Attitude readout for floated inertial platform

Claim 2

In an attitude readout system including a ball member and a spherical casing member for determining the relative orientation between said ball member and said spherical casing member in which said ball member is supported, said ball member having predetermined equatorial and polar portions: a plurality of separate excitation rings running around the circumference of said ball member, said excitation rings being concentric with and parallel to each other and the equatorial portion and covering the ball member between the polar portions thereof, said rings further being insulated from each other, means for sequentially exciting said rings with voltages in accordance with a predetermined program, and pick-off means on said casing member for detecting the voltages on portions of said rings opposite thereto, said voltages being in accordance with the relative orientation between the two members.

Claim 3

The system of claim 1 wherein said excitation rings include a resistive ring running along the equatorial portion of said ball member and conductive rings between said resistive ring and the polar portions of the ball member.

Claim 4

The system of claim 2 wherein said means for sequentially exciting said rings comprises means for providing a gradated voltage from ring to ring during a first sequence and a first predetermined voltage to all of the conductive rings on one side of the resistive ring, and a second predetermined voltage to all of the conductive rings on the other side of the resistive ring during a second sequence.

Claim 5

The system of claim 2 wherein said resistive rings is segmented into four segments.

Claim 6

The system of claim 1 wherein said pick-off means comprises a pair of capacitive pad pick-off members oriented opposite each other and a capacitive longitudinal ring pick-ofF member, said ring pick-off member being segmented into two pairs of equal sections.

Claim 7

In an attitude readout system including a ball member and a spherical casing member for determining the relative orientation between said ball member and said spherical casing member in which said ball member is supported, said ball and casing members having predetermined equatorial and polar portions: a resistive excitation ring extending around the equatorial portion of said ball member, a plurality of conductive excitation rings running around the circumference of said ball member, said conductive excitation rings being concentric with and parallel to said resistive ring and extending between the resistive ring and the polar portions of the ball members, said rings being electrically insulated from each other, means for sequentially exciting said rings with voltages in accordance with a predetermined program, said program including one excitation for said rings providing a gradation in voltage from ring to ring and another excitation where all of the conductive rings on one side of the resistive ring have a first predetermined voltage and all of the rings on the other side of the resistive ring have a second predetermined voltage, and pick-off means on said casing member for sequentially detecting the relative orientation of the two members about three mutually orthogonal axes.

Claim 8

In an attitude readout system including a ball member and a spherical casing member for determining the relative orientation between said ball member and said spherical casing member in which said ball member is supported, said ball and casing members having predetermined equatorial and polar portions: a resistive excitation ring extending around the equatorial portion of said ball member, a plurality of conductive excitation rings running around the circumference of said ball member, said conductive excitation rings being concentric with and parallel to said resistive ring and extending between the resistive ring and the polar portions of the ball members, said rings being electrically insulated from each other, means for sequentially exciting said rings with voltages in accordance with a predetermined program, said program including one excitation for said rings providing a gradation in voltage from ring to ring and another excitation where all of the conductive rings on one side of the resistive ring have a first predetermined voltage and all of the rings on the other side of the resistive ring have a second predetermined voltage, and pick-off means on said casing member for sequentially detecting the relative orientation of the two members about three mutually orthogonal axes.

Claim 9

The system of claim 6 wherein the resistive ring has four equal separate segments, each of said segments being excited with a first predetermined voltage differential thereacross during one of the time sequences of said program and a second predetermined voltage differential thereacross during another of the time sequences of said program.

Claim 10

The system of claim 7 wherein said pick-off members comprise a pair of capacitive pad pick-offs located opposite each other on said casing member, and four segmented capacitive pick-offs in the form of conductive bands, said bands extending around the circumference of said casing member.

Claim 11

In combination with a ball shaped platform floated within a spherical casing, a system for reading the attitude of said platform relative to the casing including: a resistive ring running around the equatorial portion of said ball shaped platform member, said ring being segmented into four equal segments which are insulated from each other, a plurality of conductive rings running around the circumference of said ball shaped member parallel to the resistive ring, said conductive rings covering the ball shaped member between the resistive ring and the polar areas of the ball member, means for sequentially exciting said resistive ring and said conductive rings with predetermined voltages on a time sharing basis in accordance with a predetermined program, said rings being excited with voltages gradated from ring to ring during a first sequence, all of the conductive rings on one side of the resistive ring receiving a first predetermined voltage and all of the conductive rings on the other side of said resistive ring receiving a second predetermined voltage during a second sequence, and said resistive ring receiving a voltage differential between the opposite ends of each of its segments during a third sequence, and a pair of spot pick-off members mounted opposite each other on said spherical casing for detecting displacement of said casing relative to said ball member about a first axis during said first sequence, and longitudinal segmented band pick-off members located on said spherical casing, said band pick-off segments receiving signals in accordance with relative attitude between the members about second and third axes during said second and third sequences respectively.

Claim 12

In combination with a ball shaped platform floated within a spherical casing, a system for reading the attitude of said platform relative to the casing including: a resistive ring running around the equatorial portion of said ball shaped platform member, said ring being segmented into four equal segments which are insulated from each other, a plurality of conductive rings running around the circumference of said ball shaped member parallel to the resistive ring, said conductive rings covering the ball shaped member between the resistive ring and the polar areas of the ball member, means for sequentially exciting said resistive ring and said conductive rings with predetermined voltages on a time sharing basis in accordance with a predetermined program, said rings being excited with voltages gradated from ring to ring during a first sequence, all of the conductive rings on one side of the resistive ring receiving a first predetermined voltage and all of the conductive rings on the other side of said resistive ring receiving a second predetermined voltage during a second sequence, and said resistive ring receiving a voltage differential between the opposite ends of each of its segments during a third sequence, and a pair of spot pick-off members mounted opposite each other on said spherical casing for detecting displacement of said casing relative to said ball member about a first axis during said first sequence, and longitudinal segmented band pick-off members located on said spherical casing, said band pick-off segments receiving signals in accordance with relative attitude between the members about second and third axes during said second and third sequences respectively.

Claim 13

The combination of claim 9 wherein said spot pick-off members comprise conductive plate members forming a capacitance with the surface of the ball member and said band pick-off members comprise conductive strip members, each forming a capacitance with the surface of the ball member.

Claim 14

The combination of claim 9 wherein said spot pick-off members are circular and have a diameter greater than the width of said rings.

Claim 15

The combination of claim 9 wherein said means for exciting said rings comprises a DC voltage source, a voltage divider having a plurality of taps, each connected to one of said rings and means for selectively switching the outputs of said voltage source to said voltage divider.

Claim 16

An attitude readout system including a ball member and a spherical casing surrounding said ball member for reading the relative orientation between said ball member and said spherical casing comprising: a plurality of separate excitation rings running around the circumference of said ball member, said rings being parallel to each other and covering said ball member between the polar portions thereof, said rings being electrically insulated from each other, means for providing a predetermined excitation voltage to each of said ring members, and pick-off means on said casing for detecting the voltage on ring members positioned opposite thereto, this detected voltage being in accordance with the relative orientation between the casing and the ball member.

Claim 17

An attitude readout system including a ball member and a spherical casing surrounding said ball member for reading the relative orientation between said ball member and said spherical casing comprising: a plurality of separate excitation rings running around the circumference of said ball member, said rings being parallel to each other and covering said ball member between the polar portions thereof, said rings being electrically insulated from each other, means for providing a predetermined excitation voltage to each of said ring members, and pick-off means on said casing for detecting the voltage on ring members positioned opposite thereto, this detected voltage being in accordance with the relative orientation between the casing and the ball member.

Claim 18

The system of claim 13 wherein said pick-off means comprises a pair of oppositely positioned conductive pads forming a capacitance with the surface of said ball member, said excitation voltage means providing voltages gradated from ring member to ring member.

Claim 19

The system of claim 14 wherein said pick-off means additionally comprises a longitudinal conductive band segmented into four sections and running around the inner circumference of said casing, said band sections forming capacitances with the surface of said ball member.

Claim 20

The system of claim 13 wherein said conductive excitation rings comprise a resistive ring running around the equatorial portion of said ball member and conductive rings forming latitude rings running around said ball member between the equatorial and the polar portions thereof.

Claim 21

The system of claim 16 wherein said resistive ring is divided into four equal segments, a separate excitation voltage being provided to each of said segments.

Claim 22

The system of claim 13 wherein said means for providing an excitation voltage comprises time multiplex means for sequentially providing predetermined voltages to said ring members in accordance with a predetermined program so as to sequentially provide attitude information for each of three mutually orthogonal axes, and means for synchronizing the readouts from said pick-off means with the excitation of said ring members.