Passive high-precision space plane antenna unfolding mechanism

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of spaceborne planar antenna unfolding, in particular to a passive high-precision space planar antenna unfolding mechanism which comprises a passive unfolding structure composed of an execution unit and a driving unit, a male hinge and a female hinge. Two ends of the passive unfolding structure are respectively connected with the bottoms of the two antenna substrates through a male hinge and a female hinge; the bottom protruding end of the execution unit is hinged to the bottom protruding end of the driving unit. A volute spring is arranged at the hinged part to drive the driving unit to rotate; the execution unit and the driving unit are matched to form two groups of locking structures; a female hinge push rod of the driving unit serves as a key and is inserted into a lock hole of the execution unit to form a first locking structure. A flat spring is arranged at one end, limited in the lock hole, of the pre-tightening spring piece and extends to the outer portion of the execution unit shell to be connected with a locking piece of the driving unit in a matched shackle mode, and a second locking structure is formed. The device is purely mechanically driven, is less affected by the environment, and is simple in principle and high in reliability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of spaceborne planar antenna deployment technology, and specifically to a passive high-precision space planar antenna deployment mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] Due to space constraints, the planar antenna needs to be retracted onto the satellite platform during launch and deployed and locked in orbit. A high-precision and reliable deployment mechanism plays a crucial role in the reliable deployment and high-precision locking of the planar antenna in orbit.

[0003] Existing truss-type antenna deployment mechanisms, due to their multi-link structure, require high precision in manufacturing and assembly. Tolerance analysis and assembly sequence planning are complex, and the spatial coupling of the links and hinges, coupled with reliance on manual adjustment during assembly, makes precise control of assembly accuracy difficult. Assembly errors directly affect the surface accuracy of the deployed antenna. Temperature variations in orbit can cause deformation of the links, compromising the antenna's surface accuracy in orbit. Furthermore, active deployment mechanisms contain active drive components, such as motors and electric actuators; these active drive components directly determine the success or failure of in-orbit deployment, thus increasing the possibility of drive circuit failures in orbit.

[0004] Based on this, those skilled in the art urgently need to propose a solution to the problems of complex assembly process, difficulty in controlling precision, thermal deformation of the mechanism due to on-orbit temperature changes affecting the antenna surface accuracy, and increased risk factors due to active drive components. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the defects existing in the prior art, thereby providing a passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism.

[0006] A passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism includes: a passive deployment structure composed of an execution unit and a driving unit, a male hinge and a female hinge; the two ends of the passive deployment structure are respectively connected to the bottom of two antenna substrates through the male hinge and the female hinge; The bottom protruding end of the execution unit and the bottom protruding end of the drive unit are hinged together; a spiral spring is provided at the hinge to drive the drive unit to rotate. The execution unit and the drive unit work together to form two sets of locking structures; The female hinge push rod of the drive unit acts as a key, which is inserted into the lock hole of the execution unit to form the first locking structure; A leaf spring is provided on one end of the pre-tightening spring member located in the lock hole, and extends to the outside of the actuator housing to cooperate with the locking member of the drive unit to form a hook and ring connection, thus forming a second locking structure.

[0007] Preferably, one end of each of the two locking structures is driven and connected via a rotatable L-shaped crank unit; Within the execution unit: the male hinge push rod inside the lock hole moves under the thrust of the female hinge push rod, driving the crank unit, whose one end is in contact with the male hinge push rod, to rotate, so that the other end of the crank unit and one end of the preload spring part change from contact to separation; at this time, the preload spring in the preload spring part changes from a compressed state to a released state, and the other end of the crank unit is engaged with the top surface of one end of the preload spring part.

[0008] Preferably, the crank unit has a torsion spring on its crank rotation shaft. One end of the torsion spring is fixed to the inner wall of the actuator, and the other end is fixed to one end of the crank unit, so that when the crank unit is not rotating, the other end of the crank unit is in contact with one end of the preloaded spring.

[0009] Preferably, one end of the male hinge extends through one side of the execution unit, and the bottom surface of the male hinge and the bottom surface of the execution unit are located on the same horizontal line, so that the surface of the male hinge inside the execution unit constitutes the inner wall of the execution unit; One end of the torsion spring is fixedly connected to the other end of the male hinge through a chamfer.

[0010] Preferably, a compression spring is sleeved on the outside of the male hinge push rod; One end of the compression spring is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the lock hole, and the other end is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the male hinge push rod.

[0011] Preferably, the execution unit is also provided with a pair of limit blocks A and limit blocks B; Limiting block A is located on the top surface of the execution unit near one end of the drive unit, and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state, thereby achieving clamping and limiting. Limiting block B is located at the bottom end of the execution unit near the drive unit and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state, thereby achieving clamping and limiting.

[0012] Preferably, the height of the second locking structure is lower than that of the first locking structure.

[0013] Preferably, the preload spring component is composed of a preload spring seat and a preload spring fixedly connected together; The preload spring seat has a protruding end at the end away from the preload spring. The protruding end penetrates the inner wall of the lock hole and is driven to the other end of the crank unit. The curvature of the protruding end matches the curvature of the other end of the crank unit.

[0014] Preferably, the thickness of limiting block A and the thickness of limiting block B are linearly related to the unfolding accuracy between the two antenna substrates.

[0015] The technical solution of this invention has the following advantages: The device of this invention features a simple installation process, easily controllable installation accuracy, and reliable locking. It uses a worm spring as the driving element to achieve purely mechanical deployment. The device's deployment principle is simple, requiring no motor system, fundamentally eliminating the risk of failure due to motor and drive circuit malfunctions, and significantly improving system reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the installation position of the device in Example 1 relative to the satellite body; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the device in the released state of Example 1 at point A; Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the locked state of the device in Example 1 at point A; Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the device in the locked state in Example 1; Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the device in the released state in Example 1; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the position of the torsion spring in the device of Example 1; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the position of the female hinge push rod in the device of Example 1.

[0018] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures: 101-Male hinge, 102-Female hinge, 103-Rotation shaft system, 104-Coil spring, 105-Preload spring, 106-Leaf spring, 107-Limit block A, 108-Limit block B, 109-Preload spring seat, 1010-Crank connecting rod, 1011-Torsion spring, 1012-Crank rotation shaft, 1013-Male hinge push rod, 1014-Compression spring, 1015-Female hinge push rod; 2-Satellite body; 3-Antenna substrate. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0020] Example 1 like Figure 1-7 As shown, this embodiment discloses a passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism, including: a passive deployment structure composed of an execution unit and a driving unit, a male hinge 101 and a female hinge 102; the two ends of the passive deployment structure are respectively connected to the bottom of two antenna substrates 3 through the male hinge 101 and the female hinge 102. The bottom protruding end of the execution unit and the bottom protruding end of the drive unit are hinged together; a spiral spring 104 is provided at the hinge to drive the drive unit to rotate. The execution unit and the drive unit work together to form two sets of locking structures; The female hinge push rod 1015 of the drive unit acts as a key and is inserted into the lock hole of the execution unit to form the first locking structure; A leaf spring 106 is provided on one end of the pre-tightening spring member located in the lock hole, and extends to the outside of the actuator housing to cooperate with the locking member of the drive unit to form a hook ring, thus forming a second locking structure.

[0021] It should be noted that since the antenna deployment on the satellite is a one-time event and does not need to be retracted, the key is to ensure that the passive deployment structure remains locked while the satellite is in orbit.

[0022] Specifically: The actuator includes: an actuator housing, a male hinge push rod 1013 installed inside the actuator housing, a compression spring 1014, a preload spring, and a crank unit; The drive unit includes: a drive unit housing, a locking element and a female hinge push rod 1015 provided on the drive unit housing.

[0023] Two sets of locking structures are connected at one end by a rotatable L-shaped crank unit; the crank unit includes: crank connecting rod 1010, torsion spring 1011 and crank rotation shaft 1012; Within the execution unit: the male hinge push rod 1013 inside the lock hole is pushed by the female hinge push rod 1015, which drives the crank connecting rod 1010, one end of which abuts against the male hinge push rod 1013, to rotate around the crank rotation axis, so that the other end of the crank connecting rod 1010 and one end of the preload spring member change from abutment to separation; at this time, the preload spring 105 in the preload spring member changes from a compressed state to a released state, and the other end of the crank connecting rod 1010 is engaged with the top surface of one end of the preload spring member.

[0024] A torsion spring 1011 is provided on the crankshaft. One end of the torsion spring 1011 is fixed to the inner wall of the actuator, and the other end is fixed to one end of the crank connecting rod 1010, so that when the crank connecting rod 1010 is not rotating, the other end of the crank connecting rod 1010 is in a contact position with one end of the preloaded spring.

[0025] Furthermore, in this embodiment, one end of the male hinge 101 penetrates one side of the execution unit, and the bottom surface of the male hinge 101 and the bottom surface of the execution unit are located on the same horizontal line, so that the surface of the male hinge 101 inside the execution unit constitutes the inner wall of the execution unit. One end of the torsion spring 1011 is fixedly connected to the chamfer on one end of the male hinge 101.

[0026] Inside the lock hole: the compression spring 1014 is sleeved on the outside of the male hinge push rod 1013; One end of the compression spring 1014 is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the lock hole, and the other end is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the male hinge push rod 1013. It should be noted that when the satellite is launched, the antenna substrate 3, which is fixedly connected to the female hinge 102, is folded up to one side of the satellite body 2. At this time, the drive unit is also located on one side of the satellite body 2. Therefore, the female hinge push rod 1015 does not contact the male hinge push rod 1013, and thus the compression spring 1014 is not compressed. As the drive unit rotates, the male hinge push rod 1013 moves, and the compression spring 1014 is compressed. The male hinge push rod 1013 moves in a straight line in the lock hole, and the compression spring 1014 provides a restoring force for the male hinge push rod 1013. In this embodiment, the execution unit is also provided with a pair of limit blocks A107 and B108; The limiting block A107 is located on the top surface of the execution unit near one end of the drive unit, and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state, thereby achieving clamping and limiting. The limiting block B108 is located at the bottom end of the execution unit near the drive unit and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state, thereby achieving clamping and limiting.

[0027] The thicknesses of limiting block A107 and limiting block B108 are linearly related to the unfolding accuracy between the two antenna substrates 3. It should be noted that, in actual manufacturing, the thicknesses of limiting blocks A and B can be ground to fine-tune the angles of the top surfaces of the male hinge 101 and the female hinge 102 as antenna mounting surfaces after locking, thereby adjusting the unfolding accuracy between the two antenna substrates 3.

[0028] In this embodiment, the height of the second locking structure is lower than that of the first locking structure. Furthermore, the length of the female hinge push rod 1013 is matched with the thickness of the limiting block A107 and the limiting block B108 to ensure that, when the passive unfolding mechanism is locked, a portion of the female hinge push rod 1013 remains in the locking hole. The preload spring component is formed by a preload spring seat 109 and a preload spring 105 fixedly connected together. The preload spring seat 109 has a protruding end at the end away from the preload spring 105. The protruding end penetrates the inner wall of the lock hole and is driven to the other end of the crank unit. The curvature of the protruding end matches the curvature of the other end of the crank unit.

[0029] It should be noted that in practical applications, the leaf spring 106 and the locking element in the second locking mechanism are first connected by a hook and loop, and then the pre-tension spring 105 is released. When the passive unfolding mechanism is locked, the distance between the locking element and the execution unit is less than the thickness of the limit block B108. This setting provides the best locking effect.

[0030] Because temperature changes after the satellite has been in orbit for a period of time cause deformation and dimensional changes in the locking parts of the passive deployment mechanism, the preload spring 105, in conjunction with the locking component, can eliminate gaps caused by the cold contraction of the parts and accommodate displacements between parts due to thermal expansion. This ensures reliable locking while maintaining the antenna's surface accuracy without significant changes, meeting design requirements. Therefore, in actual manufacturing, the dimensions of the crank unit, male hinge push rod 1013, female hinge push rod 1015, and protruding end need to be compatible to achieve the above-mentioned working process and ensure the final technical effect.

[0031] In this embodiment, the male hinge 101 is connected to the stationary antenna substrate 3 fixed to the satellite body 2 via a positioning pin and a threaded hole. This method allows for simple installation by mounting one end of the male hinge 101 onto the stationary antenna substrate 3 on the satellite body 2 before installation. The relative position of the passive deployment mechanism to the stationary antenna substrate 3 on the satellite body 2 is determined by the positioning pin and the threaded hole, and the passive deployment mechanism is locked in place. Similarly, the antenna substrate 3, which is folded up to one side of the satellite body 2 and is to be deployed, is mounted to one end of the female hinge 102. The relative position of the passive deployment mechanism to the antenna substrate 3 is determined by the positioning pin and the threaded hole. This also simplifies the installation process and makes it easier to control installation accuracy.

[0032] Summarize: The working principle of this embodiment is as follows: the passive deployment mechanism connects two adjacent antenna substrates 3 via a male hinge 101 and a female hinge 102, and can rotate around the rotation axis 103 at the hinge point. A spiral spring 104 mounted on the rotation axis 103 serves as the driving source, with its two ends connected to the execution unit and the drive unit, respectively. A preload spring 105 provides the locking force between the two antenna substrates 3. After the pressure release mechanism on the satellite body 2 releases one side of the antenna substrate 3, the passive deployment structure is in a 90° deployed state. Under the action of the spiral spring 104, the drive unit drives the female hinge push rod 1015 to rotate around the rotation axis. When approaching the locked position, the female hinge push rod 1015 touches and continues to push the male hinge push rod 1013 forward, and the male hinge push rod 1013 pushes one end of the crank connecting rod 1010 to rotate around its own crank rotation axis 1012. Until the other end of the crank connecting rod 1010 disengages from the preload spring seat 109, the preload spring 105 releases its preload force. Under the action of the preload spring 105, the preload spring seat 109 drives the leaf spring 106 to move. The leaf spring 106 connects with the locking element and maintains a pressure equal to the preload force of the preload spring 105, thus achieving locking. The female hinge 102 is constrained by two upper and lower limit blocks. Adjusting the thickness of the limit blocks can finely adjust the locking angle of the male hinge 101 and female hinge 102 after they are unfolded.

[0033] The difference between this embodiment and the prior art lies in the fact that the assembly process of this invention is simple, and the antenna deployment accuracy can be accurately controlled by limiting blocks A107 and B108. This invention features a special triggering mechanism that can achieve a large locking force by triggering the pre-tensioning spring 105 with a small force. The locking force provided by the pre-tensioning spring 105 can solve the problem of thermal deformation of the passive deployment mechanism caused by on-orbit temperature changes affecting the surface accuracy of the antenna substrate. This invention uses a spiral spring 104 as the driving element to achieve purely mechanical deployment. The deployment principle of this invention is simple, requiring no motor system, fundamentally eliminating the risk of failure caused by motor and drive circuit malfunctions, and significantly improving system reliability.

[0034] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism, characterized in that, include: A passive deployable structure consisting of an execution unit and a drive unit, a male hinge (101) and a female hinge (102); the two ends of the passive deployable structure are connected to the bottom of the two antenna substrates (3) through the male hinge (101) and the female hinge (102) respectively; The bottom protruding end of the execution unit and the bottom protruding end of the drive unit are hinged together; a spiral spring (104) is provided at the hinge to drive the drive unit to rotate. The execution unit and the drive unit work together to form two sets of locking structures; The female hinge push rod (1015) of the drive unit acts as a key and is inserted into the lock hole of the execution unit to form the first locking structure; A leaf spring (106) is provided on one end of the pre-tightening spring member located in the lock hole, and extends to the outside of the actuator housing to cooperate with the locking member of the drive unit to form a hook and ring connection, thus forming a second locking structure.

2. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The two locking structures are connected at one end via a rotatable L-shaped crank unit. Within the execution unit: the male hinge push rod (1013) inside the lock hole is pushed by the female hinge push rod (1015), which drives the crank unit, whose one end is in contact with the male hinge push rod (1013), to rotate, so that the other end of the crank unit and the preload spring part are separated from each other; at this time, the preload spring (105) in the preload spring part changes from a compressed state to a released state, and the other end of the crank unit is engaged with the top surface of the preload spring part.

3. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, The crank unit has a torsion spring (1011) on its crank rotation shaft. One end of the torsion spring (1011) is fixed to the inner wall of the actuator, and the other end is fixed to one end of the crank unit, so that when the crank unit is not rotating, the other end of the crank unit is in contact with one end of the pre-tensioned spring.

4. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that, One end of the male hinge (101) penetrates one side of the execution unit, and the bottom surface of the male hinge (101) and the bottom surface of the execution unit are located on the same horizontal line, so that the surface of the male hinge (101) inside the execution unit constitutes the inner wall of the execution unit; One end of the torsion spring (1011) is fixedly connected to the other end of the male hinge (101) by a chamfer.

5. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, A compression spring (1014) is sleeved on the outside of the male hinge push rod (1013); One end of the compression spring (1014) is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the lock hole, and the other end is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the male hinge push rod (1013).

6. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, The execution unit is also equipped with a pair of limit blocks A (107) and limit blocks B (108). Limiting block A (107) is located on the top surface of the execution unit near one end of the drive unit, and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state, thereby achieving clamping and limiting. Limiting block B (108) is located at the bottom end of the execution unit near the drive unit and engages with both sides of the drive unit housing at the same height as the drive unit in the locked state to achieve clamping and limiting.

7. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that, The height of the second locking structure is lower than that of the first locking structure.

8. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that, The preload spring component is composed of a preload spring seat (109) and a preload spring (105) fixedly connected together; The preload spring seat (109) has a protruding end at the end away from the preload spring (105). The protruding end penetrates the inner wall of the lock hole and is driven to the other end of the crank unit. The curvature of the protruding end matches the curvature of the other end of the crank unit.

9. The passive high-precision spatial planar antenna deployment mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that, The thickness of limiting block A (107) and the thickness of limiting block B (108) are linearly related to the unfolding accuracy between the two antenna substrates (3).

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