Claims
- 1. A reflecting structure comprising:at least one rigid section having a reflective surface; and at least one bendable section having a reflective surface and being connected to the rigid section at a connection region, the at least one bendable section comprising a flexible material; wherein the at least one bendable section is movable between a stowed position in which the reflective surface of the at least one bendable section is at least partially overlapping with the reflective surface of the at least one rigid section, and a deployed position in which the reflective surfaces of the at least one bendable section and the at least one rigid section are continuous and non-overlapping; and wherein the at least one bendable section is movable between the stowed position and the deployed position by bending of the flexible material of the at least one bendable section in the connection region.
- 2. The reflecting structure of claim 1 wherein the reflective surfaces of the at least one rigid section and the at least one bendable section are made substantially from a single sheet of RF reflecting material.
- 3. The reflecting structure of claim 2 wherein the RF reflecting material comprises a laminated, composite material.
- 4. The reflecting structure of claim 3 wherein the at least one rigid section comprises additional laminations of the composite material as compared to the at least one bendable section.
- 5. The reflecting structure of claim 1 further comprising a rigid support member connected to the at least one rigid section opposite the reflective surface thereof.
- 6. The reflecting structure of claim 5 wherein the rigid support member and the at least one rigid section comprise materials having compatible thermal expansion characteristics.
- 7. The reflecting structure of claim 1 wherein the at least one rigid section comprises a centrally located rigid section, wherein the at least one bendable section comprises a first flexible section connected to one side of the centrally located rigid section and a second flexible section connected to an opposite side of the centrally located rigid section, and wherein the first and second flexible sections are folded substantially over the rigid section in the stowed position.
- 8. The reflecting structure of claim 7 further comprising a stiffening member connected to the first and second flexible sections to stiffen and support the first and second flexible sections in the deployed position.
- 9. The reflecting structure of claim 8 wherein the stiffening member comprises a strip of material having a convexity in cross section and being bendable in a first direction but stiff in a second direction which is substantially transverse to the first direction.
- 10. The reflecting structure of claim 1 wherein the at least one rigid section comprises a single, central rigid section; and wherein the at least one bendable section comprises a plurality of radially spaced flexible sections connected to and extending outwardly from the central rigid section in the deployed position, and being folded over the central rigid section in the stowed position.
- 11. The reflecting structure of claim 10 wherein the central rigid section and the plurality of flexible sections are integrally formed from a single sheet of reflecting material.
- 12. The reflecting structure of claim 1 wherein the at least one bendable section is movable from the stowed position to the deployed position by a spring restoration force generated from bending of the flexible material of the at least one bendable section.
- 13. A method of deploying a reflecting structure including least one rigid section having a reflective surface and at least one bendable section having a reflective surface and being connected to the at least one rigid section at a connection region, the at least one bendable section comprising a flexible material, the method comprising:folding the at least one bendable section into a folded position over the at least one rigid section to generate a spring restoration force from bending of the flexible material of the at least one bendable section in the connection region; holding the at least one bendable section in the folded position; and releasing the at least one bendable section to allow the spring restoration force to return the at least one bendable section from the folded position to a deployed position.
- 14. The method of claim 13 wherein the reflective surfaces of the at least one rigid section and the at least one bendable section are made substantially from a single sheet of RF reflecting material.
- 15. The method of claim 13 wherein the folding occurs on earth and the releasing occurs when the reflecting structure is in space.
- 16. The method of claim 13 wherein the reflecting structure adopts a generally parabolic shape in the deployed position.
- 17. The method of claim 13 wherein the at least one rigid section comprises a centrally located rigid section, wherein the at least one bendable section comprises a first flexible section connected to one side of the centrally located rigid section and a second flexible section connected to an opposite side of the centrally located rigid section, and wherein the folding comprises folding the first and second flexible sections substantially over the rigid section in the folded position.
- 18. The method of claim 17 further comprising stiffening and supporting the first and second flexible sections in the deployed position.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein stiffening and supporting the first and second flexible sections comprises connecting to the first and second flexible sections a strip of material having a convexity in cross section and being bendable in a first direction but stiff in a second direction which is substantially transverse to the first direction.
- 20. The method of claim 13 wherein the at least one rigid section comprises a single, central rigid section; wherein the at least one bendable section comprises a plurality of radially spaced flexible sections connected to and extending outwardly from the central rigid section in the deployed position; and wherein the folding comprises folding the plurality of flexible sections over the central rigid section in the folded position.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/215,874 filed Jun. 30, 2000.
US Referenced Citations (14)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1 043 802 |
Oct 2002 |
EP |
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
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60/215874 |
Jun 2000 |
US |