US 12,334,864 B2
Retractable mast solar array
Thomas W. Murphey, Fort Collins, CO (US); Edward Smutney, Boulder, CO (US); and Daniel Hunt, Fort Collins, CO (US)
Assigned to Opterus Research and Development, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (US)
Filed by Opterus Research and Development, Inc., Fort Collins, CO (US)
Filed on Mar. 30, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/657,245.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/170,134, filed on Apr. 2, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0321056 A1, Oct. 6, 2022
Int. Cl. H02S 30/20 (2014.01); B64G 1/22 (2006.01); B64G 1/44 (2006.01); H02S 10/40 (2014.01)
CPC H02S 30/20 (2014.12) [B64G 1/2224 (2023.08); B64G 1/44 (2013.01); H02S 10/40 (2014.12)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A retractable mast solar array comprising:
a collapsible boom extensible by a boom deployer;
an upper arm and a lower arm coupled to said collapsible boom, each said upper and lower arm including first and second arm segments coupled to each other and configured for movement between open and closed positions;
a foldable solar array comprising two or more columns of blanket elements, each column of blanket elements affixed at one end to said upper arm and at an opposite end to said lower arm, adjacent blanket elements of each said column foldably coupled to each other to enable movement of said foldable solar array between a stowed condition and a deployed condition;
wherein:
said upper arm and said lower arm comprises double parallelogram linkages;
said upper arm and said lower arm comprises two tension diagonals; and
said upper arm and said lower arm comprises synchronized gearing;
wherein the double parallelogram linkages are configured for movement between open and closed positions via movement of the two tension diagonals and the synchronized gearing, and wherein the tension diagonals are oriented diagonally with respect to the blanket elements in the open position and oriented parallel with respect to the blanket elements in the closed position,
one or more spring members coupling adjacent blanket elements for moving the adjacent blanket elements to a relative folded state to facilitate movement of said foldable solar array to said stowed condition,
wherein said blanket elements comprise Z fold blanket elements, and
wherein a torsion rod is disposed between adjacent Z fold blanket elements to provide a spring bias to said relative folded state of said adjacent Z fold blanket elements.