Rotational canted-joint missile control system

A system for guiding the flight of a missile in any given direction, the missile having an elongated body with an axis and a position command generator, the missile body comprising at least three movable sections with an interface plane between any two adjacent sections, said guiding system comprising:

• at least two rotatable joints, each of said joints coupling any two adjacent movable sections so as to allow one of said sections to rotate by a pre-selected angle with respect to the other section, each of said joint comprising:
• a drive shaft rigidly attached to one of any two adjacent sections while connecting said two sections, a pair of thrust bearings located in one section and mounted on said drive shaft, said thrust bearings providing axial support to said guiding system during missile flight, a pair of roller bearings located adjacent to said thrust bearings within the same section as said thrust bearings and mounted on said drive shaft, said roller bearings providing radial support to said guiding system during missile flight;
• a means for rotating each of said joints;
• a means for determining current rotational position of said missile;
• an electronic controller, said controller being connected to said position command generator and said determining means to receive command signals and current rotational position signals, respectively, therefrom and respond to yield error signals;
• a voltage generator coupled between said electronic controller and said rotating means, said voltage generator receiving said error signals from said controller and, in response, generating proportional voltage commands, said voltage commands being input to said rotating means to cause the rotation of at least one of said jointed sections by an angle corresponding to said voltage commands, thereby effecting a change in the flight direction of said missile.

In a missile having a longitudinal axis and a position command generator, at least a first movable section and a second movable section with an interface plane between the sections, the missile further having an electronic controller for yielding error signals and a voltage generator for generating a voltage command corresponding to the error signals;

• a rotational canted-joint system for guiding the flight direction of the missile, said canted-joint system comprising:
• a rotatable joint, said joint coupling the first and the second movable sections so as to allow rotation of the first section by a pre-selected angle with respect to the second section, said joint comprising a drive shaft rigidly attached to the first section and movably attached to the second section, said shaft connecting the sections and being mounted to be perpendicular to the interface plane, a plurality of thrust bearings located in the first section and mounted on said drive shaft, said thrust bearings providing axial support to said canted-joint system during missile flight, a plurality of roller bearings located in the first section and mounted on said drive shaft, said roller bearings providing radial support to said canted-joint system during missile flight, said thrust bearings and roller bearings being positioned adjacent to each other;
• and a means for rotating said joint, said rotating means being coupled to receive the voltage command from the voltage generator and, in response, cause the rotation of the first section with respect to the second section, thus effecting a change in the flight direction of the missile.