Directional Data Stabilization System

The present invention relates to directional data stabilization for gimbal mounted instrumentalities and more particularly to azimuth data stabilization for a shipborne mechanically scanned search-track system mounted on a roll/pitch stabilized platform and coupled to a remotely located azimuth reference, such as the ship's gyro compass.

Search-track systems of the character described above stabilized only in roll and pitch have the virtue of relative simplicity but do not compensate for azimuth data errors resulting from misalignment of the platform pedestals with respect to the azimuth reference nor do they compensate for errors resulting from azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions or for errors occasioned by flexure of the portion of the ship's structure upon which the search-track system is mounted. Shipborne search-track systems are typically mounted high on the ship's superstructure where structural flexure occurs when the ship works in a seaway and are thus subject to small, but significant, azimuth errors occasioned by the structural flexure.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to stabilize directional data from a gimbal mounted instrumentality.

It is another, and more specific, object of the present invention to provide azimuth data stabilization for a shipborne search-track system mounted on a roll and pitch stabilized platform and coupled to a remote azimuth reference.

It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an azimuth data stabilization system for a shipborne searchtrack system, mounted on a roll and pitch stabilized platform, which substantially eliminates azimuth errors resulting from misalignment of the platform pedestals with respect to the azimuth reference, azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions, and flexure of the sturcture upon which the platform is mounted.

Briefly, these and other objects of the present invention are accomplished by mounting a gyro stabilized turntable on the search-track system platform, aligning the turntable with respect to the azimuth reference, and providing inertial stabilization for the turntable utilizing the gyro. Corrected ships heading signals, derived from the angular position of the turntable, may be directly coupled to data processing equipment or may be combined differentially with the azimuth output of the search-track system.

A more complete appreciation of this invention and the many attendant advantages thereof will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numbers indicate the same or similar components, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates embodiments of the invention mounted on a roll/pitch stabilized platform of a search-track system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which corrected ships heading and azimuth data signals are combined in a digital angle summer.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which corrected ships heading and azimuth data signals are combined in a differential control transformer coupled to the turntable shaft.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which corrected ships heading and azimuth data signals are combined in a differential control transformer coupled to the search-track system.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the invention in which azimuth misalignment signals and azimuth data signals from differential control transformers are combined in a digital angle summer to provide true azimuth data signals.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a mechanically scanned search-track system 11, or the scanner portion thereof, mounted on a roll and pitch stabilized platform 12. A synchro control transmitter 13, or resolver if desired, is mounted on platform 12 and geared or otherwise coupled to the rotating shaft of search track system 11 for conjoint rotation therewith, whereby the output signals from the control transmitter provide a direct measure of the azimuth orientation of the search-track system. (In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4, control transmitter 13 is replaced by a differential control transformer 31). The azimuth stabilization system of the present invention, to be described hereinafter, is contained within an enclosure 16 mounted on platform 12.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it may be seen that signals from control transmitter 13 are coupled through demodulators 14 to a digital angle summer 15, to be more fully described hereinafter. A voltage of the frequency employed to energize control transmitter 13 is applied to demodulators 14 whereby the outputs therefrom will be the modulation envelopes of the control transmitter output signals. If the search-track system were aligned with an azimuth reference, such as the ships gyro compass, and the ship gyro compass control transmitter 25 were coupled to summer 15, the output signal from summer 15 would represent true target azimuth. However, as pointed out above, oscillatory azimuth errors will be introduced by misalignment of the pedestals of platform 12, flexure of the structure upon which platform 12 is mounted, and azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions. The azimuth data from summer 15, in the absence of compensating signals, would therefor contain the aforementioned errors.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, an integrating gyro 17 is mounted on a turntable 18 with the output axis of the gyro perpendicular to shaft 19 of turntable 18 and the input axis thereof coaxial therewith.

Referring again to FIG. 1, container 16 is carefully mounted on platform 12 to insure that shaft 19 and the input axis of gyro 17 are aligned to be parallel with the axis of rotation of search-track system 11. The roll and pitch stabilization provided by platform 12 will thereafter maintain shaft 19 and the input axis of gyro 17 vertical.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a torquer 20 and a signal generator 21 are mounted on the output axis of gyro 17. Conventionally, gyro 17, torquer 20, and signal generator 21 would all be mounted within a single housing, as indicated.

A second torquer 22, a control transmitter 23, and a differential control transformer 24 are all coupled to shaft 19 for conjoint rotation with turntable 18. Resolvers are preferred to synchros for these units because resolvers often have better angular accuracy. Therefore, when the azimuth stabilization system of the present invention is coupled to existing synchros, if resolvers are used it will be necessary to employ Scott T transformers, or the like, for matching purposes.

Referring again to FIG. 1, container 16 is aligned in rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of search-track system 11 so that the stators of control transmitter 23, and differential control transformer 24, are aligned in azimuth with the stator of control transmitter 13 associated with the search-track system 11.

In order to align turntable 18 with the ship's azimuth reference, the ship's gyro compass in the illustrative embodiment, signals from the azimuth synchro 25 of the ship's gyro compass are coupled to differential control transformer 24. Error signals from the differential control transformer 24 are coupled through demodulators 27 and amplifiers 26 and are applied to torquer 20. This causes gyro 17 to rotate slightly producing an output signal from signal generator 21 which is coupled through an amplifier 28 to torquer 22. Turntable 18 is thereupon rotated by torquer 22 until the signals from differential control transformer 24 are nulled. At this point turntable 18 (along with gyro 17) is aligned with the ship's gyro compass assuming the synchros or resolvers are properly zeroed at installation. The bandwidth of the loop just described is made low to effect long term correction without causing rapid oscillations.

Signals from control transmitter 23 represent ships heading corrected for the misalignment of the pedestals of platform 12 with respect to the ship's gyro compass. These corrected ships heading signals may be either coupled to appropriate data processing equipment or may be coupled through demodulators 29 and applied as an azimuth compensating signal to angle summer 15. Angle summer 15 converts the demodulator outputs to a digital angle format and then digitally adds the two angles.

The azimuth stabilization data system of the present invention also includes a rapid acting inertial loop, comprising gyro 17, signal generator 21, amplifier 28, and torquer 22, to maintain turntable 18 and gyro 17 oriented with respect to inertial space. If turntable 18 is displaced from this orientation, gyro 17 will precess about the output axis thereof generating an error signal in signal generator 21. As before, the error signal is applied through amplifier 28 to torquer 22. Torquer 22 then applies a correcting torque to turntable 18. As pointed out above, small oscillatory deviations of turntable 18 from its inertial orientation may be caused by flexure of the ship's structure upon which platform 12 is mounted or by azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions acting through the low bandwidth loop from control transmitter 25 to torquer 20. The bandwidth of the gyro 17 to torquer 22 loop is made high to effectively suppress these oscillations and any deviations that might result from friction reversals in the bearings on which turntable 18 is supported.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the invention wherein control transmitter 23, demodulators 14, 29, and angle summer 15 are replaced by a second differential control transformer 30 coupled to shaft 19. In this embodiment, the angle of turntable 18 and the angle read by control transmitter 13 are directly added by differential control transformer 30 to provide true azimuth output signals.

Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 4, control transmitter 13 of search-track system 11 may be replaced by a differential control transformer 31. The angle of turntable 18 from control transmitter 23 is again directly added in the differential control transformer 31 to the search-track system angle to provide true azimuth output signals. In this embodiment, as well as in the embodiment of FIG. 3, demodulators 14, 29, and angle summer 15 are not needed.

FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment wherein the misalignment signals from differential control transformer 24 can be demodulated by demodulator 29 and summed in summer 15 as in FIG. 1 if the ships heading signals from azimuth reference control transmitter 25 are coupled to demodulator 14 through differential control transformer 31 on the search-track system. In this embodiment neither differential control transformer 30 nor control transmitter 23 are required.

There has thus been disclosed an azimuth data stabilization system for a shipborne search-track mounted on a platform stabilized for roll and pitch only which takes into account azimuth errors resulting from misalignment of the search-track system platform pedestals with respect to the azimuth reference, azimuth coupled roll and pitch motions, and flexure of the structure upon which the search-track system platform is mounted.

Obviously numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, while embodiments of the invention have been described which correct azimuth data from a search-track system, it is obvious that the invention may be applied to correct angle data from any axis of any gimbal mounted instrumentality. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.