Method and apparatus for stabilizing high-dynamics devices

Apparatus for the stabilization of a device which is movably mounted on a support, said device having, in comparison with the support, a high speed of response to deviations from a rest position, comprising:

• (a) a control loop, said loop including a setting mechanism, associated with the device for control of deviations of the device from the rest position, said control loop having a bandwidth matched to the speed of response of the device, said setting mechanism being operably responsive to an input of a regulating quantity;
• (b) a plurality of angle pickups in the control loop for detecting a position of the device relative to the support with respect to at least two axes and for generating output signals corresponding to that relative position;
• (c) a sensor unit including a central sensor block mounted on the support and equipped with inertial sensors which have bandwidths matched to a relatively slow speed of response of the support, the sensor unit being capable of detecting changes of position of the support in an inertial system with respect to at least three measurement axes and of generating output signals corresponding to the position of the support in the inertial system;
• and
• (d) means in the control loop for superposing the output signals of the sensor unit onto the output signals of the angle pickups to produce resulting signals such that the former serves as a reference or guide quantity on the latter, and for feeding the resulting signals to the setting mechanism as the regulating quantity.