| 摘要 |
1,151,739. Space vehicles. TENSATOR Ltd. 5 Oct., 1966 [21 Oct., 1965], No. 44491/66. Heading B7W. [Also in Divisions F2 and H4] A self-erecting tube device comprises a ribbon spring 32 which is so set that when unrestrained it coils into a long helix 36 whose turns are in tight overlapping and telescoping relationship. One end of the spring 32 is secured in the spindle of a drum 16, upon which the said spring may be wound into a cylindrical coil by means of a handle 22, secured by a removable pin 24. A frame 4 supports the drum 16, and a guide pin 10 and a guide sleeve 8 for the helix. A platform 52 at the top of the spring 32 rests upon the top of the sleeve 8 when the said spring is retracted. A pawl 40 actuated by a torsion spring 48 engages in a notch 38 in the spindle of the drum 16 when the spring 32 is extended. The tube device may be used as an aerial, when the base 4 may be insulated and connection made to a terminal 50. In this application, a flexible insulating coating such as a synthetic resin, may be provided for the ribbon spring. The device may be used in a spacecraft, for example, as an external aerial or to support a solar panel or a stabilizing mass. In a second embodiment (Figs. 4, 5, not shown), a helical ribbon spring (132) is reverse wound upon a drum (116), so that greater force is available for its erection into a helix (136).
|
