Deployable antenna reflector
A deployable antenna reflector comprising a central dish and a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels arranged around the central dish. The reflector further comprises a central supporting body, whereon the central dish is fixedly mounted and whereto the deployable sheet-like panels are hinged. The rotation axes of the individual deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to the center point of the central dish. In the stowed configuration of the reflector, the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize the envelope of the reflector and that the panels relax upon deployment.
1. A deployable antenna reflector, comprising:
a central dish fixedly mounted on a central supporting body;
a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels hinged to said central supporting body and arranged around the central dish;
wherein the rotation axes of each of individual ones of said deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to a center point of the central dish, and wherein, in a stowed configuration of the reflector, upper corner edges of the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize an envelope of the reflector and the panels relax upon entering a deployment configuration.
2. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 1 , wherein each of said sheet-like panels is supported by a rib which connects said each sheet-like panel to the central supporting body via mechanical bushings.
3. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 2 , wherein each sheet-like panel includes a torque spring acting on the rotation axis thereby driving the sheet-like panels from the stowed configuration into the deployed configuration.
4. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 2 , wherein a damping device is mounted on one of the sheet-like panels in order to simultaneously damp the motion of the sheet-like panels during deployment.
5. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 2 , wherein the central supporting body is a hollow ring made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
6. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 2 , wherein the deployable sheet-like panels are made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
7. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 1 , wherein each sheet-like panel includes a torque spring acting on the rotation axis thereby driving the sheet-like panels from the stowed configuration into the deployed configuration.
8. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 7 , wherein a damping device is mounted on one of the sheet-like panels in order to simultaneously damp the motion of the sheet-like panels during deployment.
9. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 7 , wherein the central supporting body is a hollow ring made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
10. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 7 , wherein the deployable sheet-like panels are made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
11. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 1 , wherein the central supporting body is a hollow ring made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
12. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 1 , wherein the deployable sheet-like panels are made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
13. The A deployable antenna reflector comprising:
a central dish fixedly mounted on a central supporting body;
a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels hinged to said central supporting body and arranged around the central dish;
wherein the rotation axes of each of individual ones of said deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to a center point of the central dish, and wherein, in a stowed configuration of the reflector, the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize an envelope of the reflector and the panels relax upon entering a deployment configuration, wherein brackets are mounted at the outer end of each sheet-like panel forming a closed formlocking structural ring in the stowed configuration of the reflector.
14. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 13 , wherein, in the stowed configuration of the reflector, the structural ring is loaded by a circumferential rope allowing to compress the individual brackets with respect to each other.
15. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 13 , wherein a damping device is mounted on one of the sheet-like panels in order to simultaneously damp the motion of the sheet-like panels during deployment.
16. The deployable antenna reflector according to claim 13 , wherein the central supporting body is a hollow ring made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic.
17. A deployable antenna reflector, comprising:
a central dish fixedly mounted on a central supporting body;
a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels hinged to said central supporting body and arranged around the central dish;
wherein the rotation axes of each of individual ones of said deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to a center point of the central dish, and wherein, in a stowed configuration of the reflector, the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize an envelope of the reflector and the panels relax upon entering a deployment configuration, wherein a damping device is mounted on one of the sheet-like panels in order to simultaneously damp the motion of the sheet-like panels during deployment; and
wherein the damping device cooperates with a cable drum on which a damping rope is wound said damping rope being guided around the formlocking ring in the stowed configuration.
18. A deployable antenna reflector, comprising:
a central dish fixedly mounted on a central supporting body;
a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels hinged to said central supporting body and arranged around the central dish;
wherein the rotation axes of each of individual ones of said deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to a center point of the central dish, and wherein, in a stowed configuration of the reflector, the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize an envelope of the reflector and the panels relax upon entering a deployment configuration;
each of said sheet-like panels is supported by a rib which connects said each sheet-like panel to the central supporting body via mechanical bushings; and
wherein brackets are mounted at the outer end of each sheet-like panel forming a closed formlocking structural ring in the stowed configuration of the reflector.
19. A deployable antenna reflector comprising:
a central dish fixedly mounted on a central supporting body;
a plurality of deployable sheet-like panels hinted to said central supporting body and arranged around the central dish;
wherein the rotation axes of each of individual ones of said deployable sheet-like panels are tilted with respect to a center point of the central dish, and wherein, in a stowed configuration of the reflector, the deployable sheet-like panels are at least partially deflected in order to minimize an envelope of the reflector and the panels relax upon entering a deployment configuration, wherein each sheet-like panel includes a torque spring acting on the rotation axis thereby driving the sheet-like panels from the stowed configuration into the deployed configuration; and
brackets are mounted at the outer end of each sheet-like panel forming a closed formlocking structural ring in the stowed configuration of the reflector.