The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 08, 2014
Filed:
Dec. 01, 2010
Thomas W. Murphey, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Gregory E. Sanford, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Sungeun Jeon, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Thomas W. Murphey, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Gregory E. Sanford, Albuquerque, NM (US);
Sungeun Jeon, Albuquerque, NM (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force, Washington, DC (US);
Abstract
A spacecraft deployment mechanism employing a pair of bi-stable tape springs attached to a cylinder such that rotation of the cylinder extends or retracts the tape springs in opposite directions. The tape springs are fabricated such that they are stable when wrapped around a cylinder (stowed configuration) or when deployed and have a higher energy state when stowed than when deployed. A plurality of bi-stable tape spring mechanisms may be combined to create a deployment device that does not impart rotational torques to the spacecraft during deployment. Deployment may be accomplished by release of the stored energy in the coiled or packaged state progressing to the lower energy deployed state. Alternatively, a motor may be employed to rotate the cylinders for deploy or retrace the tape springs.