General Electric Company

John R Knapp

Donald P Miller

John D Reale

David L Binsley

A retractable distributed array antenna has a multiplicity of radiative elements arranged in a beam-forming array of desired configuration and resolvable into a plurality C of columns, with each column having at least one of the antenna radiator elements. Each of a number P of elongated column members, up to but not exceeding C in number, supports the antenna elements of an associated column. The column members are arranged with their elongated dimension generally parallel to one another. The adjacent end portions of each pair of column member, or of a column member and a central stowage module, are joined by a spring-loaded hinge assembly, which urges the joined column member end portions away from each other, to place the columns of elements into the desired distributed array antenna configuration, if no retroactive forces are present. A retraction mechanism, which may use drum-fed drawcables, is provided for controllably drawing the joined column member end portions towards each other, against the action of the hinge spring forces, to collapse the array into a smaller volume than the volume which is occupied by the expanded array.

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Cazenovia, NY, United States of America

John R Knapp