Patent · US Expired

Ring laser gyroscopes

US4632555A · kind A · utility

16Cited by
10References
10Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 25, 1983
Grant dateDec 30, 1986
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 25, 2003

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01S3/0835
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A ring laser gyroscope has a primary ring 13 including a gas discharge tube 4 enclosing an active lasing medium. The gyroscope has additionally a secondary, passive ring 14 optically coupled to the primary ring 13 by a partially transmissive mirror 8. A mirror 15 of the secondary ring 14 is adjustable, under the control of a feedback loop 19, to vary the optical path length of the secondary ring 14 so that the latter resonates at one of the longitudinal modes of the primary ring 13, thereby enhancing this mode and concentrating the output power of the gyroscope in one frequency, while suppressing other longitudinal modes of the primary ring.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.