Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc.

Arnold Friedman

William Martin Ribble

William D Wade

A method for sewing a plurality of gore-shaped metalized mesh fabric panels to each other to form a parabolic dish-shaped reflector surface for subsequent attachment to the radially extendable rib members of a deployable parabolic reflector. The method includes using a template having 'cut' and 'sew' lines indicated thereon for cutting out a desired number of gore-shaped panels from a bolt of metalized mesh fabric and sewing the panels together along adjacent side edges thereof to form the dish-shaped reflector surface. The dish-shaped reflector surface is then attached to the reflector by sewing the mesh fabric panels to stitch holes provided in each rib member. The reflector surface is accurized by using a wedge-shaped tool which is placed on a slack reflector panel adjacent a gore seam. A cord is then laced thereover along its length, after which the tool is removed, and the two ends of the cord are pulled tight thereby forming a tuck seam in the reflector panel which takes up slack in the reflector surface. A novel metalized mesh fabric construction is also disclosed and includes silver coated nylon strands and denier dacron strands interwoven in a 'Marquisette' or 'Leno' style weave. The weave has openings sized sufficiently large to minimizing the effects of wind load yet sufficiently small to provide good reflective performance of radio frequencies up to and including X-Band frequencies.

Growing community of inventors

Redwood City, CA, United States of America

Arnold Friedman