The Aerospace Corporation

Other

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Ilc Dover, Inc.

Srs Technologies, Inc.

James H Matsumoto

Edward J Simburger

Paul A Gierow

Thomas W Giants

Alec Garcia, Iii

Suraj Prakash Rawal

Aloysius F Hepp

Frank R Jeffrey

Stephen Emerson Scarborough

Alonzo Prater

Alan R Perry

Albert H Zimmerman

Craig H Marshall

John K H Lin

Dennis A Smith

Jonathan Robert Day

Thomas W Kerslake

A flexible inflatable hinge includes curable resin for rigidly positioning panels of solar cells about the hinge in which wrap around contacts and flex circuits are disposed for routing power from the solar cells to the power bus further used for grounding the hinge. An indium tin oxide and magnesium fluoride coating is used to prevent static discharge while being transparent to ultraviolet light that cures the embedded resin after deployment for rigidizing the inflatable hinge.

Thin film solar cell inflatable ultraviolet rigidizable deployment hinge

One or more thin film battery cells are embedded in a multilayer thin film flexible circuit board supporting electronic devices, such as power regulators, for forming an integrated battery and circuit module. The module can be made using conventional thin film processes. The module is well suited for applications where size and space limitations, such as on spacecraft or credit cards, require the use of ultra thin power sources integrated with respective electronic devices and printed circuits.

Integrated thin film battery and circuit module

Multiple layers of a clear insulating material, such as clear polyimide, with horizontal metalization layers therebetween and with vertical feed through metal traces therethrough form a flexible three dimension circuit printed circuit board upon which semiconductor devices, such as thin film solar cell can be directly deposited for forming a flexible electronic module, and upon which electronic discrete component can be bonded and electrically connected. In one exemplar configuration, a flexible thin film solar cell power module has thin film solar cells deposited on one side and power converters bonded on the other for a solar array power system. The flexible printed circuit board is well suited for forming electronic systems about a curved surface such as a power sphere nanosatellite.

Integrated solar power module

A zero gravity simulator rotates an electrolytic device, such as nickel hydrogen battery cells, to simulate the effect of zero gravity on the battery cells by providing a cumulative zero gravity vector upon the device under test. The simulator has electrical connections to the device under test for monitoring the electrical performance of the device for determining the expected performance of the device under test when deployed and used in space.

Zero gravity simulator for testing battery cells

Growing community of inventors

Los Angeles, CA, United States of America

James H Matsumoto