A method of manufacturing a conformal antenna for an aerostat
By thermally bonding the flexible substrate to the airship capsule, the stability problem of the airship antenna in the high-altitude environment was solved, achieving a tight connection between the antenna and the capsule and structural integrity, and reducing the surface density.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- AEROSPACE INFORMATION RES INST CAS
- Filing Date
- 2026-03-05
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-29
Smart Images
Figure CN122118356A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention relates to the field of airship antenna technology, and in particular to a conformal airship antenna and its fabrication method. Background Technology
[0002] Aerostats can be deployed stably at designated altitudes in near space for extended periods. Equipped with various optical and electronic devices, they provide a potentially cost-effective platform for Earth observation, communication relay, and other fields. Near space presents harsh environmental characteristics, including drastic temperature variations, strong ultraviolet radiation, ozone corrosion, and repeated bending and twisting of the aerostat's envelope. This places extremely high demands on the environmental adaptability and structural stability of the mounted equipment. The rigid structure of traditional antennas mounted on the flexible envelope structure of aerostats can lead to problems such as contact interface separation, stress concentration, and even structural failure.
[0003] In recent years, driven by the engineering application demands for lightweight, integrated, and unified platform payloads, the concept of conformal antennas for airships has been proposed. A conformal antenna is an antenna or antenna array that maintains the same shape as the flexible surface structure of the airship carrier without introducing additional burden to the mounted object. It can achieve the navigation, communication, and positioning functions of traditional antennas without affecting the carrier's shape, structure, or aerodynamic characteristics.
[0004] The operating environment of aerostats requires conformal antennas to withstand significant bending and torsion as the aerostat's surface deforms without damage, adapting to the harsh environment of near space, while also having a low areal density to avoid introducing excessive additional weight. Most existing technical solutions involve conformal antennas attached to rigid structures. These antennas themselves are relatively fragile, relying primarily on the rigid structure to withstand deformation; therefore, they cannot withstand significant bending or torsion. Furthermore, these antennas are typically fabricated using traditional printed circuit board processes, resulting in a high areal density and introducing substantial additional weight. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an integrated conformal antenna that can tightly integrate with the aerostat's surface without introducing excessive weight. Summary of the Invention
[0005] This invention provides a conformal antenna for an airship and a method for its fabrication, which addresses the shortcomings of existing technologies where the connection between the antenna and the pod is not tight enough and it is difficult to ensure stability during high-altitude operation.
[0006] This invention provides a conformal antenna for an airship, comprising: an airship body, a transition layer, and an antenna body; the antenna body includes a flexible substrate and a metal layer disposed on the flexible substrate; wherein, a transition layer is disposed between the flexible substrate and the capsule of the airship body, and the antenna body, the transition layer, and the capsule of the airship body are integrally connected by a thermal bonding process; and the material of the transition layer is thermally compatible with the materials of the flexible substrate and the capsule.
[0007] In the conformal antenna for airships provided according to the present invention, the transition layer is a polyurethane film.
[0008] According to the airship provided by the present invention, the metal layer is formed on the flexible substrate by a flexible electronic printing process.
[0009] According to the conformal antenna for airships provided by the present invention, the flexible electronic printing process is inkjet printing, brushing, or dispensing; the material of the metal layer contains conductive silver ink.
[0010] According to the airship provided by the present invention, the antenna body further includes an encapsulation layer covering the metal layer.
[0011] In the conformal antenna for airships provided according to the present invention, the material of the encapsulation layer is polyimide.
[0012] According to the airship provided by the present invention, the antenna body is a coplanar waveguide-fed patch antenna, and the metal layer includes a radiating patch and a grounding block.
[0013] According to the conformal antenna for airships provided by the present invention, the flexible substrate is a fabric substrate.
[0014] According to the conformal antenna for an airship provided by the present invention, the material of the fabric substrate is nylon or polyester fabric; the material of the airship body is nylon or polyethylene film.
[0015] This invention also provides a method for fabricating a conformal antenna for an airship, used to fabricate the connection structure between the antenna body and the airship body in the aforementioned airship, comprising the following steps: Acquire the airship capsule; An antenna body is obtained, the antenna body comprising a fabric substrate, a metal layer formed on the fabric substrate by flexible electronic printing, and an encapsulation layer formed on the metal layer by flexible electronic printing; A transition layer is provided between the fabric substrate of the antenna body and the airship capsule, and the material of the transition layer is thermally compatible with the materials of the fabric substrate and the capsule. The antenna body, the transition layer, and the airship capsule are integrally welded together using a heat-sealing process.
[0016] The present invention provides a conformal antenna for an airship, which adopts a flexible substrate and thermally connects the flexible substrate to the airship's capsule through a transition layer, thereby making it conformally integrated with the airship's capsule. This improves the tightness of the antenna body connection, allowing the antenna to undergo large bending and twisting deformations synchronously with the flexible capsule without interface separation or stress concentration. This ensures the long-term reliability and structural integrity of the connection, fundamentally overcoming the inherent defects of traditional rigid antennas or simply attached antennas in airship applications. Attached Figure Description
[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.
[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the airship provided by the present invention.
[0019] Figure 2 This is an exploded structural diagram of the antenna body in the airship provided by the present invention.
[0020] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the antenna body in the airship provided by the present invention.
[0021] Figure 4 This is a top view of the antenna body in the airship provided by the present invention.
[0022] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of the fabrication method for the conformal fabric antenna for an airship provided by the present invention.
[0023] Figure label: 10. Airship body; 20. Antenna body; 21. Flexible substrate; 22. Metal layer; 221. Radiation patch; 222. Grounding block; 23. Encapsulation layer; 30. Transition layer. Detailed Implementation
[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the technical solutions of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this invention. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this invention.
[0025] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the purpose of clarifying the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the embodiments of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.
[0026] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "connected" and "linked" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention according to the specific circumstances.
[0027] In embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can mean that the first feature is in direct contact with the second feature, or that the first feature is in indirect contact with the second feature through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.
[0028] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples. Moreover, without contradiction, those skilled in the art can combine and integrate the different embodiments or examples described in this specification, as well as the features of different embodiments or examples.
[0029] Aerial vehicles can carry various optical and electronic devices to provide a platform for Earth observation or communication relay. These aerial vehicles operate in near-space for extended periods, facing harsh environments such as drastic temperature changes, intense ultraviolet radiation, and repeated bending and twisting. The antennas mounted on them must simultaneously meet the requirements of lightweight design, high flexibility, environmental adaptability, and reliable connection with the aerial vehicle's flexible envelope structure. Traditional antenna structures may experience problems such as interface separation, stress concentration, or even damage to the envelope structure when connected to the aerial vehicle's flexible envelope structure, rendering the antenna unusable.
[0030] Most related technical solutions employ conformal antennas attached to rigid structures, such as those used on the wings of high-altitude fixed-wing UAVs. These types of conformal antennas typically achieve structural flexibility by altering the cross-sectional thickness of the antenna structure, allowing them to be attached to rigid structures to achieve conformity. However, these conformal antennas are unsuitable for the application scenarios of aerostats. The operating environment of aerostats requires conformal antennas to withstand significant bending and torsion without damage, adapting to the harsh environment of near space, while also having a low areal density to avoid introducing excessive additional weight. For conformal antennas attached to rigid structures, the antenna structure itself is relatively fragile, relying mainly on the rigid structure to withstand deformation. Therefore, these types of conformal antennas cannot withstand significant bending and torsion deformation. Furthermore, these conformal antennas are usually manufactured using traditional printed circuit board (PCB) processing techniques, resulting in a high areal density and introducing significant additional weight. In addition, while existing fabric antennas are lightweight and can conform to curved surfaces, they lack near-space environment adaptation designs, and their dielectric substrate and aerostat capsule are made of dissimilar materials, making reliable welding impossible using conventional heat-sealing processes. To address the aforementioned issues, the present invention provides a conformal fabric antenna for airships that can not only be tightly integrated with the surface of the airship capsule and withstand large bending and torsion deformations, thus adapting to the harsh environment of near space, but also has a low areal density and does not introduce excessive additional weight.
[0031] Regarding the problems in related technologies, such as Figures 1-4As shown, this embodiment provides a conformal antenna for an airship, including an airship body 10, an antenna body 20, and a transition layer 30. The antenna body 20 includes a flexible substrate 21 and a metal layer 22 disposed on the flexible substrate 21. A transition layer 30 is disposed between the flexible substrate 21 and the envelope of the airship body 10. The antenna body 20, the transition layer 30, and the envelope of the airship body 10 are integrally connected by a thermal bonding process. Furthermore, the material of the transition layer 30 is thermally compatible with the materials of the flexible substrate 21 and the envelope. Airships are typically located high above the ground and operate in harsh environments with drastic temperature changes, strong ultraviolet radiation, and repeated bending and twisting. The antenna body 20 is usually connected to the outer wall of the airship, thus requiring high stability in its connection. In this embodiment, by introducing the transition layer 30 and employing a thermal bonding process, the connection compatibility problem between the heterogeneous materials of the antenna flexible substrate 21 and the airship envelope is solved, achieving the fusion welding of the three components (antenna body 20, transition layer 30, and envelope) to form an integrated conformal structure. This allows the antenna to undergo large-scale bending and twisting deformations synchronously with the flexible capsule without interface separation or stress concentration, ensuring long-term reliability and structural integrity of the connection, and fundamentally overcoming the inherent defects of traditional rigid antennas or simply attached antennas in airship applications.
[0032] Specifically, the aerostat body 10 is a flexible capsule-like part of a balloon or airship, and its capsule material is usually a lightweight, high-strength flexible film. For example, the capsule is made of nylon or polyethylene film. The antenna body 20, as a functional component, uses a flexible substrate 21 as a load-bearing structure. The flexible substrate 21 can deform along with the capsule when it deforms, thus improving the stability of the antenna body 20.
[0033] The flexible substrate 21 needs to possess excellent mechanical flexibility, a certain structural strength, and heat-sealing properties. In a preferred but non-limiting embodiment, the flexible substrate 21 is a textile. For example, plain or twill woven nylon or polyester fabric with a unit area mass of 50 g / m². 2 Up to 150g / m 2 To ensure lightweight and flexibility, a transition layer 30 is arranged between the flexible substrate 21 and the airship capsule, serving as a material compatibility agent or thermal fusion medium to achieve a stable connection between the antenna body 20 and the capsule.
[0034] Furthermore, such as Figure 2As shown, the material of the transition layer 30 needs to be able to simultaneously undergo interfacial melting, interdiffusion, and ultimately solidify into a whole with the upper flexible substrate 21 material and the lower airship capsule material under the temperature and pressure applied during the heat sealing process. This "thermally compatible" characteristic enables reliable welding and significantly improves the stability of the connection. For example, the material of the transition layer 30 can be polyurethane, thermoplastic elastomer film, ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer film, etc. Polyurethane is described as a preferred embodiment in this specification; please refer to the following description for details.
[0035] It is understood that by using the transition layer 30 as the intermediate layer for connection, this embodiment can effectively achieve a stable connection between the antenna body 20 and the capsule, so that the antenna body 20 is no longer an independent component attached to the surface of the airship, but is integrally conformal with the capsule of the airship. When the antenna deforms with the capsule, the stress is uniformly transferred between the flexible substrate 21 and the capsule through the transition layer 30, avoiding problems such as stress concentration, contact interface separation, or even capsule structure damage at rigid connection points or adhesive interfaces. This greatly improves the structural fatigue life of the antenna under dynamic conditions such as repeated bending and inflation / deflation folds, while ensuring the stability of the antenna's electrical performance.
[0036] In a specific embodiment, the transition layer 30 is a polyurethane film. Typically, the material of the aerostat's envelope and the flexible substrate 21 are different, which affects the stability of the antenna body 20 connection. In this embodiment, experiments have shown that the polyurethane film exhibits excellent thermoplastic compatibility and interfacial bonding strength, resulting in higher connection stability of the antenna body 20.
[0037] Specifically, the polyurethane film softens and exhibits a certain viscous flow state at heat-sealing temperatures (e.g., 130°C to 180°C), allowing it to fully wet and penetrate the fiber gaps of the fabric substrate and the surface of the capsule membrane. After cooling and curing, it forms a strong mechanical interlock and intermolecular bond. Using polyurethane film as the transition layer 30 not only offers a wide process window and good compatibility with airship production lines, but also possesses excellent resistance to UV aging, high and low temperature cycling, and hydrolysis, further enhancing the long-term reliability of the entire connection structure in the harsh environment of near-space.
[0038] In some embodiments, the metal layer 22 is formed on the flexible substrate 21 using a flexible electronic printing process. In this embodiment, the antenna metal layer 22 is fabricated using flexible electronic printing, which results in higher stability of the metal layer 22 and improves the structural stability of the antenna body 20.
[0039] In the specific fabrication process: First, computer-aided design software is used to draw the required antenna pattern (such as microstrip patches, slots, dipoles, etc.). Then, the pattern data is imported into a high-precision flexible electronic printing device (such as a piezoelectric inkjet printer or an aerosol jet printer). This device uses a printhead loaded with functional electronic paste to directly deposit the paste onto the pre-treated (such as plasma cleaning to enhance adhesion) surface of the flexible substrate 21 according to the preset pattern. Subsequently, low-temperature curing (e.g., 80℃-150℃) causes the solvent in the paste to evaporate and the resin to crosslink, forming a firmly adhered metal layer 22 with good conductivity.
[0040] In this embodiment, a flexible electronic printing process is used to achieve high-precision, customized, and rapid fabrication of the antenna pattern. The resulting metal layer 22 is tightly bonded to the flexible substrate 21 and can bend freely with the substrate without cracking or falling off. Furthermore, the metal layer 22 fabricated by this process is extremely thin (typically on the micrometer scale) and has an extremely small area, which significantly reduces the areal density of the entire antenna body 20, effectively meeting the stringent requirements of the aerostat for payload weight.
[0041] In conjunction with the above embodiments, the flexible electronic printing process is inkjet printing, brush coating, or dispensing; the material of the metal layer 22 includes conductive silver ink. In this embodiment, by defining the specific process and materials, a clear technical path is provided for the fabrication of the antenna body 20, ensuring that the metal layer 22 possesses the characteristics of high conductivity, high flexibility, and lightweight.
[0042] In this embodiment, a dispensing process is preferably used. This process uses a precision dispensing head of a flexible electronic printing device to deposit functional pastes or inks (such as encapsulating adhesives) in discrete droplet form at specific locations on the substrate according to a predetermined pattern. Its advantages include high precision and suitability for patterned dot matrix deposition or microstructure filling.
[0043] Furthermore, the thickness of the metal layer 22 is between 4μm and 7μm. In a specific implementation, the thickness of the metal layer 22 is 5μm. This extremely low thickness gives it low bending stiffness. Moreover, the metal ink will penetrate into the antenna fabric layer during the curing process, so the metal layer 22 of the antenna also has strong flexibility and can withstand large bending, torsion and other deformations.
[0044] Furthermore, since the metal layer 22 in this embodiment has a small thickness, its surface density is small, and the antenna body 20 is distributed in an array on the surface of the airship, the introduced extra mass is further reduced, which is much smaller than the extra mass introduced by antennas prepared by conventional printed circuit board processing technology.
[0045] In some specific embodiments, such as Figure 3 , Figure 4As shown, the antenna body 20 also includes an encapsulation layer 23 covering the metal layer 22. In this embodiment, the encapsulation layer 23 effectively protects the internal metal layer 22 and improves the service life of the antenna body 20.
[0046] Specifically, the encapsulation layer 23 can also be fabricated using a flexible electronic printing process. For example, an encapsulation material can be applied to the surface of the metal layer 22 and leveled using a dispenser or squeegee. The encapsulation layer 23 completely covers the pattern of the metal layer 22 and extends outward to a certain boundary (e.g., 1-2 mm) to ensure complete coverage and sealing of the metal layer 22.
[0047] Among them, the encapsulation layer 23 can achieve effective physical isolation protection to prevent external scratches from damaging the delicate metal circuits; it can also provide environmental barrier protection, blocking water vapor, salt spray and strong ultraviolet rays in the near space, preventing metal oxidation and corrosion and polymer substrate aging; it can also fix the antenna pattern and prevent the metal layer 22 from developing microcracks during repeated deformation.
[0048] In this specific implementation, the encapsulation layer 23 is made of polyimide. This example uses polyimide as the encapsulation material, which improves protection performance and thus extends the lifespan of the antenna body 20.
[0049] Specifically, in this embodiment, a low-temperature curable polyimide (PI) precursor slurry is preferably used as the encapsulation material. Polyimide is renowned for its excellent high and low temperature resistance (-269°C to 400°C), superior mechanical strength, good chemical stability, and outstanding radiation resistance. By adjusting the solid content and rheological properties, it can be formulated into inks suitable for printing or coating. After printing the PI slurry on the metal layer 22, it is cured by step-heating to ensure complete imidization, forming a dense, tough, and transparent protective film.
[0050] Furthermore, the polyimide encapsulation layer 23 has a thickness of 4μm-7μm. In a specific implementation, the metal layer 22 has a thickness of 5μm. This thickness is relatively small, and the encapsulation layer 23 is distributed in an array form on the surface of the airship along with the antenna body 20, which further reduces the introduced additional mass, which is much smaller than the additional mass introduced by antennas prepared by traditional printed circuit board processing technology.
[0051] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2 As shown, the antenna body 20 is a coplanar waveguide-fed patch antenna, and the metal layer 22 includes a radiating patch 221 and a grounding block 222. This embodiment employs a coplanar waveguide-fed patch antenna, which has a good radiation pattern and gain, effectively meeting the functional requirements of airships for ground observation or communication relay.
[0052] Specifically, such as Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, the metal layer 22 is located on the same plane, and the ground blocks 222 are located on both sides of the radiating patch 221. The feed line (not shown separately in the figure) adopts a coplanar waveguide structure, that is, the center signal line is located in the gap between the two ground blocks 222 and connected to the radiating patch 221. This coplanar waveguide-fed patch antenna structure is simple, easy to form in one step through the aforementioned printing process, and its radiation characteristics are relatively insensitive to the substrate thickness, making it suitable for implementation on a flexible fabric substrate.
[0053] In some embodiments, the flexible substrate 21 is a fabric substrate. As previously mentioned, fabric substrates, particularly woven or knitted synthetic fiber fabrics, can effectively achieve high flexibility and conformal properties.
[0054] Specifically, the fabric is woven from warp and weft yarns and possesses a porous structure and isotropic mechanical properties, enabling it to withstand multi-directional tensile, bending, and shear deformation without breaking. Compared to homogeneous polymer films, the fabric substrate and the printed metal layer 22 can form a more stable connection structure.
[0055] In this embodiment, heat-set nylon or polyester plain weave fabric is preferably used, as its surface smoothness is moderate, which is beneficial for printing accuracy and ensures good adhesion of the ink. Specifically defining the flexible substrate 21 as a fabric substrate facilitates the use of readily available and low-cost materials. This provides a fundamental guarantee for achieving synchronous flexible deformation of the antenna and the airship capsule.
[0056] In conjunction with the above embodiments, the fabric substrate is made of nylon or polyester fabric; the bladder material of the airship body 10 is made of nylon or polyethylene film. By specifically defining the fabric substrate material, it achieves better connection stability.
[0057] Specifically, the most commonly used materials for airship bodies, nylon film (coated or uncoated) and polyethylene film, are also typical heat-sealable materials. In this embodiment, the polyurethane transition layer 30 successfully and reliably connects nylon / polyester fabric and nylon / polyethylene film, two materials with differences in melting point, surface energy, and chemical polarity, using standard heat-sealing processes (hot plate welding, hot air welding, or high-frequency welding). This embodiment provides a specific alternative to a superior material combination, and this combination has been verified to achieve optimal heat-sealing strength and environmental durability.
[0058] like Figure 5 As shown, the present invention also provides a method for fabricating a conformal antenna for an airship, used to fabricate the connection structure between the antenna body 20 and the airship body 10 in the aforementioned airship, comprising the following steps: Step S10: Obtain the airship capsule and antenna body 20, wherein the antenna body 20 includes a fabric substrate, a metal layer 22 formed on the fabric substrate by flexible electronic printing, and an encapsulation layer 23 formed on the metal layer 22 by flexible electronic printing. Step S20: A transition layer 30 is provided between the fabric substrate of the antenna body 20 and the airship capsule, and the material of the transition layer 30 is thermally compatible with the fabric substrate and the capsule material. Step S30: Using a heat-sealing process, the antenna body 20, the transition layer 30, and the airship capsule are integrally welded together.
[0059] Specifically, in step S10, the airship capsule is the main load-bearing and sealing structure of the airship, and is usually assembled from a large area of flexible thin film material through high-frequency heat sealing or hot air welding. The obtained capsule can be a semi-finished product with the main body assembled but with reserved antenna installation area, or it can be a flat capsule material cut piece. The capsule is preferably a nylon film or polyethylene laminate film with a thickness of 0.05mm to 0.2mm, and its surface should be clean, dry, and wrinkle-free.
[0060] To fabricate the antenna body 20, firstly, a fabric substrate, such as nylon plain weave fabric, slightly larger than the antenna design pattern is selected. Then, using a high-precision flexible electronic inkjet printer, the pre-designed metal layer 22 pattern (such as a patch antenna pattern fed by a coplanar waveguide) is printed onto the fabric substrate using a dispensing process. The conductive paste used is nano-silver conductive ink. After printing, the fabric substrate is placed in a temperature-controlled drying tunnel or oven and cured at a preset temperature, allowing the silver particles to sinter and form a low-resistance conductive path. Subsequently, a layer of polyimide precursor paste is applied as an encapsulation layer 23 on the cured metal layer 22 using a printing or scraping process, and then imidized and cured at a preset temperature to form a dense protective film. The encapsulation layer 23 is provided on the metal layer 22, specifically coated onto the surface of the antenna metal layer using a flexible electronic printing process (such as brushing or dispensing), serving to protect the antenna structure from environmental damage (such as moisture, ozone, and abrasion). At this point, a separate, environmentally friendly flexible antenna body 20 has been prefabricated.
[0061] In step S20, in the area to be welded, the airship capsule material is first laid flat on the worktable of the heat sealing machine. Then, a transition layer 30 film with a size similar to or slightly larger than the fabric substrate of the antenna body 20 is taken. In this embodiment, the transition layer 30 is preferably a thermoplastic polyurethane film. The polyurethane film is carefully laid on the capsule material at the predetermined position for mounting the antenna body 20. Next, the antenna body 20 prepared in step S10 is picked up, with its fabric substrate side facing down, and precisely aligned and placed on the polyurethane film. This forms a stacked structure from top to bottom: antenna body 20 (encapsulation layer 23 on top), fabric substrate, polyurethane film, airship capsule. Of course, in specific arrangements, multiple antenna bodies 20 can be arrayed in the areas on opposite sides of the capsule or other required areas.
[0062] In step S30, the aforementioned laminated structure is placed in a heat-sealing device. Appropriate heat-sealing parameters are set according to the material combination (nylon fabric / polyurethane film / nylon membrane). For example, when using a flatbed heat-sealing machine, the temperature of the upper and lower heat-sealing molds can be set between 150°C and 170°C, the pressure between 0.3 MPa and 0.5 MPa, and the heat-sealing time between 20 and 40 seconds. After the heat-sealing process begins, heat is conducted through the upper mold to the antenna body 20 and through the lower mold to the airship capsule. The polyurethane film in the middle rapidly softens and melts upon heating. Under pressure, the molten polyurethane film penetrates the fiber pores of the upper fabric substrate and diffuses and fuses with the slightly softened surface of the capsule film on the lower heated surface. After the set heat-sealing time, heating is stopped, and pressure is maintained for cooling. After cooling and solidification, the polyurethane film and the materials on both sides form a strong, irreversible metallurgical / chemical bond at the interface, truly fusing the three into a single unit.
[0063] Understandably, this precisely controlled heat-sealing process achieves several advantages. First, it results in high weld strength, with the peel strength of the joint interface reaching or even exceeding the strength of the fabric substrate or the capsule material itself. Second, it ensures excellent sealing, as the molten polyurethane film completely fills the gaps between the fabric fibers, forming an effective airtight and watertight barrier, effectively maintaining the airtightness of the aerostat. Third, this method ensures uniform stress distribution, making the entire weld surface a continuous stress-bearing body. When the antenna deforms with the capsule, the stress is evenly distributed through the weld surface, completely eliminating the risk of capsule tearing caused by localized stress concentration. Finally, the heat-sealing process offers good stability, and the heat-sealing parameters are easy to standardize and control, facilitating large-scale, high-quality production.
[0064] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.
Claims
1. A conformal antenna for an airship, characterized in that, include: The airship body; The antenna body includes a flexible substrate and a metal layer disposed on the flexible substrate; A transition layer is provided between the flexible substrate and the capsule of the airship body. The antenna body, the transition layer and the capsule of the airship body are integrally connected by a heat sealing process. The material of the transition layer is thermally compatible with the materials of the flexible substrate and the capsule.
2. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transition layer is a polyurethane film.
3. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The metal layer is formed on the flexible substrate using a flexible electronic printing process.
4. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 3, characterized in that, The flexible electronic printing process is inkjet printing, brushing, or dispensing; the material of the metal layer contains conductive silver ink.
5. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The antenna body also includes an encapsulation layer covering the metal layer.
6. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 5, characterized in that, The encapsulation layer is made of polyimide.
7. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The antenna body is a coplanar waveguide-fed patch antenna, and the metal layer includes a radiating patch and a grounding block.
8. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 1, characterized in that, The flexible substrate is a fabric substrate.
9. The conformal antenna for a buoy according to claim 8, characterized in that, The fabric substrate is made of nylon or polyester fabric; the bladder material of the airship body is made of nylon or polyethylene film.
10. A method for fabricating a conformal antenna for an airship, used to fabricate a connection structure between the antenna body and the airship body as described in any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Including the following steps: Acquire the airship capsule; An antenna body is obtained, the antenna body comprising a fabric substrate, a metal layer formed on the fabric substrate by flexible electronic printing, and an encapsulation layer formed on the metal layer by flexible electronic printing; A transition layer is provided between the fabric substrate of the antenna body and the airship capsule, and the material of the transition layer is thermally compatible with the materials of the fabric substrate and the capsule. The antenna body, the transition layer, and the airship capsule are integrally welded together using a heat-sealing process.