Testing apparatus for incremental shaft encoder

• US 3,998,088 A
• Filed: 11/12/1975
• Issued: 12/21/1976
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Original Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Air Force
• Inventors: Kazangey, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Swisher, S. Clement
• Application Number:
  US05/631,281
• Time in Patent Office: 405 Days
• Field of Search: 73/1 D, 73/1 E, 73/1 R, 33/1 SY, 340/158 SY, 340/63
• US Class Current: 73/1.77
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/36 Forming the light into pulses
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/1071 Measuring or testing
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/305 for detecting the direction of movement

Abstract

An apparatus for testing an incremental shaft encoder in which the encoder is placed upon a rate table together with a gyroscope to permit coincident rotation. Every time the shaft of the incremental shaft encoder turns through a complete cycle, the leading edges of a square wave output generated by the encoder, start and stop a counter which is fed by a frequency signal derived from the rotating gyroscope through a voltage-to-frequency converter. The counter output then is applied to a printer.

Claims

1. Testing apparatus for an incremental shaft encoder comprising:

a. a rotatable rate table supporting the incremental shaft encoder;

b. a rate-integrating gyroscope mounted upon the rate table;

c. a voltage-to-frequency converter fed by the gyroscope, the output being a series of pulses;

d. means for counting the output pulses of the voltage-to-frequency converter, the counting means being activated and deactivated by the incremental shaft encoder output; and

e. a printer fed by the counting means.

2. Testing apparatus for an incremental shaft encoder according to claim 1 wherein the output of the incremental shaft encoder is a square wave and the voltage-to-frequency converter is activated and deactivated by successive leading edges of the square wave.

3. Testing apparatus for an incremental shaft encoder according to claim 2 wherein the gyroscope includes:

a. a signal generator; and

b. a DC torquer fed by the signal generator, the output of the DC torquer being fed to the voltage-to-frequency converter.

4. Testing apparatus for an incremental shaft encoder according to claim 3 wherein the gyroscope further includes:

a. heaters;

b. a temperature sensor; and

c. means interposed between the heaters and the temperature sensor for controlling direct current to the heaters.