British Aerospace Public Limited Company

Diana M Hodgins

Malcolm P Varnham

Timothy S Norris

James McInnes

Huw D Thomas

Charles Day

Hugh D Thomas

George J Homewood

A method of and apparatus for scale factor compensation for piezo-electric rate sensors maintains the magnitude of vibration at a primary pick-off point substantially constant to enable one of the variables of a vibrating structure--the piezo-electric charge coefficient .beta. to be determined, and thereby enables variation of the scale factor of the sensor from a calibrated value to be determined. This enables correction of the sensor output by a computational scale factor control unit to ensure that the output therefrom allows for a more accurate sensor. Thus, sensors are provided for applications requiring a higher degree of accuracy than they were previously able to provide for.

Scale factor compensation for piezo-electric rate sensors

A vibrating planar ring or hoop-like structure is disclosed. The structure is suspended in space by a suitable support mount for detecting turning rate, linear acceleration and angular acceleration. Turning rate is sensed by detecting vibrations coupled by Coriolis forces, whereas linear acceleration and angular acceleration are sensed by lateral, vertical and rocking movement of the entire ring or hoop-like structure within its mount.

Vibrating planar gyro

This invention relates to a single axis solid state attitude sensor in which, the spatial orientation of a resonant rode on a resonant body is maintained in alignment with the inertial angle K8 of the resonant body.

Single axis attitude sensor

A cooling arrangement for electronic components mounted in racking systems in which access to the components is gained by moving a rack with reference to its supporting structure comprises a thin-walled cooling chamber of shallow depth carried by a fixed structure and arranged to be urged against and to conform with a wall of the rack, a pressurized liquid coolant being passed through the cooling chamber in the form of a lamina flow sheet to provide efficient cooling, the chamber being urged into its conformal position by an expandable chamber which is itself expanded by the pressurized coolant. Coolant is firstly used to expand the expandable chamber and then is ducted from that chamber into the cooling chamber from which it exits for subsequent recycling.

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Stevenage, United Kingdom

Diana M Hodgins