Auto-deployable RF Antenna Toroidal Rings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing self-deploying radio frequency antennas for space applications require compact storage during transport and efficient deployment in orbit, but existing solutions lack stability and structural integrity in their deployed configurations.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical radio frequency antenna design featuring at least two toroidal rings with elastically flexible blades that spontaneously deploy from a stacked to a deployed configuration, maintaining structural stability and resistance to stresses through elastic deformation and anti-slip mechanisms, using dielectric rings and conductive blades for efficient electromagnetic wave radiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the antenna is folded or stacked for compact storage during transport, then the extension during transport is minimized, but the structural stability and integrity in deployed configuration deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is divided into multiple segments that can be stacked during transport but maintain structural integrity when deployed. Each segment contains conductive elements and dielectric components that preserve the overall structural stability while enabling compact storage configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna segments are designed to nest within each other during storage, with each segment containing conductive blades and dielectric supports that maintain their structural configuration. This nesting allows compact storage while preserving the structural integrity needed for stable deployment.
2Length of moving object
If the antenna is designed with extended length for optimal radiation, then the radiation efficiency is improved, but the compactness during transport deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is designed with dynamic configurability, allowing it to transition between a compact stacked state for transport and an extended deployed state for optimal radiation. The conductive blades and dielectric supports are arranged to maintain structural integrity during both configurations, enabling the antenna to adapt its length based on operational requirements.
3Reliability
If the antenna uses traditional deployable structures with multiple components, then the deployment mechanism is robust, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna design merges multiple functions into integrated components. The dielectric supports serve both as structural elements maintaining antenna shape and as spacing mechanisms between conductive blades. The conductive blades themselves provide both radiation function and structural definition, reducing the need for separate deployment mechanisms while maintaining deployment reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The antenna achieves a high stacking ratio with excellent structural stability and resistance to stresses, ensuring reliable deployment and maintenance of the deployed configuration, suitable for space-based communication systems.
Implementation Method 1
at least one elastically flexible blade fixed substantially to the outer periphery of said at least two rings, said at least one blade being shaped so, in configuration deployed, extend along the cylinder... and, in configuration one stack, withdraw into itself under constraint, so as to create an effort of recall
Data Source
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AI summary
A radio frequency antenna (1) substantially cylindrical about an axis (A), comprising a stacked configuration having a reduced extension (e) about the axis (A) of the cylinder and a deployed configuration having an increased extension (E) about the axis (A) of the cylinder, capable of spontaneously deploying to change from the stacked configuration to the deployed configuration, comprising at least two substantially toroidal rings (2), the larger diameter of the torus defining the diameter of the cylinder, superimposed, the axes of said at least two tori coinciding with each other and with the axis (A) of the cylinder, and at least one elastically flexible blade (3) fixed substantially to the outer periphery of said at least two rings (2), said at least one blade (3) being shaped to, in the deployed configuration, extend along the cylinder along an axis parallel to or coinciding with the axis (A) of the cylinder and, in the stacked configuration, fold back on itself under stress,in order to create a recall effort, enabling spontaneous deployment. Application to the space domain.