US 4,382,216 AGranted

System for controlling the movement of a rotatable member

AssigneeFMC Corporation

InventorCraig L. Joseph

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Abstract

A rotatable member, such as a turret at a weapons station, is controllable about an azimuth axis. A weapon is carried in the turret with the weapon being controllable therewithin about an elevation axis. The moments of inertia of the turret and weapon about the azimuth axis and of the weapon about the elevation axis are relatively high. The disclosed system provides for elevation and azimuth control through elevation and azimuth drive trains having reflected drive train inertias which are at least two orders of magnitude smaller than the inertia of the turret and weapon about the azimuth axis and at least one order of magnitude smaller than the inertia of the weapon about the elevation axis. Further, the system senses spurious torque applied about either axis, as for example due to the recoil of the fixed weapon, and provides automatic repositioning of the controlled members about either axis to compensate for angular displacement caused by the spurious torque.

Claims4

Dependent claims

A system for controlling the position of a gun turret movable about an azimuth axis, wherein a rapid fire gun having a rapid fire period is mounted in the turret displaced laterally from the azimuth axis, comprising

an azimuth drive motor,
a single azimuth gear driven by said azimuth drive motor,
a ring gear meshed with said single azimuth gear and disposed so that when said drive motor is energized the turret rotates about the azimuth axis, the reflected moment of inertia of said drive motor and single azimuth gear being at least two orders of magnitude less than the turret moment of inertia about the azimuth axis,
an angular velocity sensor mounted to provide a signal indicative of the rate of turn of the turret about the azimuth axis,
a command control accessible to an operator for providing an azimuth input velocity command signal,
single means for comparing and for integrating the difference between said input command signal and said rate of turn signal and for providing an error signal responsive to said integration,
and means for coupling said error signal to said azimuth drive motor so that angular position error due to torque input about the azimuth axis caused by firing of the laterally displaced gun in the turret is corrected within the rapid fire period.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.