Superconducting Josephson junction gyroscope apparatus
First Claim
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1. Gyroscope apparatus suitable for use in navigation comprising, in combination:
- a chamber mounted on a platform;
a superconductive toroid disposed in said chamber and having a Josephson junction radially interposed therein;
a coolant communicating with said chamber for maintaining said toroid below the superconducting transition temperature thereof;
starting means disposed in proximity to said toroid for initiating a persistent current therein;
first detecting means disposed in close proximity to said toroid for detecting the ambient magnetic field and the magnetic field generated by the persistent current in said toroid and producing a signal indicative of the sum of said fields;
second detecting means disposed in a region remote from said toroid for detecting the ambient magnetic field and producing a signal indicative of said ambient magnetic field; and
subtracting means connected to said first and second detecting means for producing an output signal indicative of the rate of rotation of the platform about the symmetry axis of said toroid.
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Abstract
A superconducting Josephson junction gyroscope for detecting rotational motion of a vehicle about an axis. A persistent current of Cooper-paired electrons travels around a thin-film superconducting ring and the phase change across a Josephson junction in the ring produces an output signal directly proportional to the rate of rotation of the platform.
27 Citations
15 Claims
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1. Gyroscope apparatus suitable for use in navigation comprising, in combination:
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a chamber mounted on a platform; a superconductive toroid disposed in said chamber and having a Josephson junction radially interposed therein; a coolant communicating with said chamber for maintaining said toroid below the superconducting transition temperature thereof; starting means disposed in proximity to said toroid for initiating a persistent current therein; first detecting means disposed in close proximity to said toroid for detecting the ambient magnetic field and the magnetic field generated by the persistent current in said toroid and producing a signal indicative of the sum of said fields; second detecting means disposed in a region remote from said toroid for detecting the ambient magnetic field and producing a signal indicative of said ambient magnetic field; and subtracting means connected to said first and second detecting means for producing an output signal indicative of the rate of rotation of the platform about the symmetry axis of said toroid. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14)
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8. A gyroscope for measuring angular motion about a sensitive axis, comprising:
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a superconducting ring coaxially aligned with the sensitive axis and including a Josephson junction for circulating a persistent current; first measuring means arranged in magnetic proximity to said ring for measuring the ambient magnetic field and the magnetic field due to angular motion of said ring; second measuring means arranged in an area magnetically remote from said ring for measuring only the ambient magnetic field; and indicating means responsive to said first and second measuring means for producing an output indicative of the angular motion. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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15. A method for measuring the rate of angular motion about a sensitive axis, comprising the steps of:
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imparting a persistent current in a superconducting ring having a Josephson junction; detecting the combined flux of the magnetic field generated by the current in the ring and by the external field; detecting only the flux produced by the external field; determining the difference between the detected fluxes; and determining the rate of angular motion from the difference between the detected fluxes.
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Specification