Pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer

• US 5,457,993 A
• Filed: 08/03/1993
• Issued: 10/17/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Michele S. Sapuppo
• Original Assignee: Michele S. Sapuppo
• Inventors: Sapuppo, Michele S.
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US08/101,392
• Time in Patent Office: 805 Days
• Field of Search: 73/504, 73/505, 73/510, 73/517 R, 73/517 B, 73/382, 73/1 D, 33/321, 33/346, 74/5.34
• US Class Current: 73/504.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/42 for indicating rate of turn; for integrating rate of turn
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/13 by measuring the force required to restore a proofmass subjected to inertial forces to a null position
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/14 by making use of gyroscopes gyroscopes per se G01C19/00

Abstract

A pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer comprising an unbalanced pendulous mass, pivotable on an output axis, that is oscillated about a reference axis transverse to the output axis. The pendulous mass is also oscillated about an input axis transverse to the reference axis, and the acceleration force along the input axis is determined from at least one of those oscillations.

Claims

1. A pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer, comprising:

a disc member unbalanced with respect to an input axis;

a torque summing member to which said disc member is mechanically coupled;

means for oscillating said disc member about a reference axis, the oscillation having a first amplitude and a first frequency;

a gyroscope case;

a pair of pivot mounts for pivotably mounting said torque summing member and said disc member to pivot on an output axis perpendicular to the reference axis;

means for resolving an angle of the pivot movement of said torque summing member in relation to said gyroscope case;

a fixed member;

at least one flexure mount for pivotably, flexibly mounting said gyroscope case to said fixed member to allow said gyroscope case to pivot about the input axis perpendicular to the reference axis;

at least one oscillating member for applying torque to said flexure mount to oscillate said gyroscope case about the input axis, the oscillation having a second amplitude and a second frequency; and

means, responsive to said means for resolving, for determining acceleration along the input axis.

2. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 1 in which said first frequency and said second frequency are the same, and in which said oscillation of said disc member, and said oscillation of said gyroscope case are in phase.

3. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 1 in which said first amplitude is constant, said second amplitude is constant, and said first frequency and said second frequency are the same.

4. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 2 in which said means for determining acceleration includes means for altering the oscillation amplitude of said gyroscope case to generate precessional torque to counterbalance pendulosity torque from movement of at least said disc member about the output axis.

5. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 3 wherein the oscillation of said disc member and the oscillation of said gyroscope case have a phase relationship, and in which said means for determining acceleration includes means for altering the phase relationship between the oscillation of said disc member and the oscillation of said gyroscope case to generate precessional torque to counterbalance pendulosity torque from movement of at least said disc member about the output axis.

6. A pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer, comprising:

a momentum mass;

a pendulous mass pivotable about an output axis;

means for oscillating said momentum mass about a reference axis transverse to said output axis, the oscillation having a first amplitude and a first frequency;

means for oscillating said momentum mass and said pendulous mass together about an input axis transverse to said reference axis, the oscillation having a second amplitude and a second frequency; and

means, responsive to at least one of said means for oscillating, for determining acceleration along said input axis.

7. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said first frequency and said second frequency are the same.

8. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 7 in which said oscillation of said momentum mass and said oscillation of said momentum mass and said pendulous mass together are in phase.

9. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 8 in which said means for determining acceleration includes means for resolving the pendulous mass movement about the output axis.

10. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 9 in which said means for determining acceleration further includes means, responsive to said means for resolving, for altering the oscillation amplitude of the momentum mass about the input axis to generate precessional torque to counterbalance pendulosity torque from movement of at least the pendulous mass about the output axis.

11. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said means for determining acceleration includes means for resolving the pendulous mass movement about the output axis.

12. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 11 wherein the oscillation of said momentum mass about the reference axis, and the oscillation of said momentum mass and said pendulous mass together about the input axis have a phase relationship, and in which said means for determining acceleration further includes means, responsive to said means for resolving, for altering the phase relationship between the oscillation of said momentum mass about the reference axis and the oscillation of said momentum mass and pendulous mass together about the input axis to generate precessional torque to counterbalance pendulosity torque from movement of at least the pendulous mass about the output axis.

13. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said momentum mass includes a disc centered on the reference axis.

14. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 13 in which said disc includes a pendulosity mass centered on the reference axis.

15. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 further including a torque summing member to which said momentum mass is mechanically coupled.

16. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 15 further including a pendulous gyroscopic accelerometer case to which said torque summing member is mechanically coupled.

17. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 16 in which said torque summing member is pivotably mounted to said pendulous gyroscopic accelerometer case along the output axis.

18. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 17 further including pivot mounting means to pivotably mount said gyroscopic case along the input axis.

19. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 18 in which said means for oscillating said momentum mass about the input axis includes means for oscillating said pendulous gyroscopic accelerometer case on said pivot mounting means.

20. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 17 in which said means for oscillating said momentum mass about the reference axis includes means in said torque summing member for oscillating said momentum mass.

21. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said momentum mass includes a beam member pivotable on the output axis.

22. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said means for determining acceleration includes means for resolving the tilt angle of said pendulous mass about the output axis.

23. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which the reference axis is perpendicular to the input axis.

24. The pendulous oscillating gyroscopic accelerometer of claim 6 in which said first amplitude is constant, said second amplitude is constant, and said first frequency and said second frequency are the same.