Robot arm space stabilizer

Claim 1

A system for maintaining the space attitude of a robot arm member supported by or hinged to a base undergoing random perturbations, comprising: a torque motor mounted along said hinge where said arm is supported by said base; a single-degree-of-freedom gyroscope whose first tilt or precession axis is housed perpendicular to its spin axle and, being formed between bearings carried within said arm, is oriented mutually perpendicular to said hinge; first rotary differential transformer (RDT) mounted along said precession axis whose voltage output signifies amount and direction of angular inclination of said gyroscope wheel axle from its null position perpendicular to said hinge; a velocity sensitive restrainer mounted along said precession axis to brake motion between said gyroscope and said arm and whose action, in combination with gyroscope wheel speed, determines said arm's attitude adjustment per unit angular inclination change of said wheel axle from its normal position of perpendicularity to said hinge; second rotary differential transformer (RDT) mounted accessible to the operator whose output is connected in tandem with that of said first RDT and whose rotor is indexed to the position where the null of said second RDT coincides with that of said first RDT such that the output of the two RDTs' network is affected by rotation at either and provides input to an amplifier for said torque motor; whereby said arm is ordinarily maintained at a prescribed attitude by said torque motor responding to said first RDT's error signal, and whereby said arm attitude may be adjusted in response to a command rotation of said second RDT rotor, while capable of being exactly reinstated by derotation of said rotor back to said indexed position.

Claim 2

A system for maintaining the space attitude of a robot arm member supported by or hinged to a base undergoing random perturbations, comprising: a torque motor mounted along said hinge where said arm is supported by said base; a single-degree-of-freedom gyroscope whose first tilt or precession axis is housed perpendicular to its spin axle and, being formed between bearings carried within said arm, is oriented mutually perpendicular to said hinge; first rotary differential transformer (RDT) mounted along said precession axis whose voltage output signifies amount and direction of angular inclination of said gyroscope wheel axle from its null position perpendicular to said hinge; a velocity sensitive restrainer mounted along said precession axis to brake motion between said gyroscope and said arm and whose action, in combination with gyroscope wheel speed, determines said arm's attitude adjustment per unit angular inclination change of said wheel axle from its normal position of perpendicularity to said hinge; second rotary differential transformer (RDT) mounted accessible to the operator whose output is connected in tandem with that of said first RDT and whose rotor is indexed to the position where the null of said second RDT coincides with that of said first RDT such that the output of the two RDTs' network is affected by rotation at either and provides input to an amplifier for said torque motor; whereby said arm is ordinarily maintained at a prescribed attitude by said torque motor responding to said first RDT's error signal, and whereby said arm attitude may be adjusted in response to a command rotation of said second RDT rotor, while capable of being exactly reinstated by derotation of said rotor back to said indexed position.