Abstract: A thin plate-like rotor is mounted on a hub which in turn is attached to the shaft of a motor which drives the rotor at a predetermined rotational speed about a spin axes. A framework is provided for mounting the motor. The rotor has a damping face and an opposite signal face. A damping plate is mounted on the hub in close spaced relation with the damping face. A spring member is disposed between the hub and the rotor so that the rotor is free to move in restrained rotational fashion about one diameter of the rotor. Surrounding air is pumped through the space between the damping face and the damping plate to provide damping of the motion of the rotor about the one diameter. Pickoffs are mounted in the framework in close spaced relation to the signal face of the rotor. The pickoffs provide output indicative of the spacing between the signal face and the pickoffs which corresponds to angular velocity inputs about the separate axes disposed orthogonally with the spin axes.

Abstract: A circuit for providing an oscillatory driving signal from the point in time when power is supplied to a predetermined point in time thereafter. A force balance transducer having a pick-off device with a stationary member and a moving member mechanically mounted for movement relative to the stationary member is disposed to sense a predetermined physical quantity and to produce an output relative thereto. A force producing device is coupled to the moving member for receiving the output and for driving the moving member to a predetermined neutral position. The transducer is actuated by a source of electrical power and contains a gating circuit, an astable multi-vibrator and a coupling circuit. The gating circuit is actuated by initial application of the electrical power to the transducer and actuates the astable multivibrator for a predetermined period of time.

Abstract: A high frequency pickoff is disclosed having two spaced inductors electrically connected in series and a capacitor connected in parallel with the inductors, thereby forming a parallel resonant circuit. A conducting member is mounted for motion in the space between the two inductors. A pair of transistors are mounted in push/pull configuration to alternately connect first one end and then the other of the resonant circuit to a source of electrical energy. The source disclosed is a current source for matching the high impedance of the parallel resonant circuit. When the electrical energy is switched at substantially the resonant frequency of the parallel circuit, differential motion of the conducting member relative to the inductors provides differential amplitude output at the frequency of resonance of electrically opposed ends of the resonant circuit.