Honeywell G.m.b.h.

John W Miller

Werner H Egli

Jeffrey M Setterholm

Roger N Schmidt

Melvin F Mittelmark

A fluid-powered auxiliary starting system for electric motors is disclosed which includes an accumulator means for supplying an amount of fluid at high pressure to a fluid-operated motor and a clutch of similar device for connecting the output shaft of the fluid-operated motor to transfer rotational torque to the shaft of the prime mover motor to be started. The system may be either hydraulic or pneumatic and may be used to bring one or more electric motors substantially up to spaced before electric power is applied to the motors themselves. The same motor or a hydraulic or pneumatic pump may be used to recharge the accumulator between uses for electric motor starting.

Auxiliary starting for electric motors

An orthogonally related target point array is provided in fixed relationship to an object. A photo detector image plane obtains images of the target points projected through a lens located a fixed distance from the image plane. Simple algebraic manipulation of image plane position coordinates of the images corresponding to the target points provides for the establishment of a vector replica of the target point array. The vector replica, in turn, is sufficient data to provide spatial information about the object including position and orientation information with full six-degrees-of-freedom.

Method and apparatus for determining location and orientation of objects

A target plane in fixed relationship to an object provides a first triad of three collinear target points which lie on a first line projection and a second triad of target points which lie on a second line projection which is in nonalignment with the first triad. A photo detector image plane obtains images of the target points projected on the image plane through a lens located a fixed distance from the image plane. Simple algebraic manipulation of image plane position coordinates of the images corresponding to the target points provides for the establishment of vector replicas of the position of the target points. The vector replicas, in turn, are sufficient data to provide spatial information about the object including position and oriention information with full six-degrees-of-freedom.

A system for monitoring the attitude of an object with respect to a fixed based without any material connection to the object, comprising imaging apparatus mounted on the base so that a surface of the object is in the field of view, targets on the surface of such spaced sites, remote from the imaging apparatus that the apparatus images the targets in relative positions determined by the locations of the sites, and computing apparatus determining from changes in the relative positions of the images the causative changes in the attitude of the object with respect to the base.

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Saint Paul, MN, United States of America

John W Miller