Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7548318 | Dithering mechanism for eliminating zero-rate bias in a gyroscope Dithering mechanism and method for eliminating the effects of zero-rate bias in a rate sensor or gyroscope. Both continuously moving and indexing embodiments are disclosed. The mechanism includes a first part mounted in a fixed position centered about a dither axis ... | 06/16/2009 |
| 7505140 | Indexing dithering mechanism and method Dithering mechanism and method for eliminating the effects of zero-rate bias in a rate sensor or gyroscope. Both continuously moving and indexing embodiments are disclosed. The mechanism includes a first part mounted in a fixed position centered about a dither axis ... | 03/17/2009 |
| 7375816 | Dither motor having integrated drive and pickoff transducers A ring laser gyroscope is described that includes at least one laser gyroscope block and a dither motor, where the gyroscope blocks are configured to engage the dither motor. The dither motor has an outer ring, a hub section, at least one radially extending reed ext... | 05/20/2008 |
| 7328446 | Apparatus for reducing sensitivity of an article to mechanical shock Apparatus for reducing sensitivity of an article to mechanical shock comprises a frame; first and second planar masses mounted in the frame for bi-directional movement relative to the frame along a first axis of displacement; a first lever pivotable about a first fu... | 02/05/2008 |
| 7221813 | Signal acquisition probing and voltage measurement systems using an electro-optical cavity A signal acquisition probing system uses an optical cavity to acquire a signal under test. The probing system has an optical transmitter and receiver that are coupled to the optical cavity via an optical transmission system. The optical cavity has an electrode struc... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7165746 | Vibration motor primary flight control actuator The invention provides an actuator for a control surface (7), in particular for a primary flight control of an aircraft, the actuator including a main actuator (3) in a main control line (1) for actuating the control surface (7), the actu... | 01/23/2007 |
| 7003399 | Gas jet control for inertial measurement unit An inertial navigation system is provided. The system includes a gas supported sensor block that is adapted to rotate in three dimensions in a near frictionless environment, a plurality of jet plates adapted to receive two or more pairs of opposing pneumatic nozzles... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6940433 | Modulation method for signal crosstalk mitigation in electrostatically driven devices A method of distinguishing an analog drive signal from a pickoff signal for attenuating the effect of electrical cross-coupling between the analog drive signal and the pickoff signal. The method may include receiving a periodic digital signal at a first frequency in... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6498651 | Device for detecting activation movement for laser gyroscope An actuating motion detection device for a mechanically actuated gyrolaser including at least one fastening ring coaxial with an actuation axis of the gyrolaser. The fastening ring includes a hub held at a center of a rim by radial flexible strips distrib... | 12/24/2002 |
| 5950995 | Ring laser gyroscope dither motor structure Disclosed is a dither spring structure and method of dither spring manufacture. The dither spring structure includes a central hub, an outer toroidal rim, a plurality of flexible reeds and a plurality of lobes. The reeds extend between the hub and the rim... | 09/14/1999 |
| 5867270 | Mechanism and method for mounting piezoelectric transducers Disclosed is a mounting mechanism and method for accurately securing and uniformly bonding piezoelectric transducers (PZT's) to a dither spring. The dither spring includes a central hub, an outer toroidal rim, a plurality of flexible reeds and a plurality... | 02/02/1999 |
| 5686777 | High accuracy piezoelectric positioning device An apparatus and method for utilizing piezoelectric devices for precise positioning purposes without having to endure the detrimental effects of hysteresis. The apparatus and method involving driving a pair of piezoelectric stacks with complementary low a... | 11/11/1997 |
| 5618183 | Dither motor connector for a self contained laser gyro A dither motor connector for a laser gyro which has the power supply and the laser block along with other support electronics within the same housing. A connector unit makes a connection between the power supply and the dither motor 22 through wires 28 in... | 04/08/1997 |
| 5326163 | Dither apparatus A dither motor reed apparatus for use in a dither motor which includes a hub member and an outer support housing. The dither motor reed apparatus has a robust inner section having a hub end and a first joining end and an outer section which is more limber... | 07/05/1994 |
| 5317381 | Pneumatically dithered ring laser gyroscope A pneumatically dithered ring laser gyroscope features providing an oscillatory motion directly to a segment of the excited gas which serves as the laser photon source. Alternately switching ionizing potential between two cathodes in appropriately designe... | 05/31/1994 |
| 5233406 | Recessed center post mounted dither system A method for attaching dither motors to a ring laser gyro block such that the dither motors do not induce a large amount of stress into the laser gyro block. Attachment is achieved by the use of a center post having a diameter substantially smaller than t... | 08/03/1993 |
| 5225889 | Laser gyro dither drive A direct digital dither drive for a laser gyro dither motor including a digital microcomputer which controls the dithering of a laser gyro to prevent lock in of the laser beams. The digital drive senses a dither position and schedules internal A/D convers... | 07/06/1993 |
| 5187544 | Tuner for ring laser gyro dither mechanism The tuner for ring laser gyro dither mechanism shown herein is a disk 32 which is bolted to the top end 48 of a base mounted vane 24 of the gyro. All such base mounted vane top ends 48 are thus bolted together, thereby stiffening the spring constant of th... | 02/16/1993 |
| 5173745 | Cluster dither apparatus A dither motor for dithering a plurality of inertial sensors includes an outer support ring, a plurality of reeds and a plurality of mounting supports. The outer support ring may be generally circular or polygonal in shape. Each reed of the plurality of r... | 12/22/1992 |
| 5116130 | Ring laser gyroscope mount Disclosed herein is a Ring Laser Gyroscope Mount comprising a low coefficient of expansion metal Invar sleeve and mount coupler. The sleeve may be secured to the gyroscope pedestal by being screwed and affixed to a relatively high coefficient of thermal e... | 05/26/1992 |
| 5108180 | Dither arrangements A dither arrangement or dither spring comprises an outer portion 1 for being secured to a fixed structure, an inner mounting stub 9 for being attached to a sensor such as a laser gyro and a series of three counter-balanced inertias 10 which together have ... | 04/28/1992 |
| 5088825 | Housing and support assembly for ring laser gyroscope Disclosed is a housing and support plate assembly for use with a dithered ring laser gyroscope which attenuates thermal and structural changes due to a varying environment. A dither mechanism is structurally supported between a housing and a support plate... | 02/18/1992 |
| 5063321 | Torsional vibration drive A torsional vibration drive for a laser gyro comprises a hub, spokes and an outer rim, with piezoceramics arranged on the spokes. Bending elements provided at the junction of the spokes and rim ensure high flexibility for rotations of the rim around the a... | 11/05/1991 |
| 5020911 | Ring laser gyro comprising rotary oscillation apparatus In a laser block (10) spokes (26,28,30) and a hub (34) are mechanically worked out resulting in a monolithic integration of a dither device into the laser block.... | 06/04/1991 |
| 5012174 | Method and apparatus for countering vibrations of a platform A dynamic vibration absorber for reducing vibrations of a platform induced by an oscillating mass mounted thereon is provided by mounting a mass of equal mechanical resonant frequency as that of the oscillating mass and oscillating this mass in a manner t... | 04/30/1991 |
| 4988908 | Piezoelectric transducers for a ring laser gyroscope dither motor The present invention is to provide an arrangement of piezoelectric transducers attached to a dither spring spoke which allows for both flexing a dither spring spoke and sensing the flexure of the same dither spring spoke.... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4987334 | Piezoelectric dither motor Dither motor apparatus for oscillating a structure, such as a laser gyroscope 10, about a dither axis "A". The dither motor apparatus includes a support 18 that passes through an opening 16 within the gyroscope. The apparatus further includes a plurality ... | 01/22/1991 |
| 4856901 | Velocity control system using piezoelectric transducers A piezoelectric activated dither suspension system for a ring laser gyroscope has all of the transducer elements connected in parallel to simultaneously produce sustaining torque for dither motion and respond to a back component of current produced by the... | 08/15/1989 |
| 4847855 | Thermally neutral dither motor design A thermally neutralized ring laser gyro with a dither spring mounted into a central bore of a gyro block which permits dither of the block about an axis of the spring with thermal expansion effects being minimized. The dither spring has a central mounting... | 07/11/1989 |
| 4790657 | Ring laser gyroscope curved blade flexure and support ring assembly and method A dither flexure for a ring laser gyroscope includes a central portion and a plurality of curved vanes extending therefrom to connect to a flexure ring. The flexure ring includes a boss in a central portion thereof. A glass ceramic ring having a pair of e... | 12/13/1988 |
| 4779985 | Dither suspension for ring laser gyroscope and method A dither suspension for a ring laser gyroscope includes a central hub and a plurality of blades extending therefrom. One half of the blades are connected to a support ring, and the other half are connected to a support base that is fixed to the case. The ... | 10/25/1988 |
| 4751718 | Dither suspension mechanism for a ring laser angular rate sensor A pair of flexure plates having an outer toroidal rim extended from a hub by a plurality of radial springs are utilized to rigidly sandwich a laser block. A housing having an aperture for receiving the sandwiched assembly is welded to the outer toroidal r... | 06/14/1988 |
| 4740084 | Dither controller for ring laser angular rotation sensor Apparatus and method for dithering ring laser angular rotation sensors, including a plurality of such sensors with substantially identical natural dither frequencies and having different sensor axes mounted upon a resilient structure; applying energy to d... | 04/26/1988 |
| 4733966 | Tuning mechanism for dither frequencies in a ring laser gyroscope A means for stressing the hub of a laser gyro dither mechanism is provided including a compression bolt passing through an aperture in the hub and having a nut threaded thereon for tightening against the hub until a desired dither frequency is achieved. I... | 03/29/1988 |
| 4711575 | Non-pendulous counter-balanced dither mechanism for laser gyro An improved laser gyro dither mechanism utilizing a three-spring suspension system which not only isolates dither vibrational energy generated within the gyro and prevents that energy from passing to the mounting case of the laser, but which, additionally... | 12/08/1987 |
| 4702602 | Dither mechanism for ring laser gyroscope A dither mechanism comprises a hub (10) arranged to be fixed to a mounting, and a rim (11) coaxial with the hub and to which the ring laser may be attached. A number of radial spokes (12) interconnect the hub (10) and the rim (11), and each has its point ... | 10/27/1987 |
| 4678335 | Ring laser gyro block stiffener A laser block for a ring laser angular rate sensor is provided with an expandable ring inserted into a cavity through the block. The ring is rigidly expanded against the walls of the cavity with substantially zero axial deflection to increase the stiffnes... | 07/07/1987 |
| 4653918 | Low Q body-dithered laser gyro assembly A low Q ring laser gyro-dither motor assembly which is responsive to a wide range of frequency components of a drive signal having a randomly varying frequency such that the dither imparted to the gyro is frequency modulated by the drive. The frequency mo... | 03/31/1987 |
| 4650331 | Rotational vibration drive for a ring laser gyroscope The rotational vibration drive consists of a first plate attachable to a ed baseplate and a second plate attachable to a clamping plate for the ring laser block. The first and second plates are arranged side by side in the same plane. A torsionally stiff... | 03/17/1987 |
| 4634091 | Support for ring laser gyro The invention uses a laser frame which has a central opening about its sensing axis. There is a structural support member in the shape of two substantially conical frustums attached together at their largest diameter portions, with their axes coaxial, and... | 01/06/1987 |
