Supporting mechanism of micro gravity rotating apparatus
First Claim
1. A microgravitational rotating apparatus comprising:
- a casing;
a rotator including;
a rotary shaft within said casing;
a plurality of arms, each of said arms extending in a radial direction of said rotary shaft and having a first end fitted to a circumferential periphery of said rotary shaft; and
a plurality of boxes, each of said boxes being fitted to a second end of a respective one of said arms, each of said boxes holding a gravitational or gravity-adding object;
a motor for rotationally driving said rotary shaft; and
a rotator supporting mechanism comprising;
a bearing supporting at least one end of said rotary shaft so as to maintain said rotary shaft at a position by a position-holding force provided by said bearing; and
a control unit operable to control the position-holding force of said bearing to thereby control vibration of said rotary shaft so as to generate no reaction force.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rotator supporting mechanism in a microgravitational rotating apparatus includes a magnetic bearing of the rotator so as to effect a vibration control. Recess portions 10a, 10b are provided in a casing 10. Coils 1, 2 of the magnetic bearings 11, 12 and vibration sensors 3, 4 are arranged in the recess portions 10a, 10b being fitted to the casing 10 side. A rotary shaft 30 has its upper end inserted into the recess portion 10a and its lower end inserted into the recess portion 10b and connected to a motor 13. Both ends of the rotary shaft 30 are supported by a magnetic force. Arms 24–27, extending horizontally along X and Y axes, each have one end fitted to the rotary shaft 30 and the other end fitted with experimental boxes 20–23. Objects such as plants and animals, etc. are placed in the boxes 20–23 and, while they are rotated in space, experiments are performed. When a vibration occurs in the rotary shaft 30 due to weight imbalances between each of the boxes 20–23, the vibration is detected by the vibration sensors 3, 4 to thereby control exciting current of the coils 1, 2, so that the vibration is controlled.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A microgravitational rotating apparatus comprising:
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a casing; a rotator including; a rotary shaft within said casing; a plurality of arms, each of said arms extending in a radial direction of said rotary shaft and having a first end fitted to a circumferential periphery of said rotary shaft; and a plurality of boxes, each of said boxes being fitted to a second end of a respective one of said arms, each of said boxes holding a gravitational or gravity-adding object; a motor for rotationally driving said rotary shaft; and a rotator supporting mechanism comprising; a bearing supporting at least one end of said rotary shaft so as to maintain said rotary shaft at a position by a position-holding force provided by said bearing; and a control unit operable to control the position-holding force of said bearing to thereby control vibration of said rotary shaft so as to generate no reaction force. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification