A vehicle safety device control system includes a plurality of acceleration sensors. Test pulses are supplied to the plurality of acceleration sensors. In order to judge whether or not each acceleration sensor has failed each acceleration sensor is checked for whether or not it outputs a signal that corresponds to the test pulse. The signal from the failed acceleration sensor is not used when a determining if a collision has occurred; only the signals from the other acceleration sensors are used in this determination.

Control system for vehicle safety device

The invention relates to a bi-axial support of a rotatable body in a projectile for supporting said body such that it can perform small tilting motions about two mutually perpendicular axes lying in a plane, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the projectile. The support consists of a spherical or partly spherical bearing body introduced into a correspondingly spherical cup-shaped recess in a projectile-fixed part having the open end directed forwards in the motion direction of the projectile. The spherical bearing body is retained in the recess by means of two pairs of link arms defining two virtual tilting axes for the bearing body and connected to two output shafts such that a tilting motion of the body about the respective virtual axis results in a rotation of the respective output shaft and vice versa. When firing the projectile the spherical surface of the bearing body comes in metallic contact with the spherical surface of the recess, whereby the support can withstand very high acceleration forces in any direction.

Bi-axial supporting arrangement which can withstand high acceleration forces

A rotational antenna includes a stationary feed which is disposed in a substantially vertical orientation. A parabolic dish is rotationally mounted about the stationary feed in a state of being tipped with respect to the stationary, substantially vertically oriented feed. The rotational parabolic antenna may alternatively be provided with a rotating radio frequency (RF) and acoustic feed. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Rotational parabolic antenna with various feed configurations

A vibrating multisensor, each using two accelerometers which are vibrated along straight lines perpendicular to their sensing axes. In one embodiment, the sensing axes are co-linear, and in another embodiment the sensing axes are perpendicular. The accelerometers preferably use a proof mass and flexure suspension made on a silicon wafer sandwiched between two other wafers that carry electrodes both for sensing displacement and forcing of the central accelerometer wafer.

Vibrating accelerometer-multisensor

A device is disclosed for compensating synchronous disturbances in the magnetic suspension system of a rotor which is supported by a radial electromagnetic bearing and which has means associated therewith for detecting the radial position of the rotor, comprising a servo-circuit for connection between the detecting means and windings of the electromagnetic bearing and including a circuit for the control of the current supply to the windings in response to signals from the detecting means to keep the rotor in a pre-determined radial position. The servo-circuit is provided with means for filtering the signals supplied by the detecting means between the latter and the control circuit, the filtering means having at least one band rejection filter centered on a frequency which is a direct function of the speed of rotation of the rotor.

Device for compensating synchronous disturbances in the magnetic suspension of a rotor

A two-axis rate gyroscope of the captured type is provided having a "Saturn-shaped" rotor disposed within a sealed housing. The interior of the housing is evacuated to a "hard" vacuum and an electrostatic suspension system is provided for the rotor, so that the rotor has a virtually frictionless spin bearing. An electrostatic capture system is provided to null rotor rotation with respect to the housing about the two precession axes of the gyroscope. The capture electrodes of this system are mounted on a cup-shaped support member which is mounted for limited rotational movement about two perpendicular axes which are parallel to the gyroscope precession axes and vibrating beam force transducers are connected between the support member and the housing to sense the reaction torque exerted by the capture system during capture, so that the output signals from the transducers provide two-axis rate information. The capture system also includes an axis coupling circuit which is responsive to rotor spin speed and which causes the capture system to act as a direct-coupled positional servomechanism at low rotor speeds to erect the rotor during gyroscope start-up. When the rotor reaches full speed, the capture system acts as a quadrature coupled servomechanism to null the rotor and produce a rate output.

Electrostatic rate gyroscope

A gyro seeker which is capable of use in a cannon launched missile. The gyro seeker is enclosed in a housing mounted in the nose section of the missile. The platform of the gyro seeker supports an optical assembly, a detector, a gyro assembly, and a cryostat for cooling the detector. Means are provided on the outer gimbal of the platform for withstanding the extreme acceleration induced by cannon launching. The platform is torqueable along two axes by a plurality of pole pieces located around its base. A platform caging device is provided to cage the platform during transport and serves a dual function as a means to furnish spin-up gas to the gyro element and cooling gas to the cryostat.

Cannon launched platform

A torquer system for a gyro device that has a spherically shaped rotor divided into upper and lower hemispheres. The rotor of the gyro is mounted on a gas bearing over a spherically shaped stator and supports an optical assembly positioned parallel to the spin axis of the gyro. The torquer is positioned on the base of the gyro beneath the lower hemisphere of the rotor so as to permit the maximum angular freedom of the rotor and optical assembly. The torquer comprises four pole pieces separated 90° from each other. Each torquer has two pole faces and coils located between pole faces. The coils contain separate windings for bias and control of the torquer. A current flow through the windings of the torquers causes magnetic flux lines emanating from the pole faces to pass through magnetically permeable material affixed to the lower hemisphere of the gyro rotor closing the magnetic circuit. The rotor will be attracted towards the pole face and the magnitude of the force of attraction is indicative of the current passing through the torquer windings.

Wide angle torquing scheme

A radiometer and gyroscope are integrated in a single unit by coupling part of an antenna directly to the spinning inertial mass or rotor of the gyroscope. In the preferred embodiment a Cassegrain antenna is coupled to a dynamically tuned, wide-angle, free-rotor gyro by connecting the smaller secondary reflector to the gimbal-mounted rotor. A stationary antenna feed and waveguide are arranged inside of the hollow drive shaft. While the rotor, primary and secondary reflectors are spinning, the rotor and secondary reflector attached thereto can be tilted off the spin axis, to which the primary reflector, however, is constrained.

John L Evans

Papers

Electrostatic rate gyroscope

Cannon launched platform

Wide angle torquing scheme

Integrated radiometric seeker gyro

Conical liquid bearing assembly