Patent Application
20160020523
1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to radio wave antennas, and particularly to foldable radio wave antennas.
2. Description of the Problem and Related Art
Transport of radio wave systems that use some form of electromagnetic reflecting antenna, i.e., radar or communications, is cumbersome, partially because of the antenna. Such antennas require an electromagnetically reflective substance, a metal, to operate, which has meant that the antenna is heavy and not easily stowed for transport. Collapsible metal antennas have often been used. Of course, these antennas are weighty and require complex actuator systems to be deployed.
Recently, antennas have been formed from lightweight materials such as composites, and polymers. These render the antenna light in weight compared to metal versions, but such antennas need other structures to maintain the shape of the reflector in a parabolic dish when the antenna is deployed in order not to degrade or inhibit the electromagnetic signal.
Often such antennas include rigid members to maintain the shape of the reflector, for example, a plurality of rigid ribs, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,490 to Talley, et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,710,348 to Taylor, et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,259,033 to Taylor, et al. Other antennas employ other “rigidizing” means, wsuch a rigid toroidal member incorporated in the periphery of the reflector dish shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,819 to Bernasconi, et al. in which the antenna reflector comprises an uncured resin in the undeployed state and a toroidal member, both of which are that configured to be inflated to deploy the reflector. When the resin encounters heat from the sun, the reflector hardens and maintains its shape. U.S. Pat. No. 6,272,449 to Bokulic, et al., also discloses a flexible antenna incorporating an inflating toroid. Still other antennas incorporate some other rigid structures to maintain the reflector's shape. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,642,796 to Talley, et al. discloses an antenna that includes a rigid center with bendable sections extending from the edge of the rigid center.
These rigidizing members these latter “light-weight” antennas still add weight to the antenna system and require accommodations for space of any non-flexible, or non-folding structures. Even the inflatable versions require systems and plumbing to inflate the structures, adding more weight and complexity to the system.
Accordingly, a foldable antenna that does not require such rigid components is needed.
The apparatus is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements.
The various embodiments of the foldable antenna and their advantages are best understood by referring to
Furthermore, reference in the specification to “an embodiment,” “one embodiment,” “various embodiments,” or any variant thereof means that a particular feature or aspect described in conjunction with the particular embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearance of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in another embodiment,” or variations thereof in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to its respective embodiment.
A foldable antenna 10 comprises a reflector member 11 and a tension member 12. Reflector member 11 is a generally parabolic dish having an opening 13b defined through its wall and centered at the vertex of the parabola. The tension member 12 is circular in shape and also includes an opening 13a defined through it at its center.
The material comprising the reflector member 11 is a composite of woven fibers having a high elastic modulus, e.g., fiberglass, carbon fiber or aramid, and an elastomer binder matrix, for example, silicone, polyurethane, or synthetic rubber. The fiber composite layer could also be a composite of cloth or paper with a phenolic resin as would be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant arts.
A suitable reflector member 11 must exhibit a low flexural elastic modulus, a high tensile modulus, possessing “shape memory”, i.e., a tendency to return to its parabolic shape, but with a very low tendency to set when deformed so that the antenna may be used repeatedly without deterioration of signal quality.
The parabolic shape preferably has a relatively high depth-to-diameter ratio, i.e., focal point/diameter (f/d), of between about 0.25 to about 0.30, and confers an automatic increase in short-range and long-range moment of inertia as it unfolds.
Of course, since it is intended to function as an electromagnetic reflector, the reflector member 11 also comprises an electromagnetically reflective fabric, for example, metal-nylon mesh. In one embodiment, reflector member 11 comprises a laminate of an electromagnetically reflective fabric encased in multiple layers of a fiber composite, an elastomer layer, and an aramid. In order to ensure a uniform flexion in all directions, the fibers of each fiber composite layer may be oriented at an offset with respect to adjacent or nearby fiber composite layers. For example, the fibers of a first fiber composite layer may be oriented in a first orientation. The next fiber composite layer may be oriented such that its fibers are angularly offset by about 45° relative the orientation of the fibers of the first layer. The succeeding fiber composite layer may be oriented such that its fibers are angularly offset by about 45° relative the fibers of the preceding layer, and so on.
Thickness of the resulting laminate should be sufficient to be resilient and retain shape memory of the parabolic considering the diameter of the reflector. For example, if the laminate is not thick enough, it will not hold its shape when it is deployed. If it is too thick, the reflector will not be pliant enough to fold. For a reflector diameter of 0.9m, a suitable thickness is about 50 mils.
With reference to
Tension member 12 is also foldable and may also comprise a laminate of layers of fiber composite and an elastomer binder and may be between about 6 to about 8 mils in thickness having a diameter roughly equal to that of the reflector member 11. In one embodiment, tension member 12 is permanently bonded by its circumferential edge to the peripheral rim of the reflector member 11. In another embodiment, shown in
Zipper 17 may be installed by attaching a rim 18 that may comprise the same laminate as that of the tension member 12 to the peripheral rim of the reflector member 11 and attaching one side of the zipper to the radially inward edge of the rim 18. It will be appreciated that preferably zipper 17 comprises an electromagnetically transparent material to avoid interference with the radio wave signals. In addition, other means of attaching the tension member 12 to the reflector member 11 may be employed as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.
When the antenna 10 is to be stowed, it is removed from the mast 15 and the tension member 12 is detached from the reflector member 11. Both the tension member 12 and the reflector member 11 may then be refolded, as illustrated in
As described above and shown in the associated drawings, the present invention comprises a foldable radio wave antenna. While particular embodiments have been described, it will be understood, however, that any invention appertaining to the antenna described is not limited thereto, since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. It is, therefore, contemplated by the appended claims to cover any such modifications that incorporate those features or those improvements that embody the spirit and scope of the invention.
