US Patent 10119292 Deployable boom and deployable boom with solar blanket

A deployable boom structure is provided that, in one embodiment, includes one or more perforated tapes, a drive mechanism with a sprocket mechanism for engaging each of the perforated tapes to transition the tapes between an undeployed state and a deployed state, and three battens that each extend between the tapes. At least one of the battens is a sliding batten, i.e., a batten that engages each of the tapes but through which each of the tapes can slide. Lanyards and detents cooperate to fix the location of a sliding batten relative to the tapes after a predetermined length of each of the tapes has slid through the batten. In a particular embodiment, the deployable boom structure is coupled with a solar blanket that can be Z-folded.