Gyroscopic apparatus
First Claim
1. Apparatus operable gyroscopically to determine direction and to determine north, comprising:
- a case;
gimbal means rotatably mounted in said case for rotating azimuthally; and
a central gyro having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of rotational freedom, said central gyro being rotatably mounted in said gimbal means for rotation about said spin axis to shift said degree of freedom between a vertical and a horizontal axis, said central gyro including;
transducer means for sensing motion about said single degree of freedom and for providing a deflection signal signifying said motion; and
torque means connected to said transducer means and responsive to its deflection signal for applying a torque to said central gyro tending to affect motion about said single degree of freedom when said single degree of freedom is oriented along said vertical axis.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus is operable gyroscopically to determine direction and to determine north. This apparatus includes a case (34), a gimbal (20) and a central gyro (10). The gimbal (20) is rotatably mounted in the case for rotating azimuthally. The central gyro (10) has transverse to its spin axis (16), a single degree of rotational freedom. This central gyro (10) is mounted in the gimbal (20) to rotate about its spin axis (16) and shift the degree of freedom between a vertical (12) and a horizontal (18) axis. The central gyro (10) has a transducer (28) and a torquer (26). The transducer (28) can sense motion about the single degree of freedom and can provide a deflection signal signifying this motion. The torquer (26) is connected to the transducer (28) and can respond to its deflection signal for applying a torque to the central gyro (10) tending to affect motion about the single degree of freedom, when this freedom is oriented along the vertical axis (12). The apparatus may be used to determine north when the single degree of freedom is vertical. The torque required to restrain motion about this degree of freedom can be measured. Thereafter, the spin axis (16) can be rotated azimuthally by 90 degrees and the torque required to restrain motion about the degree of freedom remeasured. The north to south direction is estimated by applying the torque measured before and after the 90 degrees of azimuthal rotation to a predetermined trigonometric formula.
43 Citations
26 Claims
-
1. Apparatus operable gyroscopically to determine direction and to determine north, comprising:
-
a case; gimbal means rotatably mounted in said case for rotating azimuthally; and a central gyro having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of rotational freedom, said central gyro being rotatably mounted in said gimbal means for rotation about said spin axis to shift said degree of freedom between a vertical and a horizontal axis, said central gyro including; transducer means for sensing motion about said single degree of freedom and for providing a deflection signal signifying said motion; and torque means connected to said transducer means and responsive to its deflection signal for applying a torque to said central gyro tending to affect motion about said single degree of freedom when said single degree of freedom is oriented along said vertical axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25)
-
-
14. Apparatus operable gyroscopically to determine north, comprising:
-
a case; gimbal means rotatably mounted in said case for rotating azimuthally; control means for driving said gimbal means; and a central gyro having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of rotational freedom, said central gyro being mounted in said gimbal means and including; transducer means for sensing motion about said single degree of freedom and for providing a deflection signal signifying said motion; and torque means connected to said transducer means and responsive to its deflection signal for applying a torque to said central gyro tending to affect motion about said single degree of freedom, said control means being operable to successively drive said gimbal means to two orthogonal positions, said control means being connected to said torque means and being operable to feedback from said transducer means to said torque means a rate signal sized to restrict motion about said degree of freedom, said rate signal bearing a predetermined relationship to the horizontal component of the angular rate of rotation of the earth transverse to said spin axis, said control means being operable to provide a compass signal bearing a predetermined trigonometric relation to the two values of said rate signal when said gimbal means is in said two orthogonal positions, said compass signal being an estimate of the north to south direction. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
-
-
17. A method for determining north with a gyroscope having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of freedom, comprising the steps of:
-
orienting said gyroscope with its single degree of freedom vertical; measuring the torque required to restrain motion about said degree of freedom; azimuthally rotating said spin axis by 90°
,remeasuring the torque required to restrain motion about said degree of freedom; and estimating the north to south direction by applying the torques measured before and after said 90°
of rotation to a predetermined trigonometric formula. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 26)
-
-
21. A method for gyroscopically determining direction and north with a gyroscope having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of freedom, comprising the steps of:
-
orienting said gyroscope with its single degree of freedom vertical; measuring the torque required to restrain motion about said degree of freedom; azimuthally rotating said spin axis into approximate aligment with the horizontal component of the rate of rotation of the earth as a function of the measured torque about said degree of freedom; rotating the axis of said single degree of freedom from a vertical to a horizontal orientation; and sensing motion about said degree of freedom as an indication of azimuthal changes in the direction of said spin axis.
-
-
22. A method for determining north with a gyroscope having transverse to its spin axis a single degree of freedom, comprising the steps of:
-
orienting said gyroscope with its single degree of freedom vertical; measuring the torque required to restrain motion about said degree of freedom; azimuthally rotating said spin axis into an estimated northerly direction bearing a predetermined relation to the measured torque about said degree of freedom; remeasuring the torque required to restrain motion about said degree of freedom at said estimated northerly direction; and applying the torque measured in said estimated northerly direction to a predetermined formula to determine north without rotating said spin axis. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
-
Specification