Abstract: An optical encoder assembly includes an integral flexible coupler. A flange extending from the flexible coupler serves as a bearing retainer to hold a disc table and unitary bearing shaft in fixed axial position relative to the bearing. The bearing is further axially fixed relative to a stationary base which supports encoder disc illuminating and detecting optics. In a preferred form, the flexible coupler extends through the center of the encoder assembly, and a dust tube is positioned between the coupler and the encoder optics.

Abstract: In an optically multiplexed angular encoder system, encoder illuminators are sequentially enabled and detected signals are sequentially stored. Such sampling and storage of the code track signals is repeated in successive sampling windows under the control of a free-running clock such that the information required to provide a multibit angular output is available for a near instantaneous output on command.

Abstract: An optical code disc includes a fine track which provides a high resolution signal, at least one V scan natural binary track synchronized to the fine track by lead and lag detectors, and Gray code tracks which provide the most significant bits of the digital output of the encoder system. The number of circuit elements in the multiplier circuitry associated with the fine track are reduced by means of a quadrant switching technique whereby the sinusoidal inputs to the multiplier are repeated through each quadrant of the fine track cycle. The V scan and Gray code tracks are optically multiplexed to reduce the number of leads from the optical detector. The use of both V scan and Gray code tracks minimizes the number of detectors required in the system while maintaining large detector signals from each track. The V scan and Gray code outputs are synchronized by the use of an overlapping bit.

Abstract: An optical code disc includes a fine track which provides a high resolution signal, at least one V scan natural binary track synchronized to the fine track by lead and lag detectors, and Gray code tracks which provide the most significant bits of the digital output of the encoder system. The number of circuit elements in the multiplier circuitry associated with the fine track are reduced by means of a quadrant switching technique whereby the sinusoidal inputs to the multiplier are repeated through each quadrant of the fine track cycle. The V scan and Gray code tracks are optically multiplexed to reduce the number of leads from the optical detector. The use of both V scan and Gray code tracks minimizes the number of detectors required in the system while maintaining large detector signals from each track. The V scan and Gray code outputs are synchronized by the use of an overlapping bit.

Abstract: The circuitry required to obtain a ing that of the quadrature pair, the bits of a multibit binary word are gated with a coarse index taken from the code disc. The multibit binary word includes square waves already available in the multiplier and an additional bit obtained from a logical combination of the pair of quadrature signals.

Abstract: A test assembly is provided for decreasing the skill and time required for aligning the code detector unit with an optical encoder disc. The output signals from the encoder assembly are conditioned to remove DC offset and to balance the amplitudes of the signals. The conditioned signals are used to generate a staircase display on an oscilloscope by weighting the signals and summing them in parallel circuits to provide parallel multiphase signals. Those signals are converted to square waves which are summed to provide the staircase. The timing of the staircase is indicative of the phase relationships of the multiphase signals. The relationship of those signals is in turn dependent on the phase relationship of the output signals from the code detector.