Rapid assembly and disassembly o-ring instrument mount for fiber optic gyroscopes

Abstract

A temporary latchable or clasping interengageable interconnection mechanism is provided for an optical gyroscope assembly (,) to enable it to be rapidly and non-harmfully assembled and disassembled prior to a more durable interconnection, to facilitate repair and rework. The assembly includes a fiber optic spool (,), an inner shield (,) and an outer shield (,), which are formed of a stress-annealed magnetically permeable, and generally malleable material. Should the assembly be dropped, bent or dented, their magnetic shielding properties will be compromised, which is the harm to be avoided by the temporary interconnection. Accordingly, the fiber optic spool (,) and the inner shield (,) are temporarily interconnectable with the outer shield (,) and its spacer ring (,) by interengageable elements having the ability to latch or clasp the shield and the spacer ring together to prevent or, at a minimum, resist disassembly therebetween. The temporary interconnection includes grooves (,) respectively in a tubular wall (,) of the spool and in a corresponding element in the spacer ring. An O-ring (,) is positioned in the grooves, and provides easy assembly and disassembly. The O-ring also serves to center the inner shield within the outer shield to establish a concentric relationship between the two, to avoid a radial metal-to-metal contact therebetween, and to mitigate against chattering which otherwise would affect the fidelity of the gyroscope output.