Patent ID: 11873120
Assignee: AST & SCIENCE, LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B  H  Y | IPC B  H

Claim 7:
8. An antenna array comprising:
a plurality of antenna assemblies each having one or more antennas, the plurality of antenna assemblies having a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration;
a plurality of stored-energy connectors connecting adjacent antenna assemblies of the plurality of antenna assemblies, the stored-energy connectors configured to store energy in the stored-energy position and configured to release energy in a released-energy position to move the plurality of antenna assemblies to the deployed configuration, wherein the plurality of stored-energy connectors comprises a first stored-energy connector connected to a first layer of the adjacent antenna assemblies and a second stored-energy connector connected to a second layer of the adjacent antenna assemblies, the first layer different than the second layer; and
a control mechanism configured to control a locking mechanism having a locked position to lock the plurality of antenna assemblies in the stowed configuration and an unlocked position to initiate self-deployment of the stored-energy connectors to move to the released-energy position to move the plurality of antenna assemblies to the deployed configuration.