Satellite-borne low-profile phased-array antenna integrated with solar cell

Abstract

The invention discloses a satellite-borne low-profile phased-array antenna integrated with a solar cell, and the antenna comprises a plurality of connected antenna sub-plates, each antenna sub-plate comprises an active installation plate, the top of the active installation plate is provided with a plurality of cross-shaped concave cavities, and each cross-shaped concave cavity is provided with a plurality of microstrip antennas; four radio frequency components are arranged at the bottom of the active mounting plate; according to the two-dimensional deployable phased-array antenna, through the arrangement of the concave cavities in the active mounting plate, the requirements for fastening installation and efficient heat dissipation of all the modules are met, the profile height and the surface density of the antenna are reduced, and the large-caliber, high-storage and light-weight two-dimensional deployable phased-array antenna is achieved; an antenna daughter board frame, an expandable truss frame and a solar cell installation frame in a traditional antenna are replaced by the active installation plate, the emission space occupation ratio of the antenna is reduced, the overall weight is reduced, and the technical problem that the emission space occupation ratio is high due to the fact that a solar cell and an antenna are designed separately in the prior art is solved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the field of space communication and handset direct connection satellite communication, and relates to a spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna, in particular to a spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the increasing demand for space communication and handset direct connection satellite communication, the gain and main lobe width of the spaceborne phased array antenna are required to be improved. In order to achieve a high direct connection communication rate, the array antenna also develops towards a large aperture and high integration. However, the stowed volume and weight must meet the envelope requirements of the carrier, and the design of a large aperture structure with a high stow ratio and light weight has become a key and difficult point of the array antenna design. Therefore, in order to meet the development of a larger deployed area and a constellation scale spaceborne array antenna in the future, it is an urgent problem to design a solar array antenna integrated structure with a larger stow ratio.

[0003] With the increasing demand for the gain and main lobe width of the antenna, the phased array antenna also develops towards a large aperture and high frequency. The deployable phased array antenna at home and abroad develops towards a hundred-meter level. For a spacecraft, the energy system is limited by the launch weight, and the battery power capacity is limited. It is necessary to greatly increase the aperture area of the antenna to make up for the power shortage. However, the stowed volume must meet the envelope requirements of the carrier, and the design of a large aperture structure with a high stow ratio has become a key research target of the array antenna design. With the construction layout of commercial space, satellites are required to be launched by one rocket with multiple satellites, and the size of the spacecraft is required to be smaller and smaller. The weight and volume of the antenna in the initial state of launch are strictly limited.

[0004] Although the solar cell and the antenna are designed separately to achieve independent optimization, the launch space occupancy ratio is high and the energy conversion rate is low. In order to meet the launch requirements, the structure needs to be lightweight and have a high stow ratio. Therefore, it is urgent to carry out research on the integration of the solar cell and the antenna to meet the development trend of smaller and smaller stowed volume of the satellite antenna.

[0005] In summary, it is an urgent problem to design an integrated architecture of the phased array antenna and the solar cell array and to meet the lightweight, low-profile and high integration characteristics. SUMMARY

[0006] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell to solve the technical problem of high launch space occupancy ratio and low energy conversion rate caused by separate design of the solar cell and the antenna in the prior art.

[0007] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application adopts the following technical solutions: A kind of low profile phased array antenna integrated with solar cell integrated, including multiple connected antenna sub-boards, each the antenna sub-board includes active mounting plate, the top of the active mounting plate is provided with multiple cross-shaped cavities, each the cross-shaped cavity is provided with multiple microstrip antennas;Four radio frequency components are arranged at the bottom of the active mounting plate, a first cavity is arranged in the active mounting plate at the center of each radio frequency component, and a battery pack is arranged in the first cavity; A cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board is arranged at the center of the bottom of the active mounting plate, a square cavity is arranged at the center of the bottom of the active mounting plate, and the device protruding from the top of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board is arranged in the square cavity;Symmetrical second cavities are arranged on the active mounting plates located at the transverse two sides of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board, and a secondary power supply and a power supply and distribution control board are arranged in the two second cavities respectively; A solar cell array is mounted at the bottom of the active mounting plate, and the solar cell array is located below the radio frequency components;The solar cell array includes a flexible substrate and solar cell chips arranged at the bottom of the flexible substrate; The solar cell chips are connected to the power supply and distribution control board by wires, the power supply and distribution control board is connected to the secondary power supply and the battery pack by wires, and the secondary power supply is electrically connected to the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board and the radio frequency components.

[0008] The application also includes the following technical features: A rectangular cavity is arranged on the side of the active mounting plate, and an unfolding hinge is arranged in the rectangular cavity.

[0009] A radiation heat dissipation layer is arranged on the top surface of the active mounting plate.

[0010] A heat conduction layer is arranged in the second cross-shaped cavity and the second cavity of the active mounting plate.

[0011] The microstrip antenna is an air microstrip antenna.

[0012] The microstrip antenna is connected to the active mounting plate by screws.

[0013] The flexible substrate is a polyimide film.

[0014] A plurality of mounting through holes and a plurality of wire through holes are arranged on the flexible substrate. A flexible heat shield is arranged on the battery pack.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the application has the beneficial technical effects of: (I) The satellite-borne low-profile phased array antenna and the solar cell array are integrated, the fastening installation and the efficient heat dissipation requirement of each module are realized through the concave cavity layout on the active mounting plate, the antenna profile height and the surface density are reduced, the large-diameter, high-receiving and lightweight two-dimensional deployable phased array antenna is realized, in addition, the antenna sub-board frame, the deployable truss frame and the solar cell installation frame in the traditional antenna are replaced by the active mounting plate, the launch space occupation ratio of the antenna is reduced, the overall weight is reduced, and the technical problem of high launch space occupation ratio caused by the separate design of the solar cell and the antenna in the prior art is solved.

[0016] (II) The antenna and the solar cell array are integrated in a non-coplanar manner, a distributed power supply and distribution system composed of a power supply and distribution control board, a secondary power supply, a battery pack and solar cell pieces is adopted, so that the energy generated by the solar cell pieces can directly power the antenna through the power supply and distribution control board, the line loss of transmitting the energy to the star body and then distributing the energy by the star body is saved, the energy utilization rate is improved, and the technical problem of low energy conversion rate caused by the separate design of the solar cell and the antenna in the prior art is solved.

[0017] (III) A heat insulation multilayer is wrapped between the microstrip antenna and the solar cell array, and the heat decoupling design of the solar cell array and the antenna is realized. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the top surface of the antenna of the embodiment of the application.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the bottom surface of the antenna of the embodiment of the application.

[0020] Figure 3 It is a three-dimensional structure diagram of the middle layer of the antenna of the embodiment of the application.

[0021] Figure 4 It is an exploded view of the antenna of the embodiment of the application.

[0022] Figure 5 It is a 2x2 sub-board splicing structure diagram of the antenna of the embodiment of the application.

[0023] The meanings of the various labels in the figure are as follows: microstrip antenna 1, deployment hinge 2, flexible substrate 3, active mounting plate 4, solar cell piece 5, radio frequency assembly 6, cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7, secondary power supply 8, power supply and distribution control board 9, battery pack 10.

[0024] The specific content of the application will be further explained and described in detail in combination with the embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] It should be noted that all the parts in the present application, in the absence of special instructions, adopt the parts known in the art.

[0026] The specific embodiments of the present application are given below, it should be noted that the present application is not limited to the following specific embodiments, any equivalent transformation made on the basis of the technical scheme of the present application falls within the protection scope of the present application.

[0027] The present application gives a kind of satellite-borne low profile phased array antenna integrated with solar cell, including multiple connected antenna sub-boards, each antenna sub-board includes active mounting plate 4, the top of active mounting plate 4 is provided with multiple cross-shaped cavities, each cross-shaped cavity is provided with multiple microstrip antennas 1;Four radio frequency components 6 are arranged at the bottom of active mounting plate 4, a first cavity is arranged in the center of each radio frequency component 6, and a battery pack 10 is arranged in the first cavity; Cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7 is arranged at the bottom center of active mounting plate 4, a square cavity is arranged at the bottom center of active mounting plate 4, and the device protruding from the top of cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7 is arranged in the square cavity;Symmetrical second cavities are arranged on active mounting plate 4 located at the transverse two sides of cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7, and a secondary power supply 8 and a power supply and distribution control board 9 are arranged in the two second cavities respectively; Solar cell array is installed at the bottom of active mounting plate 4, and the solar cell array is located below the radio frequency component 6;The solar cell array includes flexible substrate 3 and solar cell chip 5 arranged at the bottom of flexible substrate 3; Solar cell chip 5 and power supply and distribution control board 9 are connected by wires, power supply and distribution control board 9 is connected with secondary power supply 8 and battery pack 10 by wires, and secondary power supply 8 is electrically connected with cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7 and radio frequency component 6 respectively.

[0028] First, the satellite-borne low profile phased array antenna and solar cell array are integrated, the recess layout on active mounting plate 4 realizes the fastening installation and efficient heat dissipation demand of each module, reduces the antenna profile height and area density, realizes large aperture, high storage and lightweight two-dimensional deployable phased array antenna, in addition, active mounting plate 4 replaces antenna sub-board frame, deployable truss frame and solar cell mounting frame in traditional antenna, reduces the transmission space occupation ratio of antenna, reduces the overall weight, solves the technical problem of high transmission space occupation ratio caused by separate design of solar cell and antenna in prior art.

[0029] In addition, the antenna and the solar cell array are integrated in a non-coplanar manner, a distributed power supply and distribution system composed of a power supply and distribution control panel 9, a secondary power supply 8, a battery pack 10 and solar cell pieces 5 is adopted, so that the energy generated by the solar cell pieces 5 can directly power the antenna through the power supply and distribution control panel 9, the line loss of transmitting the energy from the solar cell array to the satellite and then distributing the energy by the satellite is saved, the energy utilization rate is improved, and the technical problem of low energy conversion rate caused by separate design of the solar cell and the antenna in the prior art is solved.

[0030] The main function of the radio frequency component 6 is to amplify and transmit the signals received by the antenna to the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7, and to amplify the signals sent by the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 to a certain power and input the antenna. The radio frequency component 6 adopts a PCB substrate plus SIP module packaging form, and realizes vertical radio frequency interconnection with the microstrip antenna 1 through a button connector; The main function of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 is to realize accurate adjustment of the beam in orbit through high-performance beam forming algorithm and high-precision channel amplitude and phase control. The cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 adopts a four-side feeding design to meet the needs of different topological forms when expanded in two dimensions; The main functions of the secondary power supply 8 and the power supply and distribution control panel 9 are power regulation, charging and discharging management of the battery pack, and conversion of the bus voltage into the voltage required by the load.

[0031] The cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7, the secondary power supply 8 and the power supply and distribution control panel 9 are installed in the concave cavity at the bottom of the active mounting plate, so that the high-heat devices, protruding devices and connectors of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7, the secondary power supply 8 and the power supply and distribution control panel 9 are concentrated in the concave cavity, facilitating heat dissipation.

[0032] The solar cell piece 5 serves as a power generation unit, converts solar energy into electric energy through photovoltaic effect, and is introduced into the antenna subarray through a cable. According to the required output power, the solar cell array is designed, the number and arrangement of solar cell pieces are determined, and the solar cell array is formed by pasting the solar cell pieces on the flexible substrate 3 through structural adhesive.

[0033] The microstrip antenna 1 and the solar cell piece 6 are integrated, the microstrip antenna 1 adopts a symmetrical structure layout, and the active mounting plate 4 with a concave design serves as a multifunctional integrated structure bearing of the antenna, realizing lightweight of the antenna.

[0034] The active mounting plate 4 is provided with a rectangular concave cavity on the side surface, and the expansion hinge 2 is arranged in the rectangular concave cavity.

[0035] In the above technical solution, the expansion hinge 2 can be spliced and matched to realize splicing of multiple antenna sub-panels.

[0036] The top surface of the active mounting plate 4 is provided with a radiation heat dissipation layer.

[0037] In the above technical solution, the radiation heat dissipation layer can be KS-1 white paint, which is used for heat dissipation.

[0038] The second cross-shaped recess and the second recess of the active mounting plate 4 are both provided with a heat conduction layer.

[0039] In the above technical solution, the heat conduction layer meets the high-efficiency heat dissipation requirements of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control plate 7, the secondary power supply 8 and the power supply and distribution control plate 9. Preferably, the heat conduction layer is made of heat-conducting silicone grease RKTL-DRZ-1 or heat-conducting gel RKTL-DRNJ-1. The microstrip antenna 1 is an air microstrip antenna.

[0040] In the above technical solution, the air microstrip antenna has the characteristics of low profile and light weight, which can reduce the overall weight of the present solution.

[0041] The microstrip antenna 1 and the active mounting plate 4 are connected by screws.

[0042] In the above technical solution, the bolt connection is convenient and stable.

[0043] The flexible substrate 3 is made of polyimide film.

[0044] In the above technical solution, the material of the flexible substrate 3 can also be high-thermal-insulation and insulating film material, which can achieve thermal insulation.

[0045] The flexible substrate 3 is provided with a plurality of mounting through holes and a plurality of wire through holes. In the above technical solution, the mounting through holes are used for bolt connection with the active mounting plate 4, and specifically, the solar cell 5 is tightened by pre-tightening force loading tool, and the flexible substrate 3 is tightly connected with the active mounting plate 5 by screws; the wire through holes are used for wire passing between the solar cell 5 and the power supply and distribution control plate 9.

[0046] The battery pack 10 is covered with a flexible heat shield.

[0047] In the above technical solution, the flexible heat shield covers the battery pack 10, reduces heat exchange between the battery pack 10 and other heat generating modules, and can control temperature by electric heating on the inner surface of the flexible heat shield to meet the working temperature requirements of the battery pack 10.

[0048] Embodiment: This embodiment gives the structure of the antenna sub-board, as shown in Figure 1, the antenna sub-board size is 600mmx600mmx25mm, the working frequency covers UHF frequency band (900MHz~1GHz), the antenna sub-board includes: microstrip antenna 1, unfolding hinge 2, flexible substrate 3, active mounting plate 4, solar cell 5, radio frequency module 6, cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7, secondary power supply 8, power supply control board 9 and battery pack 10.

[0049] As shown in Figure 4 The antenna sub-board adopts symmetrical layout, and the active mounting plate 4 is used as a multifunctional integrated structure bearing and heat dissipation surface, and the envelope size is 600mmx600mmx20mm, and the material is magnesium alloy, and the top surface is designed with a concave cavity for microstrip antenna 1 installation, and the area of the top surface of the active mounting plate except the microstrip antenna 1 installation surface is the antenna radiation heat dissipation surface, and the surface is sprayed with KS-1 white paint to enhance heat dissipation. The microstrip antenna 1 is designed according to the antenna working frequency band and radiation performance, and the envelope size of the microstrip antenna 1 is 140mmx140mmx10mm, and the arrangement form is 4x4. Through the concave cavity of the active mounting plate 4 structure and the microstrip antenna joint simulation, the concave cavity size is determined as 142mmx142mmx10mm, and the interval between the concave cavities is determined as 150mm according to the array arrangement of the microstrip antenna 1, and the microstrip antenna is fastened and connected with the active mounting plate through nylon screws.

[0050] The bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4 is also designed with a concave cavity, and the bottom surface concave cavity is located at the bottom of the radiation heat dissipation surface, and the concave cavity size is 100mmx100mmx10mm, and the local concave cavity adopts graphite aluminum / diamond high thermal conductivity material to enhance heat dissipation. The radio frequency module 6 in the shape of a mouth-shaped cross is arranged at the four corners of the bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4, the radio frequency module 6 adopts a surface-mounted device and SiP package form of multilayer printed circuit board, and the SiP module size is 12mmx12mmx4mm, and the radio frequency interconnection is realized through ball planting with the PCB board. The radio frequency module 6 and the microstrip antenna 1 realize vertical radio frequency interconnection through the button connector; the radio frequency module 6 is surface-mounted with low-frequency J63A and SMP radio frequency connectors in the concave cavity area, and realizes power supply and cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7 radio frequency signal transmission through flexible flat cables, realizes cable binding and fixing through planning the optimal wiring path and bonding cable supports, and realizes low profile of the antenna.

[0051] The cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board 7 is arranged in the center area of the bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4, as shown in Figure 3As shown, the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 has an envelope size of 150mm x 150mm x 15mm, and the high heat generating devices and protruding devices are concentrated in the second cross-shaped cavity in the center. The heat dissipation boss and the coating of heat-conducting silicone grease are designed in the second cross-shaped cavity in the bottom surface of the active mounting plate to realize good contact and high heat conduction with the high heat generating devices of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7. The radio frequency connectors of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 and the radio frequency assembly 4 are arranged in the same cavity to realize the shortest length of the radio frequency interconnection cable, and the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 adopts a four-side feeding design to meet the requirements of different topological forms in two-dimensional expansion. The power supply and distribution control module 8 and the power supply module 9 are respectively installed in the cavities on the transverse sides of the bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4, and are located on the two sides of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control panel 7 and are fastened and connected with the active mounting plate through screws. The envelope size of the power supply and distribution control module 8 and the power supply module 9 is 90mm x 90mm x 15mm, and the high heat generating devices and protruding devices are concentrated in the cavity area. The heat dissipation boss and the coating of heat-conducting silicone grease are designed in the cavity to realize low profile and high heat conduction. The 18650 single cell batteries are combined to form the satellite battery pack 10, and the envelope size of the battery pack 10 is 80mm x 60mm x 19mm. The battery pack 10 is installed in the four cavities in the middle of the active mounting plate 4. The cavities of the active mounting plate 4 are made of high-heat-conducting graphite aluminum / diamond material, and the contact surface between the battery pack 10 and the active mounting plate 4 is coated with high-heat-conducting material. Through cold working condition design, the battery pack 10 and the active mounting plate 4 realize high-temperature heat exchange; the battery pack 10 is covered with a flexible heat shield to reduce heat exchange with other heat generating modules, and the inner surface of the flexible heat shield is electrically heated for low temperature control to meet the working temperature requirement of the battery pack 10 of 10℃-30℃.

[0052] The solar cell array is installed on the bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4, and the solar cell array includes solar cell pieces 5 and a flexible substrate 3. The flexible substrate is made of a carbon fiber grid sandwiched polyimide film, and has an envelope size of 500mm x 500mm x 1mm. The substrate 3 has a reserved through hole for fastening connection with the active mounting plate 4, and has a reserved wire passing through hole for low frequency interconnection between the solar cell array and the power supply and distribution control panel. Figure 2 As shown, the solar cell pieces 5 are arranged in 39mm x 60mm cell circuits 24 in series of 4 and in parallel of 96, and are pasted on the flexible substrate 3 to form the solar cell array through structural adhesive. The solar cell array is fastened and connected with the active mounting plate through a pre-tightening force loading tool and an integrated boss, and the active mounting plate is wrapped with heat insulation material on the bottom surface, and a 3mm heat insulation pad is added on the boss of the bottom surface of the active mounting plate 4 to realize integrated integration of the solar cell array and the antenna.

[0053] As shown, Figure 1As shown, the unfolding hinge 2 is mounted on the side cavity of the active mounting plate 4, with an envelope size of 95mmx30mmx25mm. The unfolding hinge 2 uses a volute spring as a power source, and under the action of the escapement speed regulating gear train, it can realize continuous and stable power supply of the output shaft. Figure 5 As shown, through the splicing of the unfolding hinge, a 2x2 sub-board splicing structure diagram is realized, and the antenna sub-board can realize two-dimensional modular expansion, meeting the high-reliability two-dimensional unfolding of the antenna in orbit.

[0054] In summary, the antenna designed based on the above method has a low profile height of ≤25mm, a low surface density of ≤10kg / m2, and a modular expandable characteristic, and can be widely applied to low-orbit large-scale satellite constellations.

Claims

1. A spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell, comprising multiple interconnected antenna sub-boards, characterized in that, Each of the antenna subboards includes an active mounting plate (4), the top of which has a plurality of cross-shaped recesses, each of which is provided with a plurality of microstrip antennas (1); the bottom of the active mounting plate (4) is provided with four radio frequency components (6), and a first recess is provided on the active mounting plate (4) located at the center of each radio frequency component (6), and a battery pack (10) is provided in the first recess. A cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board (7) is provided at the bottom center of the active mounting plate (4). A square cavity is provided at the bottom center of the active mounting plate (4). A device protruding from the top of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board (7) is provided in the square cavity. Symmetrical second cavities are provided on the active mounting plates (4) on both sides of the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board (7). A secondary power supply (8) and a power supply and distribution control board (9) are respectively provided in the two second cavities. The active mounting plate (4) has a solar cell array installed at its bottom, and the solar cell array is located below the radio frequency component (6); the solar cell array includes a flexible substrate (3) and solar cells (5) arranged at the bottom of the flexible substrate (3). The solar cell (5) is connected to the power supply and distribution control board (9) by wires. The power supply and distribution control board (9) is connected to the secondary power supply (8) and the battery pack (10) by wires. The secondary power supply (8) is electrically connected to the cross-shaped digital multi-beam control board (7) and the radio frequency component (6) respectively.

2. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The active mounting plate (4) has a rectangular cavity on its side, and an unfolding hinge (2) is provided in the rectangular cavity.

3. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The top surface of the active mounting plate (4) is provided with a radiation heat dissipation layer.

4. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The active mounting plate (4) has a heat-conducting layer in both the second cross-shaped cavity and the second cavity.

5. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The microstrip antenna (1) is an air microstrip antenna.

6. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The microstrip antenna (1) is connected to the active mounting plate (4) by screws.

7. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible substrate (3) is made of polyimide film.

8. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible substrate (3) is provided with multiple mounting through holes and multiple wire through holes.

9. The spaceborne low-profile phased array antenna integrated with a solar cell as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The battery pack (10) is covered with a flexible heat insulation cover.

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