Power and signal transfer unit

A power and signal transfer unit comprising:

• a stator assembly having a frame member and having a plurality of brushes mounted on the frame and having an axis;
• and
• a rotor assembly rotatable about the axis in angular displacemnts away from a null position relative to the stator assembly;
• said rotor assembly including:
• a rotor member;
• a flexible cable having a plurality of conductors, each conductor being connected to the rotor member at one end of the conductor;
• and
• a slip ring member rotatably supported by the frame member and connected to the other end of each conductor wherein said power and signal transfer unit also comprises:
• a gyroscope outer gimbal fixedly connected to said stator assembly coaxially therewith;
• a gyroscope inner gimbal fixedly connected to said rotor assembly coaxially therewith;
• and
• a bearing unit disposed between said outer gimbal and said inner gimbal;
• whereby said rotor member can rotate in either direction away from the null position relative to the stator assembly, said flexible cable can rotate in either direction together with the rotor member relative to the slip ring member up to a maximum displacement angle, said slip ring member can rotate in either direction together with the rotor member beyond the maximum displacement angle of the flexible cable.

A gyroscope power and signal transfer unit comprising:

• a gyroscope outer gimbal;
• a gyroscope inner gimbal displaceable through an angle about a gimbal axis relative to the outer gimbal;
• a stator assembly connected to the outer gimbal;
• a rotor assembly connected to the inner gimbal;
• and
• said stator assembly including:
• a frame member having a top brush block and a bottom brush block and having two cantilevered wall portions and having a first bearing unit and a second bearing unit;
• a plurality of top brushes with brush tips;
• a plurality of bottom brushes with brush tips;
• and
• said rotor assembly including:
• a cylindrical trunnion member fixedly connected to the inner gimbal;
• a cylindrical rotor member;
• a flexible cable of a roll shape having a flexible base member and a plurality of flexible conductors, each conductor having an inner terminal extending inside the inner gimbal and having an outer terminal;
• a cylindrical slip ring member rotatably supported by the first and second bearing units and having a plurality of conductive portions with bearing surfaces, each conductive portion being fixedly connected to a respective outer terminal of the flexible cable, each bearing surface being in contact with a single brush tip;
• said trunnion member having a first retainer unit bearing against the inner gimbal and having a second retainer unit bearing against the rotor member and having a threaded ring member bearing against the second retainer unit;
• said first retainer unit having an actuator tab and said slip ring member having two peripherally spaced pins;
• whereby the rotor member can rotate in either direction away from the null position relative to the brush blocks, and the flexible cable can rotate in either direction or dither together with the rotor member relative to the slip ring member and the brushes up to a maximum displacement angle, and the slip ring member can be actuated to rotate in either direction together with the rotor member beyond the maximum displacement angle of the flexible cable up to an unlimited specified angle.