Angular displacement measuring apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus for indicating angular displacement comprising:
- a frame,housing means,means pivotally supporting said housing means relative to said frame for rotation about a pivot axis in first and second angularly displaced orientations of said pivot axis when said frame is oriented in first and second positions, respectively,movable mass means attached to said housing means for providing a balanced distribution of weight around said pivot axis in the said first angularly displaced orientation when said frame is oriented in said first position and for providing and offset weight distribution relative to said pivot axis in said second angularly displaced orientation when said frame is oriented in said second position,means tracking the relative rotational movement between said housing means and said frame for producing digital signals corresponding to discrete increments of said relative movement,a digital signal utilizing circuit, andmeans for coupling said digital signals to said utilizing circuit except when said relative movement is substantially at the boundary between successive said discrete increments.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Angular displacements are measured relative to either an external magnetic field as in a compass or relative to a vertical reference as in inclinometers or the like by selective orientation of the device. A bistable weight balancing apparatus and a dual bearing support arrangement cooperate to provide two discrete balancing positions. Horizontal positioning of the device results in relatively even weight distribution around a needle bearing support which permits alignment with the polar line of an external magnetic field. Vertical orientation of the device permits an offset redistribution of the weight in the bistable balance to define a vertical reference. Digitally coded apparatus such as a disc permits circuitry to detect instantaneous orientation of the frame relative to a magnetic field or vertical reference. Circuitry logically cooperates with data read from specially coded tracks to insure accurate strobing of the output data free of ambiguities. The position reflecting digital data can be used to directly actuate a visual display or provide information for transfer to other devices.
9 Citations
27 Claims
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1. Apparatus for indicating angular displacement comprising:
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a frame, housing means, means pivotally supporting said housing means relative to said frame for rotation about a pivot axis in first and second angularly displaced orientations of said pivot axis when said frame is oriented in first and second positions, respectively, movable mass means attached to said housing means for providing a balanced distribution of weight around said pivot axis in the said first angularly displaced orientation when said frame is oriented in said first position and for providing and offset weight distribution relative to said pivot axis in said second angularly displaced orientation when said frame is oriented in said second position, means tracking the relative rotational movement between said housing means and said frame for producing digital signals corresponding to discrete increments of said relative movement, a digital signal utilizing circuit, and means for coupling said digital signals to said utilizing circuit except when said relative movement is substantially at the boundary between successive said discrete increments. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. Apparatus selectably positionable between a vertically balanced orientation and a vertical reference defining orientation relative to an axis comprising:
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container means, a mass positioned within said container means for movement therein between first and second spaced positions within said container means, means pivotally mounting said container means for rotation about an axis for symmetrically distributing the weight of said container and said mass around said axis when said axis is oriented substantially vertically and for permitting said mass to establish a vertical reference relative to said axis when said mass is in said second position and said axis is oriented other than substantially vertically. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Apparatus for providing dual pivotal balance support comprising:
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a hub having a central chamber having generally cylindrical sidewalls extending thereinto from one external surface of said hub with said chamber terminating in a conical surface, a generally cylindrical shaped column having a point at one end thereof cooperating with said conical surface for providing a needle bearing support for said hub when the axis of said column is oriented substantially vertically, said chamber sidewall including a raised shoulder portion having an inner surface in spaced circumferentially surrounding relation to said column, and means retaining at least the portion of said column including said point within said chamber while permitting sufficient axial movement of said column with respect to said hub for disengaging said column point from said conical surface, said retaining means including a first O-ring attached to said chamber sidewall in spaced relation to said shoulder and a second O-ring attached to said column, said first and second O-rings cooperating for preventing said column point from escaping from within said chamber while permitting sufficient axial movement of said column for disengaging said column point from said conical surface so that said column is rotatably supported relative to the circumference thereof by said inner surface of said chamber sidewall shoulder and the inner circumferential surface of said O-ring. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. Apparatus for selectably indicating angular relation with respect to an external magnetic field or with respect to a horizontal reference comprising:
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a substantially cylindrical column having a point at one end, a pivotal assembly including a hub having a bistable balance, a disc, and a magnetic field source all rigidly attached to said hub as a unit, said hub having an inwardly extending cylindrical chamber terminating in a conical depression for balancing said assembly on said column point when the axis of said column is oriented substantially vertically and for retainably supporting the circumference of said column by the sidewalls of said chamber when the axis of said column is oriented substantially horizontally, said bistable balance having a mass movable between first and second positions with said first position providing a balanced relation relative to said column axis when said axis is oriented substantially vertically and with said second position providing an offset weight relative to said column axis when said axis is oriented substantially horizontally thereby defining a vertical reference for said assembly, said disc having a plurality of circular tracks each arrayed as a series of binary indicia containing cells with the said indicia for each radial sequence of said cells representing the angular orientation of said disc, means radially arrayed relative to the axis of said disc and mounted in a fixed position relative to said column for sensing said indicia from said tracks for producing multi-bit characters determined by said indicia in accordance with the rotary position of said disc with respect to the axis of said column, utilization circuit means responsive to multi-bit characters for providing an electronic output operation, and gating circuit means for controlling the transfer of said multi-bit characters from at least some of said sensing means to said utilization circuit means whenever said sensing means are positioned relative to said tracks at locations away from the radial boundaries of said cells, whereby said multi-bit characters represent angular relation to an external magnetic field when said column axis is oriented substantially vertically an angular relation to horizontal when said column axis is oriented substantially horizontally. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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Specification