Non-contacting electro-magnetic spherical planar motor providing 3-axis control of a ball joint gimbal mounted electro-optic system

A ball gimbal electro-optic system, comprising:

• a platform;
• a ball gimbal mounted on the platform, said ball gimbal including a socket fixedly mounted on the platform and an inner ball captured within the socket and free to rotate about combinations of three orthogonal axes to point a pointing axis;
• a directional electro-optic element mounted within the inner ball to transmit or receive an optical beam along the pointing axis;
• a spherical planar motor comprising,
• one or more rotor elements formed in the surface of the inner ball, each said rotor element comprising a two-dimensional pattern of rotor teeth;
• at least two two-dimensional drive elements positioned adjacent to control points on different diameters of the inner ball, each said drive element comprising a two-dimensional array of controllable drive heads arranged substantially parallel to, but non-contacting, the adjacent portion of the inner ball and the two-dimensional pattern of rotor teeth;
• a position measurement device configured to determine the rotational position of the inner ball, hence the placement of the rotor teeth relative to the drive heads;
• a processor configured to determine from a pointing command and the rotational position of the ball the energization of the drive heads within each drive element that act upon the adjacent rotor teeth to produce commanded two-dimensional forces in planes tangent to the inner ball substantially at the at least two control points to rotate the inner ball within the socket to point the pointing axis;
• and
• a controller configured to apply the determined energization to the drive heads.

A ball gimbal electro-optic system, comprising:

• a platform;
• a ball gimbal mounted on the platform, said ball gimbal including a socket fixedly mounted on the platform and an inner ball captured within the socket and free to rotate about combinations of three orthogonal axes to point a pointing axis;
• a directional electro-optic detector mounted within the inner ball to receive an optical beam along the pointing axis;
• a spherical planar motor comprising,
• one or more rotor elements formed in the surface of the inner ball, each said rotor element comprising a two-dimensional pattern of rotor teeth having a center-to-center spacing;
• at least two two-dimensional drive elements positioned adjacent to control points on different diameters of the inner ball, each said drive element comprising a two-dimensional array of controllable drive heads having a center-to-center spacing and arranged substantially parallel to, but non-contacting, the adjacent portion of the inner ball and the two-dimensional pattern of rotor teeth, wherein the center-to-center spacing of the drive heads is less than the center-to-center spacing of the rotor teeth;
• a position measurement device configured to determine the rotational position of the inner ball, hence the placement of the rotor teeth relative to the drive heads;
• a processor configured to determine from a pointing command and the rotational position of the ball the energization of the drive heads within each drive element that act upon the adjacent rotor teeth to produce commanded two-dimensional forces in planes tangent to the inner ball substantially at the at least two control points to rotate the inner ball within the socket to point the pointing axis;
• and
• a controller configured to apply the determined energization to the drive heads;
• a power source configured to power the direction EO element on the inner ball;
• a non-contacting position measurement device configured to determine the rotational position of the inner ball;
• and
• a non-contacting data path from the detector on the inner ball to a receiver on the platform.