Gyroscope apparatus includes a tubular rotor that is supported at opposite ends by bearings, such as a gas-lubricated bearing, for rotation about its axis. A gimbal ring encircles the rotor and is resiliently supported with the rotor, for angular displacement about an axis at right angles to the rotor axis, by a pair of flexure pivots located intermediate the ends of the rotor. An inertia ring is mounted concentrically with the gimbal ring by another pair of flexure pivots for angular displacement about an axis at right angles to the rotor axis and the axis of displacement of the gimbal ring. The major part of each flexure pivot is contained within the radial thickness of the gimbal ring. Displacement of the inertia ring is sensed by pick-offs the outputs of which are used to control the restoring torque applied by torquers located outwardly of the pick-offs.
A servo compensating accelerometer includes a top housing half and a bottom housing half rigidly connected together, and each having coaxial threaded openings. A sensing element is positioned between the top and bottom halves and affixed to the bottom half. Top and bottom magnetic systems, each of which has a magnetic conductor, a permanent magnet and a field concentrator, the magnetic systems being mounted within the respective top and bottom halves of the housing using the threaded openings. A momentum sensor includes the top and bottom magnetic systems, and also includes two movable coils mounted on a plate and positioned within the magnetic systems. A differential angle sensor includes toroidal excitation coils located on the permanent magnets, the magnetic systems and the coils of the momentum sensor. Zero bias of the accelerometer's angular displacement sensor is tuned by adjusting the position of the magnetic systems by moving them in the threaded openings. Stop screws can be used to fix position of the magnetic systems relative to the top and bottom halves of the housing. Two perpendicular mounting surfaces are located on the bottom half of the housing. An electrical circuit that includes a preamplifier, a demodulator, a correcting element, a high frequency generator, an amplifier, the excitation coils and the movable coils, which collectively form a feedback circuit, and generate an output of the accelerometer using an inductor, a resistor, a capacitor and a filter. The sensing element, in one embodiment, can be metallic.
The torquer section of a gyro includes a plurality of torquer coils symmetrically positioned within a flywheel. A pair of parallel spaced radially oriented salient torquer magnets are located within the flywheel and are equidistant to each respective coil. The magnet pairs increase the flux density within the operating gap between coil and magnets while minimizing fringing flux. The torquer section is secured to the gryoscope housing by mounting materials which reduce unwanted thermal gradients during rapid warmup and high torquing rates thus virtually ensuring consistent torquer coil position over the operating temperature range.
