Parabolic deployable antenna

• US 10,170,843 B2
• Filed: 05/27/2016
• Issued: 01/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Original Assignee: California Institute of Technology
• Inventors: Thomson, Mark W., Hodges, Richard E., Chahat, Nacer E., Sauder, Jonathan, Rahmat-Samii, Yahya, Hirsh, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Karacsony, Robert
• Application Number:
  US15/167,703
• Publication Number:
  US 20160352022A1
• Time in Patent Office: 949 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/288 Satellite antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 13/02 Waveguide horns
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 15/162 composed of a plurality of rigid panels
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/132 Horn reflector antennas; Off-set feeding
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 19/19 comprising one main concave reflecting surface associated with an auxiliary reflecting surface

Abstract

A deployable antenna is described. The antenna comprises a mesh attached to foldable ribs, a hub and a sub-reflector. The antenna can be stowed in a tight space for launching in space, and later deployed by extending out of its container. The antenna is designed to work in the Ka band or other bands and can increase data rates and function as a radio antenna.

Claims

1. A deployable antenna comprising:

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh;

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment; and

a waveguide attached to the hub, the waveguide being configured to fit within the horn before deployment and to remain in its pre-deployment location while the hub and the horn are extended away along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein;

the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz,

and

the deployable antenna is a Cassegrain antenna optimized to operate at 35.75 GHz with a bandwidth of 20 MHz.

2. The deployable antenna of claim 1, wherein the container is a cylindrical container and has a volume smaller than 10×

10×

16.2 cm³.

5. The deployable antenna of claim 1, wherein a diameter of the deployed antenna is 0.5 m.

7. The deployable antenna of claim 1, wherein the mesh is a 40 openings-per-inch mesh knitted from 0.0008″

diameter gold plated Tungsten wire.

19. The deployable antenna of claim 1, wherein each rotating hinge is a constant force spring hinge comprising a hinge and a constant force spring integrated in one unit.

20. The deployable antenna of claim 19, wherein each constant force spring is mounted on a spool.

3. A deployable antenna comprising:

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh; and

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz,

wherein the deployment mechanism comprises a cool gas generator attached to a piston, the piston being attached to the hub and configured to push the hub upon activation of the cool gas generator.

6. The deployable antenna of claim 3, wherein the plurality of root ribs comprises latches to lock onto an outer edge of the container upon deployment.

21. The deployable antenna of claim 3, wherein the mesh has a surface accuracy of 0.2 mm.

22. The deployable antenna of claim 3, wherein the horn is multi-band, being configured to operate at a plurality of frequency bands.

4. A deployable antenna comprising:

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh; and

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz,

wherein the deployment mechanism comprises a plurality of motorized screws.

8. The deployable antenna of claim 4, further comprising a sun synchronizing gear configured for one motor to drive deployment while the plurality of motorized screws operates synchronously.

9. The deployable antenna of claim 4, wherein the plurality of motorized screws is configured to operate as a launch lock.

23. The deployable antenna of claim 4, wherein the deployable antenna is a Cassegrain antenna.

24. The deployable antenna of claim 23, wherein the plurality of motorized screws is four screws.

10. A method comprising:

providing a deployable antenna, the deployable antenna comprising;

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh; and

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment; and

a waveguide attached to the hub, the waveguide being configured to fit within the horn before deployment and to remain in its pre-deployment location while the hub and the horn are extended away along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein;

the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz,

the deployable antenna is a Cassegrain antenna optimized to operate at 35. 75 GHz with a bandwidth of 20 MHz;

activating the deployment mechanism, thereby deploying the hub along a longitudinal axis of the container;

rotating the root and tip ribs away from the longitudinal axis; and

extending the horn and sub-reflector along the longitudinal axis.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the container is a cylindrical container and has a volume smaller than 10×

10×

16.2 cm³.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein a diameter of the deployed antenna is 0.5 m.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the mesh is a 40 openings-per-inch mesh knitted from 0.0008″

diameter gold plated Tungsten wire.

12. A method comprising:

providing a deployable antenna, the deployable antenna comprising;

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh; and

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz;

activating the deployment mechanism, thereby deploying the hub along a longitudinal axis of the container;

rotating the root and tip ribs away from the longitudinal axis; and

extending the horn and sub-reflector along the longitudinal axis,

wherein the deployment mechanism comprises a cool gas generator attached to a piston, the piston being attached to the hub and configured to push the hub upon activation of the cool gas generator.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the plurality of root ribs comprises latches to lock onto an outer edge of the container upon deployment.

13. A method comprising:

providing a deployable antenna, the deployable antenna comprising;

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh; and

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment,

wherein the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz;

activating the deployment mechanism, thereby deploying the hub along a longitudinal axis of the container;

rotating the root and tip ribs away from the longitudinal axis; and

extending the horn and sub-reflector along the longitudinal axis,

wherein the deployment mechanism comprises a plurality of motorized screws.

25. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of motorized screws is four screws.

17. A deployable antenna comprising:

a container;

a deployment mechanism attached to the container;

a hub within the container, configured to deploy along a longitudinal axis of the container upon activation of the deployment mechanism;

a plurality of root ribs attached to the hub and configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a plurality of tip ribs, each tip rib attached to a corresponding root rib by a rotating hinge, the plurality of tip ribs configured to rotate away from the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

a mesh attached to the plurality of root and tip ribs;

a horn attached to the hub, the horn extending along the longitudinal axis and located centrally to the mesh;

a sub-reflector attached to the horn and configured to extend away from the horn along the longitudinal axis upon deployment;

arms on the root ribs and top ribs;

first slots on the horn;

second slots on the container,

wherein;

the arms, first slots and second slots are configured to operate release of, and vibration suppression for, the deployable antenna, and

the mesh, horn, root ribs, tip ribs and sub-reflector are configured to operate between 2 and 50 GHz.

18. The deployable antenna of claim 17, wherein the arms, first slots and second slots are configured to time deployment of the sub-reflector and hold the root and top ribs against vibration.