Apparatus for and method of compensating dynamic unbalance

Claim 2

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by a rotating body that is connected to the fixed body by an element having a longitudinal axis extending between the bodies and about which the rotating body rotates comprising rotatable mass means mounted on the rotating body, said rotatable mass means being mounted on the rotating body with a geometry such that the rotatable mass means exerts a gyroscopic torque on the rotating body that compensates for the force exerted by the rotating body due to the dynamic unbalance, and active means for rotating the rotatable mass means at a controlled angular velocity and effective angular position relative to the longitudinal axis to provide the required compensation.

Claim 3

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted by a rotating body to a fixed body through an element that connects the spinning body to the fixed body, said element having a longitudinal axis defining a Z axis for a mechnical system including the spinning body, said element coupling moment producing forces and angular momentum components from the spinning body to the fixed body in a plane perpendicular to the Z axis, comprising rotatable mass means mounted on the spinning body remote from the Z axis, the rotatable mass means rotating about a line in a plane at right angles to the Z axis wherein said rotatable mass means produces forces and a moment, and active means for rotating the rotatable mass means at a controlled angular velocity and effective angular position relative to the longitudinal axis whereby the rotatable mass means exerts moments on the rotating body to compensate for the dynamic unbalance.

Claim 4

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted by a rotating body to a fixed body through an element that connects the spinning body to the fixed body, said element having a longitudinal axis defining a Z axis for a mechnical system including the spinning body, said element coupling moment producing forces and angular momentum components from the spinning body to the fixed body in a plane perpendicular to the Z axis, comprising rotatable mass means mounted on the spinning body remote from the Z axis, the rotatable mass means rotating about a line in a plane at right angles to the Z axis wherein said rotatable mass means produces forces and a moment, and active means for rotating the rotatable mass means at a controlled angular velocity and effective angular position relative to the longitudinal axis whereby the rotatable mass means exerts moments on the rotating body to compensate for the dynamic unbalance.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the rotatable mass means includes first and second rotary masses that rotate about mutually orthogonal axes in the plane.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the orthogonal axes intersect the Z axis at a common point.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the rotatable mass means includes a rotary mass rotatable about an axis that coincides with the line and means for rotating the axis that coincides with the line about an axis parallel to the Z axis.

Claim 10

The method of claim 6 wherein the mass means comprises first and second spinning masses having mutually orthogonal first and second spin axes, and separately controlling the rotational speed and direction of the first and second spinning masses in response to the determined force components.

Claim 11

The method of claim 6 wherein the mass means comprises a single spinning mass having a spin axis in the plane, and separately controlling the rotational speed and angular direction in the plane of the spin axis of the single spinning mass in response to the determined force components.

Claim 12

The method of claim 6, 7 or 8 wherein the force components are determined by measuring total force and an effective angle of the force components exerted in the plane by the rotating body.

Claim 13

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by an element having a longitudinal axis extending between the bodies and about which the rotating body rotates comprising fixed force sensing means positioned to be responsive to force components of the rotating body in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis for deriving a signal having an amplitude instantaneously proportional to force components exerted by the rotating body in the plane along a reference axis, means for sampling the signal amplitude twice during each cycle of the rotating body at orthogonal points in the cycle, first and second separate masses mounted on the rotating body so they respectively have first and second mutually orthogonal spin axes in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and active means for separately controlling the rotational speed and spin direction of the first and second masses in response to the first and second signals, respectively.

Claim 14

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by an element having a longitudinal axis extending between the bodies and about which the rotating body rotates comprising fixed force sensing means positioned to be responsive to force components of the rotating body in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis for deriving a signal having an amplitude instantaneously proportional to force components exerted by the rotating body in the plane along a reference axis, means for sampling the signal amplitude twice during each cycle of the rotating body at orthogonal points in the cycle, first and second separate masses mounted on the rotating body so they respectively have first and second mutually orthogonal spin axes in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and active means for separately controlling the rotational speed and spin direction of the first and second masses in response to the first and second signals, respectively.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the means for controlling includes first and second DC motors respectively having first and second output shafts with longitudinal axes coincident with the first and second spin axes and respectively responsive to the amplitudes of the first and second sampled signals.

Claim 16

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by a rotating body connected to the fixed body by an element having a longitudinal axis extending between the bodies and about which the rotating body rotates comprising mass means rotatably mounted on the rotating body whereby said mass means rotates about an axis in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and active means for rotating the mass means at angular velocity and at an effective direction to counteract the dynamic unbalance.

Claim 17

Apparatus for compensating for dynamic unbalance imparted to a fixed body by a rotating body connected to the fixed body by an element having a longitudinal axis extending between the bodies and about which the rotating body rotates comprising mass means rotatably mounted on the rotating body whereby said mass means rotates about an axis in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis, and active means for rotating the mass means at angular velocity and at an effective direction to counteract the dynamic unbalance.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the rotatable mass means includes first and second rotary masses that rotate about mutually orthogonal axes in the plane.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the rotatable mass means includes a rotary mass rotatable about an axis in the plane, and means for rotating the rotary mass about an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the means for rotating includes fixed force measuring means positioned to be responsive to force components of the rotating body in a plane at right angles to the longitudinal axis for deriving a signal having an amplitude instantaneously proportional to force components exerted by the rotating body along a reference axis in the plane, means for sampling the signal to derive signal components indicative of force components exerted by the rotating body on the fixed body, the means for rotating being responsive to the signal components.