US 4,147,063 AGranted

Two axis gas damped angular velocity sensor

AssigneeSystron Donner Corporation

InventorsGerald S. Bower, Rex B. Peters, Harold D. Morris

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Abstract

A thin plate-like rotor is mounted on a hub which in turn is attached to the shaft of a motor which drives the rotor at a predetermined rotational speed about a spin axes. A framework is provided for mounting the motor. The rotor has a damping face and an opposite signal face. A damping plate is mounted on the hub in close spaced relation with the damping face. A spring member is disposed between the hub and the rotor so that the rotor is free to move in restrained rotational fashion about one diameter of the rotor. Surrounding air is pumped through the space between the damping face and the damping plate to provide damping of the motion of the rotor about the one diameter. Pickoffs are mounted in the framework in close spaced relation to the signal face of the rotor. The pickoffs provide output indicative of the spacing between the signal face and the pickoffs which corresponds to angular velocity inputs about the separate axes disposed orthogonally with the spin axes.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A two axis gas filled angular velocity sensor, comprising a framework, a rotor mounted within and being free to rotate about a spin axis relative to said framework, a motor mounted within said framework providing a drive torque about said spin axis, a hub coupling said rotor with said drive torque, said rotor having an annular disc shape with a damping face and an opposite pickoff face, means disposed between said rotor and said hub for providing pivoting motion of said rotor about one diameter thereof, a damping plate attached to said hub positioned proximate to and spaced axially from said damping face so that a damping gap is formed therebetween, whereby gas in said damping gap provides damping for said pivoting motion of said rotor, circuit means connected to said motor for controlling said drive torque to provide a constant rotational speed of said rotor, first and second pickoffs mounted in said framework having predetermined angular separation about said spin axis and further being in spaced relation with said pickoff face, said pickoffs providing first and second output signals respectively indicative of spacing between said pickoffs and said pickoff face, whereby angular velocity of said framework about a first and a second axis therethrough provides indication thereof in said first and second output signals respectively, said first and second axes being oriented orthogonally to said spin axis and at said predetermined angular separation.

A two axis angular rate sensor, comprising a framework having first and second input axes associated therewith, a motor mounted in said framework, a hub coupled to be driven rotationally about a spin axis by said motor, means connected to said motor for controlling the rotation of said hub to a predetermined angular speed, a rotor having a flat annular disc shape providing a small axial thickness relative to rotor diameter, a damping face and a pickoff face on said rotor, a spring member connected between said rotor and said hub so that said rotor is driven rotationally with said hub and is free to move in spring restrained rotation about one diameter of said rotor, a damping plate mounted on said hub proximate to and spaced from said damping face, whereby surrounding air is urged through said damping gap by said rotor when spinning, a pair of first pickoff coils mounted in said framework substantially in alignment with said first input axis on opposite sides of said spin axis spaced from said pickoff face and providing a first output signal pair, a pair of second pickoff coils mounted as said pair of first pickoff coils and substantially in alignment with said second input axis providing a second output signal pair, first means for detecting and summing said first output signal pair providing a first output indicative of annular rate inputs about said first input axis, and second means for detecting and summing said second signal pair providing a second output indicative of angular rate inputs about said second input axis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.