Annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods

Abstract

The invention relates to an annular truss structure with a telescopic vertical rod, which comprises a T-shaped hinge, a synchronous hinge, a vertical rod, an inclined rod, a shear fork mechanism, a sliding mechanism, a first driving rope, a second driving rope, a third driving rope and a vertical rod limiting and locking mechanism, the driving ropes are arranged in the vertical rods and the inclined rods and used for controlling pre-unfolding of the vertical rods and the inclined rods, the inclined rods comprise upper-layer inclined rods and lower-layer inclined rods, and the upper-layer inclined rods and the lower-layer inclined rods are connected through shear fork mechanisms and are connected with the vertical rods through sliding mechanisms correspondingly; the annular truss structure is in a folded state during launching so as to reduce the occupied space during carrying and launching, the annular truss structure is self-unfolded to be in a working state after entering an orbit, so that on-orbit deployment of the large-diameter annular antenna is achieved, the vertical rods are designed to be of a telescopic structure, the folding height of the annular antenna can be greatly reduced, and the folding height constraint of a carrying tool is met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of satellite antenna reflectors, and in particular relates to an annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods. Background Art

[0002] Space antennas are key equipment for communication between spacecraft in orbit and the ground. They are used to receive and transmit electromagnetic wave signals. The aperture of the space antenna reflector determines the satellite's ability to receive and transmit low-power transmission signals. In order to improve the satellite observation capabilities required for satellite communications, earth observation, deep space exploration, etc., space antennas are required to have higher gains, and the size of space antennas is constantly developing towards large-scale and lightweight. In order to solve the problem of limited carrier envelope size, space antennas use a combination of deployable structures and metal meshes to achieve large-scale, which is called a space mesh antenna.

[0003] The ring truss deployable antenna refers to a deployable antenna formed by a metal mesh reflector supported by a ring truss, also known as a ring antenna. When installed on a satellite, the ring truss is in a folded state, and after entering orbit, it drives the reflector to unfold to a working state. The ring truss deployable antenna consists of a ring deployable truss, a tension cable net, and a metal reflector net.

[0004] The original concept of the ring truss deployable structure was proposed by TRW of the United States. The AstroMesh series of ring truss antennas developed by TRW can be divided into three generations: the first generation is the AM series, the second generation is the AM-1 series, and the third generation is the AM-2 and AM-Lite series. The ring truss antenna usually adopts a parallelogram structure, which is composed of horizontal bars, vertical bars, diagonal bars, hinges, drive ropes, drive motors and other structures. The folding size of the ring truss antenna is constrained by the envelope of the launch vehicle. As the diameter of the ring deployable antenna continues to increase, the folding height of the ring antenna continues to increase, and the transmission configuration gradually cannot meet the shrinking envelope requirements of the launch vehicle.

[0005] At present, the research on large-antenna ring reflectors still has the following shortcomings: the traditional ring antenna reflector has a high folding height and is limited by the launch vehicle envelope problem, making it difficult to meet the launch envelope constraints. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a ring truss structure with telescopic vertical rods, the ring truss structure includes foldable vertical rods and diagonal rods, which can significantly reduce the folding height of the ring antenna reflector and meet the envelope constraints of current vehicles. The present invention aims to build a large-caliber ring antenna and proposes a ring antenna reflector with foldable vertical rods, which helps to promote the development of large-caliber deployable ring antenna technology.

[0007] The above-mentioned purpose of the present invention is mainly achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0008] A circular truss structure with a telescopic vertical rod, the circular truss structure is composed of a plurality of circular truss units connected in sequence, the circular truss structure units include T-shaped hinges, synchronous hinges, vertical rods, diagonal rods, scissor-type mechanisms, sliding mechanisms and driving ropes; wherein the vertical rod includes two sections of rod-like structures, the two sections of the vertical rod-like structures are arranged side by side and connected by a sliding mechanism, and the sliding mechanism can slide along the vertical rod; the T-shaped hinges and the synchronous hinges are respectively connected to the outer ends of the two sections of the rod-like structures of the vertical rod, and are used to control the pre-expansion of the vertical rod and the diagonal rod, the diagonal rod includes an upper diagonal rod and a lower diagonal rod, the upper diagonal rod and the lower diagonal rod are connected by a scissor-type mechanism, and the upper diagonal rod and the lower diagonal rod are respectively connected to the vertical rod by a sliding mechanism; the vertical rod and the diagonal rod are tubular structures, and the driving rope is arranged in the vertical rod and the diagonal rod, and is used to drive the vertical rod and the diagonal rod to unfold.

[0009] The driving rope includes a first driving rope, a second driving rope and a third driving rope. The first driving rope is arranged in the vertical rod to drive the vertical rod to be unfolded. The second driving rope is arranged in the upper diagonal rod to drive the upper diagonal rod to be unfolded. The third driving rope is arranged in the lower diagonal rod to drive the lower diagonal rod to be unfolded.

[0010] The synchronous hinge is provided with a driving wheel train mechanism. During the unfolding process, the synchronous hinge drives the vertical rod and the oblique rod to pre-expand, and the T-shaped hinge is unfolded accordingly during the pre-expanding process.

[0011] The scissor mechanism is provided with a locking mechanism. After the upper diagonal rod and the lower diagonal rod are respectively unfolded to the specified position and the specified angle, the scissor mechanism locks the upper diagonal rod and the lower diagonal rod to keep the length and angle of the upper diagonal rod and the lower diagonal rod unchanged after unfolding.

[0012] It also includes a vertical rod limit locking mechanism, which is used to lock the position of the vertical rod after the vertical rod is unfolded.

[0013] The vertical rod and the diagonal rod are made of carbon fiber composite material, and the driving rope is made of Kevlar fiber composite material.

[0014] A circular antenna reflector with foldable vertical rods comprises the circular truss structure, a tension cable net and a metal net. The tension cable net is installed on the circular truss structure for supporting and providing tension. The metal net reflective surface is laid above the tension cable net for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves.

[0015] A method for unfolding a ring truss structure comprises the following steps:

[0016] (1) The elastic potential energy of the synchronous hinge is released, driving the pre-expansion of the vertical rod and the diagonal rod. The T-shaped hinge is unfolded during the pre-expansion process until the elastic potential energy in the synchronous hinge is completely released to complete the pre-expansion.

[0017] (2) The motor drives the first driving rope to shorten, and the vertical rod gradually extends under the tension of the first driving rope until the vertical rod is extended to a straight rod. After reaching the specified position, the vertical rod is locked, and the first stage of deployment is completed;

[0018] (3) The motor drives the second drive rope and the third drive rope to shorten, the diagonal rod opens, and the sliding mechanism moves along the vertical rod toward the hinge direction. The motor drives the scissors-type mechanism to unfold synchronously. After the diagonal rod is unfolded to the specified position, the scissors-type mechanism is locked. After all the scissors-type mechanisms are locked, the unfolding is completed.

[0019] In the step (2), after the vertical rod is extended to the specified position, the vertical rod limit locking mechanism locks the position of the vertical rod, and the first stage of deployment is completed.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0021] (1) The present invention provides a ring truss structure with retractable vertical rods. During launch, the ring truss structure is in a folded state to reduce the space occupied during transportation and launch. After entering orbit, the ring truss structure automatically unfolds into a working state, thereby realizing the on-orbit deployment of a large-diameter ring antenna.

[0022] (2) The present invention designs the vertical rod of the annular deployable antenna as a retractable structure, which can greatly reduce the folding height of the annular antenna, meet the folding height constraints of the vehicle, and provide a complete structural design and process route for large annular deployable antennas. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a ring truss structure unit with telescopic vertical rods according to the present invention;

[0024] Figure 2 The present invention is a schematic diagram of a ring truss structure with telescopic vertical rods. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments:

[0026] like Figure 1As shown, a vertical rod telescopic annular truss structure unit comprises a T-shaped hinge 1, a synchronous hinge 2, a vertical rod 3, an oblique rod, a scissor mechanism 5, a sliding mechanism 6, a first driving rope 7, a second driving rope 8, a third driving rope 9, and a vertical rod limit locking mechanism 10. The vertical rod 3 comprises two sections of rod-like structures, which are arranged side by side and connected by a sliding mechanism 6, and the sliding mechanism 6 can slide along the vertical rod 3; the T-shaped hinge 1 and the synchronous hinge 2 are respectively connected to the outer ends of the two sections of the rod-like structures of the vertical rod 3, and are used to control the pre-expansion of the vertical rod 3 and the oblique rod; the oblique rod comprises an upper oblique rod 401 and a lower oblique rod 402, which are connected by a scissor mechanism 5, and the upper oblique rod 401 and the lower oblique rod 402 are respectively connected to the vertical rod 3 by the sliding mechanism 6; the vertical rod 3 and the oblique rod are tubular structures, and the driving rope is arranged in the vertical rod 3 and the oblique rod, and is used to drive the vertical rod 3 and the oblique rod to unfold.

[0027] The vertical rod retractable ring truss structure is composed of a plurality of ring truss structure units connected in sequence to form a vertical rod retractable ring truss structure. The size and number of the ring truss unit structures are adjusted according to the size requirements of the ring antenna. Figure 2 shown.

[0028] The driving rope runs through the vertical rod 3 and the diagonal rod 4. The first driving rope 7 runs through the vertical rod 3 to drive the extension of the vertical rod 3. The diagonal rod 4 is divided into an upper diagonal rod 401 and a lower diagonal rod 402. The second driving rope 8 runs through the upper diagonal rod 401 to drive the upper diagonal rod 401 to unfold. The third driving rope 9 runs through the lower diagonal rod 402 to drive the lower diagonal rod 402 to unfold. The synchronous hinge 2 contains a driving wheel train mechanism. During the unfolding process, the mechanical energy inside the synchronous hinge 2 is converted into the kinetic energy of the unfolding of the vertical rod 3 and the diagonal rod, thereby driving the pre-expansion of the vertical rod 3 and the diagonal rod. The T-shaped hinge 1 unfolds with the movement during the pre-expansion process.

[0029] In the ground folding and launching stage, the annular truss structure is in a folded state, the vertical rod 3 is in a contracted state, the diagonal rod is in a folded state, and the driving rope is in an extended state. In the unfolding process, in the first stage, the vertical rod 3 is extended, and under the drive of the motor, the first driving rope 7 is shortened. The vertical rod 3 is gradually extended under the tension generated by the first driving rope 7, and the entire vertical rod is gradually extended to become a straight rod. After reaching the specified position, the vertical rod 3 is locked, and the first stage of unfolding is completed. In the second stage, under the drive of the motor, the second driving rope 8 and the third driving rope 9 are gradually shortened, and the diagonal rod is gradually opened after being subjected to the tension generated by the shortened driving rope, thereby driving the caliber of the entire annular antenna to continuously increase. During the unfolding process, the sliding mechanism 6 moves along the vertical rod toward the hinge direction. The unfolding process is divided into two stages: pre-expansion and electric-expansion. During the pre-expansion process, the elastic potential energy stored in the hinge is first released, thereby driving the diameter of the annular truss structure to increase. After the elastic potential energy in the hinge is completely released, the electric-expansion stage begins. The motor drives the scissor mechanism 5 to gradually unfold, further driving the annular truss structure to unfold. After reaching the predetermined position, the diagonal rod is locked. At this time, the entire annular truss structure is unfolded from a collapsed cylindrical structure into an unfolded circular ring.

[0030] The scissors-fork mechanism 5 includes a locking mechanism. After the upper inclined rod 401 is unfolded to a specified position and a specified angle, the locking mechanism contained in the scissors-fork mechanism 5 locks the upper inclined rod 401 to keep the length and angle of the upper inclined rod 401 unchanged after unfolding. After the lower inclined rod 402 is unfolded to a specified position and a specified angle, the locking mechanism contained in the scissors-fork mechanism 5 locks the lower inclined rod 402 to keep the length and angle of the lower inclined rod 402 unchanged after unfolding.

[0031] The upper layer oblique rod 401 and the lower layer oblique rod 402 are both connected to the vertical rod 3 through the sliding mechanism 6. The upper layer oblique rod 401 and the lower layer oblique rod 402 are connected by the scissor mechanism 5. During the working process of the unfolding action 1, the vertical rod is extended from the folded state to the unfolded state under the action of the first driving rope 7. After the unfolding action 1 is completed, the internal locking mechanism of the vertical rod limit locking mechanism 10 is locked. After locking, the position of the vertical rod limit locking mechanism 10 and the position of the vertical rod 3 remain relatively unchanged. During the working process of the unfolding action 2, the sliding mechanism 6 gradually moves toward the hinge direction under the action of the second driving rope 8 and the third driving rope 9, and the scissor mechanism 5 is unfolded at the same time.

[0032] The scissor-fork mechanism 5 is locked after being deployed in place, and the entire deployment process is completed after all the scissor-fork mechanisms 5 are locked.

[0033] The diagonal rod and the vertical rod 3 are made of carbon fiber composite materials and are thin-walled pipes. The driving rope runs through the diagonal rod and the vertical rod 3 .

[0034] The driving rope is made of Kevlar fiber composite material.

[0035] A circular antenna reflector with foldable vertical rods comprises a circular truss structure, a tension cable net and a metal net. The tension cable net is installed on the circular truss structure for supporting and providing tension. The metal net reflective surface is laid above the tension cable net for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves.

[0036] The above description is only the best specific implementation mode of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0037] The contents not described in detail in the specification of the present invention belong to the common knowledge of the professionals in this field.

Claims

1. A ring truss structure with telescopic vertical rods, characterized in that: The annular truss structure is composed of a plurality of annular truss units connected in sequence, wherein the annular truss structure units include a T-shaped hinge (1), a synchronous hinge (2), a vertical rod (3), an inclined rod, a scissor mechanism (5), a sliding mechanism (6) and a driving rope; wherein the vertical rod (3) includes two sections of rod-shaped structures, the two sections of the rod-shaped structures of the vertical rod (3) are arranged side by side and connected by a sliding mechanism (6), and the sliding mechanism (6) can slide along the vertical rod (3); the T-shaped hinge (1) and the synchronous hinge (2) are respectively connected to the two sections of the vertical rod (3); The outer ends of the segment rod-shaped structures are connected to control the pre-expansion of the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod, the diagonal rod comprises an upper diagonal rod (401) and a lower diagonal rod (402), the upper diagonal rod (401) and the lower diagonal rod (402) are connected via a scissor mechanism (5), and the upper diagonal rod (401) and the lower diagonal rod (402) are respectively connected to the vertical rod (3) via a sliding mechanism (6); the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod are tubular structures, and driving ropes are arranged in the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod to drive the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod to expand.

2. The annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods according to claim 1, characterized in that: The driving rope comprises a first driving rope (7), a second driving rope (8) and a third driving rope (9); the first driving rope (7) is arranged in the vertical rod (3) for driving the vertical rod (3) to be unfolded; the second driving rope (8) is arranged in the upper inclined rod (401) for driving the upper inclined rod (401) to be unfolded; the third driving rope (9) is arranged in the lower inclined rod (402) for driving the lower inclined rod (402) to be unfolded.

3. The annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods according to claim 1, characterized in that: The synchronous hinge (2) is provided with a driving wheel train mechanism. During the unfolding process, the synchronous hinge (2) drives the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod to pre-expand, and the T-shaped hinge (1) unfolds accordingly during the pre-expanding process.

4. The annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods according to claim 1, characterized in that: The scissor mechanism (5) is provided with a locking mechanism. After the upper inclined rod (401) and the lower inclined rod (402) are respectively unfolded to a specified position and a specified angle, the scissor mechanism (5) locks the upper inclined rod (401) and the lower inclined rod (402) to keep the length and angle of the upper inclined rod (401) and the lower inclined rod (402) unchanged after unfolding.

5. The annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also comprises a vertical rod position limiting locking mechanism (10), which is used to lock the position of the vertical rod (3) after the vertical rod (3) is unfolded.

6. The annular truss structure with telescopic vertical rods according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod are made of carbon fiber composite material, and the driving rope is made of Kevlar fiber composite material.

7. A ring antenna reflector with foldable vertical rod, characterized in that: It comprises the annular truss structure, tension cable net and metal mesh as described in claims 1-6, wherein the tension cable net is installed on the annular truss structure for supporting and providing tension, and the metal mesh reflective surface is laid above the tension cable net for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves.

8. A method for unfolding the annular truss structure according to claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: (1), the elastic potential energy of the synchronous hinge (2) is released, driving the vertical rod (3) and the diagonal rod to pre-expand, and the T-shaped hinge (1) is unfolded in the pre-expanding process, until the elastic potential energy in the synchronous hinge (2) is completely released to complete the pre-expanding; (2) The motor drives the first driving rope (7) to shorten, and the vertical rod (3) gradually extends under the pulling force of the first driving rope (7), until the vertical rod (3) is extended to a straight rod. After reaching the specified position, the vertical rod (3) is locked, and the first stage of deployment is completed; (3), the motor drives the second driving rope (8) and the third driving rope (9) to shorten, the diagonal rod is opened, the sliding mechanism (6) moves along the vertical rod (3) toward the hinge direction, the motor drives the scissor-fork mechanism (5) to unfold synchronously, after the diagonal rod is unfolded to the specified position, the scissor-fork mechanism (5) is locked, and the unfolding is completed after all the scissor-fork mechanisms (5) are locked.

9. The method for unfolding the annular truss structure according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the step (2), after the vertical rod (3) is extended to a specified position, the vertical rod limit locking mechanism (10) locks the position of the vertical rod (3), and the first stage of deployment is completed.

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