CN109301493B - Giant telescope reflecting surface structure supporting optical and radio observation - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses a giant telescope reflecting surface structure supporting optical and radio observation, wherein a main reflecting surface is formed by splicing a plurality of reflecting surface sub-units, and adjacent reflecting surface sub-units are connected through a node disc; the reflecting surface subunit comprises a reflecting surface cabin body, and an optical reflecting panel is embedded in the upper end surface of the reflecting surface cabin body; the bottom edge of the reflecting surface cabin body is provided with a tape winding and unwinding mechanism, the middle parts of the two side edges of the reflecting surface cabin body are hinged with gantry tape winding driving rods, one side of a flexible metal tape is fixedly connected to the upper part of each tape winding driving rod, and the other side of the flexible metal tape is connected with the tape winding and unwinding mechanism. The application protects the reflection surface of the giant optical telescope by fragments, does not need to build a dome, ensures the safety of the optical telescope mirror surface, and prolongs the replacement and maintenance period of the optical telescope mirror surface unit; each reflecting surface subunit can be switched in two modes of optical observation and radio observation, and even can perform optical and radio observation simultaneously.

Description

A giant telescope reflector structure supporting optical and radio observations

Technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of giant telescope reflective surface structures, and in particular to a giant telescope reflective surface structure that supports optical and radio observations.

Background technique

Whether it is an optical or radio telescope, if other conditions are the same, the increase in telescope diameter directly leads to an increase in the sensitivity of the telescope, and it will be able to observe targets that cannot be observed by low-sensitivity telescopes. Arrays of multiple telescopes can improve resolution. For astronomical observations, if the technology is achievable and the cost is acceptable, the increase in aperture still has great practical significance. However, as the caliber increases, a series of difficulties arise, including but not limited to precise control of the position and attitude of key components, structural support, etc. Giant telescopes, whether optical or radio telescopes, pose huge technical challenges and require high economic costs.

Due to the deformation effects caused by gravity, temperature and wind loads, giant telescopes (optical or radio) all use spliced mirrors and/or active optics technology.

In addition, traditional optical telescopes are generally placed inside a dome, which provides a good operating environment for the operation of the telescope. For giant optical telescopes, dome construction is even more difficult, so it is necessary to explore other ways to ensure the operation of optical telescopes.

In addition, the structural support of giant telescopes takes up a lot of cost and technical content. The technical solution provided by this application provides a technical way to switch or run optical and radio observations simultaneously under the same structural support system.

The information disclosed in this Background section is merely intended to enhance an understanding of the general background of this application and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art that is already known to those skilled in the art.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a giant telescope reflective surface structure that supports optical and radio observations, so as to solve the technical problems existing in the prior art.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

A giant telescope reflective surface structure that supports optical and radio observations, including a main reflective surface. The main reflective surface is spliced by several reflective surface sub-units. The adjacent reflective surface sub-units are connected through node disks;

The reflective surface sub-unit includes a reflective surface cabin, and an optical reflective panel is embedded in the upper end surface of the reflective surface cabin;

The bottom or side of the reflective surface cabin is provided with a tape retracting and unwinding mechanism, and a gantry-type tape reel drive rod is hinged to both sides or the middle of the two bottom edges of the reflective surface cabin. The tape reel drive rod includes two The L-shaped longitudinal driving rod on the side and the connecting plate/rod fixedly arranged between the two longitudinal driving rods; the connecting plate/rod is fixedly connected to one side of the flexible metal tape, and the flexible metal The other side of the tape is connected to the tape retracting and unwinding mechanism, and a driving motor is provided in the reflective surface cabin in conjunction with the tape driving rod, and at least one of the longitudinal driving rods is connected to the driving motor;

The node disk is arranged below the top corner of the reflective surface cabin, and an actuator is connected below the node disk.

As a further technical solution, within a circumferential circle that is the same distance from the center of the main reflective surface, all the reflective surface sub-units in the main reflective surface have exactly the same structure and size.

As a further technical solution, the reflective surface structure also includes a sub-reflective surface, the sub-reflective surface is supported by a cable and is above the main reflective surface, and the orientation and attitude of the sub-reflective surface are accurately controlled by the cable drive; Make a hole in the center of the main reflecting surface, and install the feed and receiver equipment at the rear of the hole.

As a further technical solution, the sub-reflective surface, like the main reflective surface, is composed of several reflective surface sub-units spliced together.

As a further technical solution, the reflective surface sub-units that are different in the radial direction are only different in circumferential size and have the same structure.

As a further technical solution, the reflective surface cabin is made of duralumin, indium steel or other low thermal expansion materials; the optical reflective panel is made of crystallized glass, beryllium or other low thermal expansion optical telescope reflective surfaces material.

As a further technical solution, several micro electrostrictive actuators are provided in the reflective surface cabin below the optical reflective panel for adjusting the surface shape of the optical reflective panel required for adaptive optics. and fine adjustment of the overall posture for the optical reflective surface sub-unit.

As a further technical solution, the reflective surface cabin is equipped with inertial attitude, displacement and acceleration sensors based on MEMS principles, which are used to obtain the attitude of the reflective surface sub-unit in real time and provide a basis for precise control and adjustment of its attitude.

As a further technical solution, the tape retracting and unwinding mechanism is a clockwork retracting and unwinding structure.

As a further technical solution, in conjunction with the actuator, an actuator connection hole or a flange connection structure is provided in the center of the node disk.

Adopting the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

The present invention protects the reflective surface of the giant optical telescope by dividing it into pieces, eliminating the need to build a dome and at the same time ensuring the safety of the optical telescope mirror and extending the replacement and maintenance cycle (mainly coating) of the optical telescope mirror unit.

The main reflective surface of the present invention can be switched between optical observation and radio observation modes, and can even perform optical and radio observations at the same time (part of the reflective surface is an optical mirror, and part of the reflective surface is a radio reflective surface). The corresponding secondary equipment is respectively It is the sub-reflector (optical observation) and the feed and receiver (radio observation). Such technical measures provide more scientific observation possibilities, and provide the possibility of simultaneously obtaining multiple optical and radio waveband data in the same direction for the study of various celestial targets. At the same time, since the main support structure is the same, the overall construction and operation costs of giant telescopes are greatly saved, including site selection costs and management costs, especially for giant telescopes.

Description of the drawings

In order to more clearly explain the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description The drawings illustrate some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without exerting any creative effort.

Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a reflective surface sub-unit provided by an embodiment of the present invention in a semi-covered state with a flexible metal tape;

Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of the reflective surface sub-unit provided by the embodiment of the present invention in a state of full coverage with flexible metal tape;

Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of the reflective surface sub-unit provided by the embodiment of the present invention in an uncovered state with a flexible metal tape;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the reflective surface sub-unit provided by the embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a reflective surface provided by an embodiment of the present invention that has both an optical reflective surface and a radio reflective surface;

Icon: 1-Node plate; 2-Reflective surface cabin; 3-Optical reflective panel; 4-Tape retracting and retracting mechanism; 5-Tape driving rod; 6-Longitudinal driving rod; 7-Connecting plate/rod; 8- Flexible metal tape; 9- drive motor; 10- actuator connection hole; 11- micro electrostrictive actuator; 12- inertial attitude, displacement, acceleration sensor; 13- wire hole; 14- optical reflective surface; 15 -Radio reflective surface.

Detailed ways

The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. The indicated orientation or positional relationship is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description. It does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation or a specific orientation. construction and operation, and therefore should not be construed as limitations of the invention. Furthermore, the terms “first”, “second” and “third” are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly stated and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection or a detachable connection. Connection, or integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; it can be an internal connection between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

As shown in Figures 1-4, this embodiment provides a giant telescope reflective surface structure that supports optical and radio observations, including a main reflective surface. The main reflective surface is made up of several reflective surface sub-units, and all adjacent reflective surface sub-units are spliced together. The reflective surface sub-units are connected through node disk 1;

The reflective surface sub-unit includes a reflective surface cabin 2, and an optical reflective panel 3 is embedded in the upper end surface of the reflective surface cabin 2;

The bottom edge of the reflective surface cabin 2 is provided with a tape retracting and unwinding mechanism 4, and a gantry-type tape reel driving rod 5 is hinged in the middle of both sides of the reflective surface cabin 2. The tape reel driving rod 5 includes two sides. The L-shaped longitudinal driving rod 6 and the connecting plate/rod 7 fixedly arranged between the two longitudinal driving rods 6; one side of the connecting plate/rod 7 is fixedly connected with the flexible metal coil strip 8, so The other side of the flexible metal tape 8 is connected to the tape retracting and unwinding mechanism 4. In conjunction with the tape drive rod 5, a drive motor 9 is provided in the reflective surface cabin, at least one of the longitudinal drive rods 6 Connected to the drive motor 9; the drive motor 9 drives the tape drive rod 5 to rotate, and then drives the flexible metal roll 8 to cover the upper surface of the reflective surface cabin. At this time, the reflective surface sub-unit is for radio observation; or the optical reflective panel 3 embedded in the upper surface of the reflective surface cabin is completely opened, and at this time the reflective surface sub-unit is used for optical observation;

The node disk is arranged below the top corner of the reflective surface cabin, and an actuator is connected below the node disk; in conjunction with the actuator, an actuator connection hole 10 is provided in the center of the node disk 1 .

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, within a circumferential circle that is the same distance from the center of the main reflective surface, all the reflective surface sub-units have exactly the same structure and size; for batch production Processing and manufacturing as well as spare parts replacement and maintenance are facilitated. Since all reflective surface units in the circumferential direction have the same mechanical specifications and reflective surface shapes, all units in the circumferential direction are interchangeable, which greatly reduces the manufacturing difficulty, manufacturing cost, adjustment difficulty, and improves maintenance.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, the reflective surface structure also includes a sub-reflective surface, the sub-reflective surface is supported by a cable and is above the main reflective surface, and the sub-reflective surface is accurately controlled by cable driving. The orientation and attitude of the surface; make a hole in the center of the main reflecting surface, and install the feed and receiver equipment at the rear of the hole. Preferably, the sub-reflective surface, like the main reflective surface, is composed of several reflective surface sub-units spliced together.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, the reflective surface sub-units that are different in the radial direction are only different in circumferential size and have the same structure, which brings convenience to the parametric design of the sub-units.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, the reflective surface cabin 2 is made of duralumin, indium steel or other low thermal expansion materials; the optical reflective panel 3 is made of crystallized glass, beryllium or other materials. Optical telescope reflective surface material with low thermal expansion rate.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, several micro electrostrictive actuators 11 are provided in the reflective surface cabin below the optical reflective panel for adaptive adjustment of the optical reflective panel 3 Surface shape adjustment required by optics to compensate for wavefront distortion caused by atmospheric turbulence, etc., as well as fine adjustment of the overall attitude of the optical reflective surface sub-unit.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, the reflective surface cabin is provided with an inertial attitude, displacement, and acceleration sensor 12 based on the MEMS principle, which is used to obtain the attitude of the reflective surface sub-unit in real time and control and adjust it. posture provides the basis. The reflective surface cabin is also provided with wire holes 13 for laying out power lines and signal lines.

In this embodiment, as a further technical solution, the tape retracting and unwinding mechanism 4 is a spring-type retracting and unwinding structure; of course, the tape retracting and unwinding mechanism 4 can also be a motor-driven retracting and unwinding structure, preferably Clockwork retractable structure.

Since the present invention adopts an incremental reflective surface sub-unit structure, the position and attitude of each reflective surface sub-unit structure can be independently and accurately adjusted within a certain range. After the functions of other parts of the telescope are realized, scientific observations can be started during the process of adding reflecting surface sub-units. The more sub-units are installed, the larger the effective reflecting surface area. Due to the multi-piece self-unit structure, the materials of each reflective surface sub-unit can be different, providing conditions for testing the performance of different materials.

As shown in Figure 5, since each reflective surface sub-unit can be independently switched to optical or radio mode, the entire reflective surface can have a partial optical reflective surface 14 and a partial radio reflective surface 15 coexisting at the same time (the coexistence method can be multiple, regardless of Regular intervals, fan-shaped intervals, annular intervals, etc.), at this time, the same operation is performed on the secondary surface (part of the optical reflective surface and part of the radio reflective surface). If the receiver of the radio telescope and the CCD of the optical telescope are properly configured, the entire telescope can perform optical and radio observations at the same time.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the mature adjustment technology of optical mirrors can be used to adjust the position and attitude of reflective surface units and nodes. The results of optical adjustment naturally meet the accuracy requirements of radio observation, providing favorable conditions for radio observation. In addition, when the conditions for laying out optical reflecting surfaces are not met, the present invention supports laying out radio reflecting surfaces first, and when conditions are mature, they can be replaced or upgraded to reflecting surface sub-unit structures that support switching between optical and radio observations.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features can be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or substitutions do not deviate from the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. scope.

Claims (10)

1. The giant telescope reflecting surface structure supporting optical and radio observation is characterized by comprising a main reflecting surface, wherein the main reflecting surface is formed by splicing a plurality of reflecting surface subunits, and the adjacent reflecting surface subunits are connected through a node disc;

the reflecting surface sub-unit comprises a reflecting surface cabin body, and an optical reflecting panel is embedded in the upper end surface of the reflecting surface cabin body;

the bottom edge of the reflecting surface cabin body is provided with a tape winding and unwinding mechanism, the middle parts of the two side edges of the reflecting surface cabin body are hinged with gantry tape driving rods, and each tape driving rod comprises L-shaped longitudinal driving rods on two sides and a connecting plate/rod which is fixedly arranged between the two longitudinal driving rods in a crossing manner; one side of a flexible metal coiled tape is fixedly connected to the connecting plate/rod, the other side of the flexible metal coiled tape is connected with the coiled tape retracting mechanism, a driving motor is arranged in the reflecting surface cabin body in cooperation with the coiled tape driving rod, and at least one longitudinal driving rod is connected with the driving motor; the coil driving rod is driven by the driving motor to rotate, so that the flexible metal coil is driven to cover the upper surface of the reflecting surface cabin body, and the reflecting surface subunit is used for radio observation; or the optical reflection panel embedded in the upper surface of the reflection surface cabin body is completely opened, and the reflection surface subunit is used for optical observation;

the node disc is arranged below the top angle of the reflecting surface cabin body, and an actuator is connected below the node disc.

2. The structure of reflecting surface of giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein all the reflecting surface sub-units are identical in construction and size within a circle of the same distance from the center of the main reflecting surface.

3. The structure of the reflecting surface of the giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting surface structure further comprises a secondary reflecting surface, the secondary reflecting surface is positioned above the main reflecting surface through a cable support, and the azimuth and the attitude of the secondary reflecting surface are precisely controlled through cable driving; a feed source and receiver device are mounted behind the aperture.

4. A reflective surface structure of a giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 3, wherein said sub-reflective surface is formed by splicing a plurality of sub-units of reflective surface as said main reflective surface.

5. The structure of reflecting surface of giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting surface sub-units different in radial direction are different only in circumferential dimension and are identical in structure.

6. The reflection surface structure of the giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein the reflection surface cabin is made of duralumin or indium steel; the optical reflection panel is made of microcrystalline glass or beryllium.

7. The reflection surface structure of the giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of micro electrostriction actuators are arranged in the reflection surface cabin below the optical reflection panel, and are used for carrying out surface shape adjustment required by adaptive optics on the optical reflection panel and fine adjustment on the overall posture of the optical reflection surface subunit.

8. The reflection surface structure of the giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein the reflection surface cabin is internally provided with inertial attitude, displacement and acceleration sensors based on the MEMS principle, and the inertial attitude, displacement and acceleration sensors are used for acquiring the attitude of the reflection surface subunit in real time, so as to provide basis for accurately controlling and adjusting the attitude.

9. The reflection surface structure of giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein the winding and unwinding mechanism is a clockwork winding and unwinding structure.

10. The reflection surface structure of the giant telescope supporting optical and radio observation according to claim 1, wherein an actuator connection hole or a flange connection structure is provided at the center of the node plate in cooperation with the actuator.