Integrated triad optical rate sensor apparatus
US4828389A · kind A · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 21, 1987 |
| Grant date | May 9, 1989 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 21, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C19/728
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A triad sensor apparatus (300) comprises a passive ring Sagnac interferometric arrangement having a light source circuit (308) and a series of three multi-turn fiber optic rings (302, 304, 306). An optics/modulator circuit (312) is adapted to selectively switch optical waves emitted from the light source circuit (308) and transmit the signals through the corresponding fiber optic rings as counterpropagating optical waves. Nonreciprocal phase modulation is applied to the counter-propagating waves, and the waves are recombined so as to produce a "zero order" fringe pattern having an intensity varying in accordance with the relative phase between the counterpropagating waves. Optical waves from the light source circuit (308) are selectively applied to a ring path during a given time period, while the photodetector circuit (324) is detecting light waves which have emerged from another ring path during the same given time period. Certain of the circuit components associated with signal processing circuitry (328) are selectively timed-shared with respect to signals associated with each of the gyroscope channels.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.