A three-wire digital synchronizer for use in an aircraft for synchronizing flight data to prevent an abrupt change in aircraft attitude when switching from manual to automatic control. Converting means are provided for converting the intermediate output of a three-wire signal device, such as a synchro, to pulses related in quantity to the actual flight of the aircraft. A counter/register counts the pulses and applies the count to a register until control of the aircraft is switched from manual to automatic control whereupon the count present in the register is locked in but the count in the counter/register continues to change in accordance with the flight data. A subtractor determines the difference in count contained in the counter/register and the register and the difference is used to automatically correct flight of the aircraft.

Voltage amplitude-to-time duration converter

Three wire digital synchronizer

A tracker of a radiant source is disclosed, comprising a sectored matrix of detectors whose output voltages correspond to their respective levels of irradiance. The voltages are each sampled during a variable length period and the resulting samples are shaped into triangular samples by an integration process. They are supplied to a demodulator which provides an output corresponding to the difference of the time-voltage product of appropriate combinations of the samples. This output after filtering represents the angle of incidence on the detectors with respect to a central axis. The triangular samples are also supplied to a demodulator whose output is an AGC voltage which is a function of the sum of the time-voltage integrals of the triangular samples. This AGC voltage is supplied to a pulse width modulator whose output controls the period of the voltage sample which is taken from each detector.

Voltage amplitude-to-time duration converter

Citations

Three wire digital synchronizer

Radiant source tracker independent of non-constant irradiance

Radiant source tracker independent of non-constant irradiance

References

Stabilized timing circuit

Precision time delay generator

System for determining the percentage "on" time of a random signal with respect to a predetermined period