Locking-Collar SATCOM Tripod for High-Stiffness Antenna Pointing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tripods designed for instruments like cameras and telescopes lack sufficient stiffness to maintain accurate pointing of high frequency tracking SATCOM antennas under wind and inertial loads.
Innovation Solution
A tripod design featuring a base with a hexagonal frame, connected legs with struts, and a locking collar mechanism that allows for rapid deployment and collapse, providing high stiffness and stability while minimizing deflections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If existing tripods designed for cameras and telescopes are used, then the device is lightweight and easy to set up, but the stiffness is insufficient to maintain accurate antenna pointing under wind and inertial loads
Solution Approach 1:
The tripod legs are segmented into multiple sections that can telescope relative to each other, allowing the structure to achieve high stiffness when deployed while remaining compact and lightweight for transport. The struts connecting the legs are also segmented with telescoping sections that lock into place to provide rigid support when needed but reduce overall size when collapsed.
Solution Approach 2:
The tripod employs a nested configuration where the leg sections and struts are housed within each other when collapsed for transport, similar to nested dolls. This nesting arrangement minimizes the stored volume and weight while allowing the full extension and locking mechanism to provide high stiffness during operation.
2Strength
If existing tripods are used, then the device is simple in structure, but the deflection capacity is insufficient for high frequency tracking SATCOM antennas
Solution Approach 1:
The tripod incorporates dynamic locking mechanisms that allow the structure to transition between deployed and collapsed states. The telescoping leg sections and struts with locking collars provide a dynamic system that adapts between compact transport configuration and fully extended high-stiffness operational configuration, enabling the tripod to handle high deflection loads when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking collars and detent mechanisms act as intermediary elements between the telescoping leg sections and struts. These intermediaries enable the complex locking and unlocking actions that provide high deflection capacity while maintaining relative simplicity in the overall structural design.
3Measurement precision
If a stiff tripod structure is designed, then accurate antenna pointing is maintained, but the deployment and collapse time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tripod legs and struts are pre-configured with telescoping sections and locking mechanisms that are ready for rapid deployment. The detent-based locking collars are positioned to engage automatically or with minimal manual action, allowing the structure to quickly transition from collapsed to deployed state while maintaining the stiffness required for accurate antenna pointing.
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 tripod achieves double the natural frequency and three times the rotational and tilting deflection capacity of existing tripods, ensuring accurate antenna pointing and handling wind and inertial loads effectively.
Implementation Method 1
A spring-loaded plunger pin extends radially inward into the bore, into the groove, and into the first detent or the second detent
Data Source
AI summary
A tripod for a transportable SATCOM antenna includes a base with a frame centered on a center axis. A first leg is connected to the frame of the base by a first hinge, a second leg is connected to the frame of the base by a second hinge, and a third leg is connected to the frame of the base by a third hinge. A first strut extends from the first leg to the second leg, a second strut extends from the second leg to the third leg, and a third strut extends from the third leg to the first leg. The first strut, the second strut, and the third strut each include a first strut segment, a second strut segment, and a hinge connecting the first strut segment and the second strut segment. A locking collar is on the first strut segment and extends over the hinge.