Deployable Mast Bracing Structure for Precise Stable Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deployable masts for space applications lack satisfactory stability, positioning precision, and rigidity, and are not adequately resistant to mechanical stresses, both along the longitudinal axis and transverse to it, which affects their deployment and functionality.
Innovation Solution
A foldable/deployable structure with a bracing device comprising flexible polymer materials and non-wovens, featuring multiple links or a fabric extending around the mast, which provides attachment points to both the base and the mast, allowing for precise positioning and enhanced resistance to mechanical stresses through tensioning, thereby maintaining stability and rigidity in the deployed state.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If an inflatable tube is used for the mast, then the weight is reduced, but the stability and rigidity are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite construction by combining the inflatable tube (providing light weight) with a framework of rigid bars and hinges (providing structural stability and rigidity). This composite approach allows the mast to achieve both low weight and high stability simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between these two properties.
2Strength
If a framework with hinged stages is used, then the rigidity is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mast is divided into multiple deployable stages connected by hinges, allowing the structure to achieve rigidity when deployed while maintaining simplicity in the folded state. Each stage is a simple modular unit, and their combination through hinges creates the rigid framework needed, avoiding excessive overall complexity.
3Ease of operation
If the mast is made deployable, then the ease of operation is improved, but the positioning precision during deployment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a guying device with tensioning members that provide feedback control during deployment. The guy wires are tensioned to stabilize the mast at specific positions, ensuring precise positioning control throughout the deployment process while maintaining ease of operation through the self-deploying mechanism.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the mast is made longer to distance sensors from the main body, then the functionality is improved, but the resistance to mechanical stresses worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the inflatable tube as a flexible shell that provides structural support for the long mast. The pressurized inflatable tube maintains the mast's shape and provides resistance to mechanical stresses along its length, enabling the mast to achieve several meters in length while maintaining adequate strength and stiffness.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a foldable/deployable structure (1) comprising: - a mast (4) which can be deployed along a longitudinal deployment axis, the mast being designed to be placed either in a folded state requiring little axial installation space, or in a deployed state having a predetermined shape, - a base (10) upon which the deployable mast (4) is rested, the structure (1, 2) further comprising a bracing device, the bracing device: - having at least three points for attachment to the base (10) and at least three points for attachment to the mast (4), the bracing device connecting the base to the mast; - being designed to limit the transverse movements of the mast relative to the base (10) at least when the mast (4) is in a deployed state, and; - comprising at least one connecting member (22, 42, 60) chosen from the group formed by fabrics, non-woven fabrics and ties, the ties being chosen from the group formed by monofilaments, cables, bundles and strips; the structure (1, 2) being characterised in that it comprises a device (30) for tensioning each connecting member of the bracing device when the mast (4) is in the deployed state, the tensioning device (30) enabling a proximal end of the mast (4) to be maintained in the deployed state, at a distance from the base (10) greater than the distance separating the proximal end of the mast (4) from the base (10) when the mast is in the folded state.