Remote control system for a rotating missile

Claim 1

IN A REMOTE COMMAND DEVICE FOR A MISSILE ROTATING ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND HAVING A FLIGHT DIRECTION SYSTEM AND CONTROL SIGNAL RECEIVING MEANS HAVING ITS OUTPUT CONNECTED TO SAID SYSTEM FOR THE ACTUATION THEREOF, SAID CONTROL SIGNAL RECEIVING MEANS NOT BEING DESIGNED TO ENSURE A LINEAR RELATION BETWEEN THE CONTROL SIGNAL WHICH IS APPLIED THERETO AND THE FORCE WHICH SAID CONTROL SIGNAL RECEIVING MEANS IS INTENDED TO SUPPLY, SAID COMMAND DEVICE BEING CONSTITUTED BY A SYNCHRONIZING SIGNAL EMITTER MOUNTED ON BOARD SAID MISSILE FOR GENERATING SYNCHRONIZING SIGNALS EACH TIME THE MISSILE PASSES THROUGH A REFERENCE POSITION ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS, AND BY A COMMAND STATION HAVING A SIGHTING SYSTEM PROVIDED WITH AN OBJECT-LENS THE OPTICAL AXIS OF WHICH FORMS A REFERENCE AXIS, A LIGHT MODULATOR CONSTITUTED BY A PLANE SUPPORT DISPOSED TO THE REAR OF SAID OBJECT-LENS, IN THE IMAGE PLANE THEREOF, FITTED WITH AN OCCULTING GRATING FORMED OF ALTERNATELY TRANSPARENT AND OPAQUE RADIAL SECTORS AND ABLE TO CARRY OUT A MOVEMENT OF CIRCULAR TRANSLATION WHILE REMAINING PARALLEL TO ITSELF IN ITS OWN PLANE, A MOTOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID LIGHT MODULATOR SO AS TO CAUSE SAID MODULATOR TO DESCRIBE SAID MOVEMENT OF CIRCULAR TRANSLATION, A STATIONARY PHOTOELECTRIC CELL DISPOSED TO THE REAR OF SAID LIGHT MODULATOR, SAID PHOTOELECTRIC CELL PRODUCING PILOT SIGNALS THE FREQUENCY OF WHICH IS CONSTANT AS LONG AS THE MISSILE IS ON SAID REFERENCE AXIS, WHEREBY THE IMAGE OF SAID MISSILE IS LOCATED ON THE AXIS OF CIRCULAR TRANSLATION OF SAID LIGHT MODULATOR, BUT WHICH FREQUENCY VARIES PERIODICALLY ABOUT A CONSTANT MEAN VALUE AS SOON AS THE MISSILE DEVIATES FROM SAID REFERENCE AXIS WHEREBY THE IMAGE OF SAID MISSILE DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH THE AXIS OF CIRCULAR TRANSLATION; SAID COMMAND STATION HAVING AN ELECTRONIC UNIT COMPRISING (1) AN ORDER EMITTING ELECTRONIC CHAIN CAPABLE OF TRANSFORMING INCOMING FREQUENCY VARIATIONS INTO OUTGOING CONTROL SIGNALS AND HAVING ITS INPUT AND OUTPUT CONNECTED RESPECTIVELY TO SAID PHOTOELECTRIC CELL AND TO THE INPUT OF SAID CONTROL SIGNAL RECEIVING MEANS, SAID ORDER-EMITTING ELECTRONIC CHAIN COMPRISES AT LEAST; AN AMPLITUDE LIMITER WHOSE INPUT IS CONNECTED TO SAID PHOTOELECTRIC CELL; A FREQUENCY DISCRIMINATOR WHOSE INPUT IS CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID AMPLITUDE LIMITER; A RETUNABLE PHASE EQUALIZER WHOSE INPUT IS CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID FREQUENCY DISCRIMINATOR AND WHOSE OUTPUTS LINKED TO THE MISSILE; AND A TORQUE MOTOR OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID PHASE EQUALIZER AND CONNECTED TO SAID SYNCHRONIZING ELECTRONIC CHAIN SO AS TO BE CONTROLLED BY SAID SYNCHRONIZING ELECTRONIC CHAIN, SAID ORDER EMITTING ELECTRONIC CHAIN BEING ABLE TO PRODUCE, AT EACH REVOLUTION OF SAID MISSILE ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS, A SQUARE-WAVE SIGNAL WHICH IS DEVELOPED AT THE TIME OF A MAXIMUM VALUE OF THE ALTERNATING CURRENT VOLTAGE DELIVERED BY SAID FREQUENCY DISCRIMINATOR, SAID ORDER-EMITTING ELECTRONIC CHAIN COMPRISING DOWNSTREAM FROM SAID PHASE EQUALIZER, TWO PEAK DETECTORS MOUNTED TO ACT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS AND CONNECTED IN PARALLEL TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID PHASE EQUALIZER; A TRIGGER CIRCUIT OF THE CLASS OF A SCHMIDT TRIGGER CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID PHASE EQUALIZER; A STORAGE SYSTEM CONNECTED TO EACH PEAK DETECTOR; A TIME-CONTROLLED MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR CONNECTED TO EACH STORAGE SYSTEM AND OPERATED IN DEPENDENCE ON A REFERENCE FREQUENCY WHICH IS A FUNCTION OF THE SPEED OF THE MOTOR WHICH IS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH THE MODULATOR; A MIXER CONNECTED TO EACH OF THE TWO MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATORS; AND A POWER AMPLIFIER WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SAID MIXER, SAID POWER AMPLIFIER SUPPLYING SAID CONTROL SIGNALS TO SAID MISSILE, ONE OF THE OUTPUTS OF THE TRIGGER CIRCUIT BEING CONNECTED IN PARALLEL TO THE TWO STORAGE SYSTEMS, WHILE THE OTHER OUTPUT OF SAID TRIGGER CIRCUIT IS CONNECTED IN PARALLEL TO THE TWO MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATORS, AND (2) A SYNCHRONIZING ELECTRONIC CHAIN HAVING AN INPUT CONNECTED TO SAID SYNCHRONIZING SIGNAL EMITTER OF THE MISSILE AND AN OUTPUT CONNECTED TO SAID MOTOR FOR AUTOMATICALLY CONTROLLING THE SPEED OF CIRCULAR TRANSLATION OF SAID MODULATOR, SO THAT THE CIRCULAR TRANSLATION IS AUTOMATICALLY SYNCHRONIZED WITH THE ROTATION OF THE MISSILE ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS AND SO THAT THE CONTROL SIGNALS AUTOMATICALLY PRODUCED AT SAID COMMAND STATION ARE AUTOMATICALLY SENT TO SAID CONTROL SIGNAL RECEIVING MEANS ONLY WHEN THE MISSILE PASSES THROUGH A COMMOND POSITION ABOUT ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS.