a guide device. The lead wire is used to control the opening and folding of the solar blanket through the lead wire interface 9. Adjacent solar blankets are connected by an inter-blanket hinge 10. The inter-plate hinge design between the solar panels and the solar panels on the flexible solar blanket refers to the inter-plate hinge design of the international space station and the large flexible solar wing. The expansion guide device is used to ensure that the solar blanket is carried out in a certain order during the expansion and folding process. The role of the expansion and folding guide device in the folding process of the solar blanket is particularly important. If there is no guide device to maintain the folding order of the solar blanket, the solar blanket is almost impossible to fold into the box board. During the expansion of the solar blanket, the guide device also reduces the risk of disturbance and hooking caused by the erratic configuration of the solar blanket. The role of the guide rope is to ensure that the expansion and folding process of the solar blanket is approximately one-dimensional motion. Two sets of expansion and folding guide devices are designed on each solar blanket. The flexible solar wing of this project does not require to be folded in orbit, so the design can be simplified. The deployment guide device is actually a friction resistor, which ensures that the guide rope always maintains a certain tension during the deployment process.

[0057] The expansion and retraction guide ropes pass through the sides of the hinges between every other board. Under the action of the guide ropes, the solar blanket is unfolded. The solar blanket tensioning device is a uniformly distributed spring at both ends of the solar blanket. 20 uniformly distributed springs are used at each end of the solar blanket to achieve the tension as evenly distributed as possible on the solar blanket.

[0058] The scissor lever 2 is an important driving part of the flexible solar wing. It is used to drive the flexible solar blanket to unfold and lock it into a supporting device with a certain rigidity. The scissor extension mechanism is relatively stable and smooth when folded and lifted, and it also has the advantages of compact structure and small space occupation when folded. The root of the scissor lever mechanism adopts a drive motor + rope to drive the scissor lever to unfold. Before the mechanism unfolds, it is pressed and folded between the stars to ensure that it will not be accidentally unfolded or failed during the non-working stage. At the beginning of the unfolding stage, the locking state is released to provide initial force for the unfolding of the mechanism and the mechanism is locked after unfolding. It has a certain rigidity and strength to provide sufficient support for the solar wing. Unfold in the specified direction and speed to provide power and support for the unfolding of the flexible film solar wing.

[0059] The single fork hinge 3 is mainly used to connect the A-axis and the scissor lever. It follows the shaft system design of the traditional unfolding locking mechanism and integrates the configuration of two hinges into one hinge. It can also maintain self-locking, thereby achieving locking. Under the premise of ensuring locking reliability, it can achieve a smaller envelope and weight.

[0060] The unlocking device used in the solar wing clamping device 4 is a memory alloy puller. The clamping unit is installed on the star body and includes a pre-tightening component, a clamping seat, a guide and a clamping belt. The memory alloy (SMA) puller is a non-pyrotechnic clamping and releasing device with the advantages of simple composition, low storage requirements, reliable performance, low cost and repeated use.

[0061] The lifting rod 5 is made of high-strength carbon fiber composite material, which has the characteristics of light weight and high rigidity and strength. It is composed of two parts. The two parts are connected by a root hinge. The bottom of the lifting rod is fixed by a root hinge. The structural principles of the two hinges are similar to those of the single-fork hinge, and both adopt the shaft system design of the traditional unfolding locking mechanism, which can achieve self-locking and ensure the reliability of the structure.

[0062] This product is mainly used as an energy component for satellites. To meet the overall configuration, the solar wing is designed with a three-step deployment process. The solar wing deployment process is as follows:

[0063] Folded state: The components of the solar wing are folded and pressed against the side wall of the satellite. The box plates and solar blanket of the left and right flexible solar wings are pressed against the satellite through 8 sets of breaker-type pressing devices. The two scissor-type deployment drive mechanisms are pressed against the satellite through 3 breaker-type pressing devices respectively. The middle lifting rod is pressed against the satellite through 2 breaker-type pressing devices, jointly bearing the load during satellite launch. Figure 1 shown.

[0064] One-time deployment: After the satellite enters orbit, all the pressing points of the solar wing are unlocked, and the root hinge, inter-rod hinge and A-axis drive motor are used to deploy. When the lifting rod is about to be deployed, the linkage between the A-axis motor and the inter-rod hinge is released, and the root hinge and inter-rod hinge connected to the lifting rod are locked. After the linkage between the A-axis motor and the inter-rod hinge is released, the solar wing can be driven to rotate freely along the A-axis. To simplify the design, two solar wings share one A-axis.

[0065] Secondary deployment: After the solar wing is deployed once, the trigger device is in place. First, release the single-fork hinge connecting the two solar wings to the lifting rod. The two hinge structures are the same as the hinges between the rods. After being deployed 90°, they are locked to fix the position of the solar wing to prevent movement during the deployment process, thereby affecting the deployment of the solar blanket.

[0066] Three times of deployment: After the second deployment of the solar wing, the control system drives the motors on the scissor mechanism on the two solar wings, and the motors drive the scissor rods to deploy through the rope mechanism. When the scissor rods are deployed, the flexible solar blanket is also deployed. When fully deployed, the motor stops rotating.

[0067] After the solar wing is unfolded, the A-axis motor and B-axis motor can be used to achieve sun orientation within the range of ±90° and ±170° respectively.

[0068] The present invention adopts a scissor-type unfolding mechanism, so that the height of the solar wing in the folded state is less than 150mm, and the unfolded area can reach 34㎡, which is much higher than the size of traditional rigid and semi-rigid solar wings. The solar wing of the present invention has a T-shaped configuration after unfolding through three unfolding processes, meeting the overall needs of satellites.

[0069] The solar wing of the present invention realizes solar orientation within the range of ±90° and ±170° through A-axis and B-axis motors; avoids the use of the previous SADA mechanism with slip rings and reduces the cost of use; the present invention realizes the release of multiple clamping points by a single release mechanism by adopting a linkage release mechanism.

[0070] Although the present invention has been disclosed as above in the form of a preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art may make possible changes and modifications to the technical solution of the present invention by using the methods and technical contents disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. An ultra-light, ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing, characterized by: It comprises two solar box blankets (1), two scissor rods (2), two single-fork hinges (3), a pressing device (4) and a lifting rod (5); The lifting rod (5) is placed axially horizontally; two solar box blankets (1) are axially parallel and symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lifting rod (5); a scissor rod (2) is respectively installed at the middle position of the opposite side walls of the two solar box blankets (1); a single-fork hinge (3) is installed at the bottom of each scissor rod (2); two single-fork hinges (3) are respectively connected to the lifting rod (5) from both sides of the lifting rod (5); the side wall of the solar box blanket (1) is provided with a clamping device (4); the clamping device (4) is used to clamp the solar box blanket (1) structure.

2. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting rod (5) is a double-rod folding structure; the two rods are connected by a hinge to achieve relative rotation, folding or unfolding of the two rods; the top of the lifting rod (5) is connected to the two single-fork hinges (3) by a hinge to achieve the overall rotation of the lifting rod (5) relative to the single-fork hinges (3); in the initial state, the lifting rod (5) is rotated to an axially horizontal state.

3. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The solar box blanket (1) comprises an upper solar panel (6), a lower solar panel (8), a solar blanket and a solar cell array; The upper solar panel (6) and the lower solar panel (8) are both rectangular plate-shaped structures placed horizontally; the solar blanket is a flexible structure; the solar blanket is folded and placed on the upper surface of the lower solar panel (8); the surface of the solar blanket is attached with a solar cell array; the upper solar panel (6) is mounted on the upper surface of the folded solar blanket; the side wall at one end of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the upper solar panel (6) by a hinge; and the side wall at the other end of the solar blanket is fixedly connected to the side wall of the lower solar panel (8) by a hinge.

4. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 3, characterized in that: A guide rope is provided perpendicular to the fold direction of the solar blanket; the guide rope passes through the fold of the solar blanket, and the two ends of the guide rope are respectively connected to the upper solar panel (6) and the lower solar panel (8).

5. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 4, characterized in that: The upper solar panel (6) and the lower solar panel (8) both adopt a carbon fiber panel + aluminum honeycomb sandwich structure; springs are evenly arranged at the joint between the upper solar panel (6) and the solar blanket, and the tension is evenly distributed on the solar blanket through the springs, so that the solar blanket is tensioned after it is unfolded.

6. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping device (4) is a memory alloy breaker; the clamping device (4) is installed on the external star body; the memory alloy breaker is a non-pyrotechnic clamping and releasing device.

7. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 5, characterized in that: The unfolding process of the solar wing is divided into three stages, namely, unfolding of the lifting rod (5), unfolding of the solar box blanket (1) and unfolding of the solar blanket.

8. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 7, characterized in that: The process of the lifting rod (5) in the unfolding stage is as follows: The lifting rod (5) is rotated to a vertical state via a hinge at the top; the two rods of the lifting rod (5) are rotated to an unfolded state via a hinge, so that the entire lifting rod (5) is in a vertical unfolded state.

9. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 7, characterized in that: The process of the unfolding stage of the solar box blanket (1) is as follows: The two solar box blankets (1) are respectively rotated upwards by 90 degrees via the single-fork hinge (3), so that the two lower solar panels (8) corresponding to the two solar box blankets (1) are arranged vertically opposite to each other.

10. The ultra-light and ultra-high storage ratio flexible solar wing according to claim 7, characterized in that: The process of the solar blanket unfolding stage is as follows: The clamping device (4) is unlocked to release the solar box blanket (1); the upper solar panel (6) corresponding to the solar box blanket (1) is driven to move horizontally outwards through the scissor rod (2); the upper solar panel (6) drives the solar blanket to unfold; and the guiding rope is used to guide the solar blanket during the unfolding process.

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