United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Whitney D Reynolds

Thomas W Murphey

Jeremy A Banik

Peter S Ericksen

Laura A Stiles

A base, a spool, and an antenna structure coupled to the spool has ends that are affixed to the base. The antenna structure is wound about the spool in a stowed state, and unwound to form a loop antenna in the deployed state. The antenna structure may be a bistable composite tape with a cross-sectional curvature and having one or more antenna conductors embedded therein. A storage containment device holds the antenna structure in the stowed state. When in the stored state, the antenna structure generates a strain force against the spool biased to unwind and deploy the antenna structure to form a loop antenna when released. Another embodiment adds a second spool rotating in a direction opposite the first to achieve either state. A further embodiment uses two loop antennas by winding two antenna structures around two pairs of spools, respectively.

Deployable loop antenna

A reflector useful for communications, radar and sensing application in space and on earth includes thin shell gores emanating from a geometric center of the reflector at its hub. Gores are provided in a spiraled pattern and are in elastic connection to said hub and wrapped around their point of convergence at the hub when the reflector is stowed. The gores emanate from the geometric center of the reflector hub at their elastic connection to the hub when they are deployed and operational as a reflector with a point of convergence to promote operation as a reflector. Thin shell gores can have an inner perimeter and outer perimeter, can be provided in a spiraled pattern, and can be interlocked at their outer perimeter, or in-between their inner and outer perimeter, while also remaining in elastic connection at their inner perimeter to said hub.

Growing community of inventors

Mesa, AZ, United States of America

Whitney D Reynolds