Deployable Phased Array Antenna Sequential Panel Hinge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional phased array antennas onboard telecommunications satellites are limited by their fixed, compact designs, which restrict their ability to generate smaller spot beams and increase system capacity, and they require higher power and larger, more complex structures.
Innovation Solution
A deployable planar phased array antenna system with a polygonal cross-sectional base member and hinged antenna panels that unfold to form a large aperture, allowing for sequential deployment and providing a continuous, flat surface for optimal electromagnetic energy directionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If fixed compact phased array antennas are used onboard satellites, then the satellite structure is simplified and deployment is easier, but the aperture size is limited and system capacity cannot be increased
Solution Approach 1:
The antenna is divided into multiple deployable panels that can be stacked during launch and sequentially deployed to form a large aperture surface. Each panel is a separate module that can be independently positioned and electrically connected, allowing the overall aperture area to be expanded while keeping individual panel complexity manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna transitions from a static compact configuration during launch to a dynamic deployed configuration in orbit. The panels are designed to be movable relative to each other through mechanical deployment mechanisms, allowing the antenna to achieve its full large aperture dimension after satellite deployment.
2Productivity
If large aperture antennas are deployed, then smaller spot beams and higher system capacity are achieved, but the antenna structure becomes more complex and deployment mechanisms are required
Solution Approach 1:
The large aperture antenna is segmented into multiple panels that can be manufactured and assembled more easily than a single large structure. This segmentation allows the large aperture to be achieved while managing structural complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The antenna achieves large aperture area by extending in multiple dimensions through panel deployment. The panels are arranged to form a two-dimensional array surface, maximizing the effective aperture area for generating multiple small spot beams and increasing system capacity.
3Power
If fixed separate receive and transmit arrays are used, then the antenna structure is simplified, but the aperture is small and requires higher power and larger structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines transmit and receive arrays into a single integrated phased array structure. This merging allows the full aperture area to be utilized for both transmission and reception, increasing the effective aperture area without requiring separate large structures for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The phased array technology enables electronic beam forming and steering, changing the directional parameters of the antenna without physical movement. This allows a single large aperture to serve multiple functions that would otherwise require separate smaller arrays, reducing the total power and structural requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A phased array antenna for a telecommunications satellite, that is deployable from a retracted condition to a deployed condition when the satellite is on-station, comprising a base member of hexagonal form, and a plurality of deployable antenna panels stacked one on top of the other on the base member in the retracted condition, each antenna panel being connected to a respective side edge region of the base by means of a respective back flap hinge, and the hinges having pivot points that are offset relative to one another, such that the antenna panels can be hinged sequentially one after the other from the stick to a position in which each panel is adjacent a respective base side edge region to provide an extended flat two-dimensional area when deployed.