Ball-disk rotor gyroscope adaptive quick-start technique

Rotating speed is a critical parameter affecting the performance of rotor gyroscopes. Rotor gyroscopes must operate at the rated rotating speed. To shorten the start time of the ball-disk rotor gyroscope, this paper presents a new design of the drive system for a ball-disk rotor gyroscope. The drive system is monitored by a microcontroller. First, the microcontroller generates a sine pulse width modulation signal to drive the permanent magnet rotor. Second, the position of the rotor is detected according to the back electromotive force in the non-energized coil. Third, a piecewise closed-loop control algorithm is implemented to keep the angular acceleration of the rotor within the safe range automatically during the acceleration process and when running at a constant speed. This control algorithm can avoid rotor stalling due to loss of steps. Experimental result shows that with the help of adaptive quick-start technique, the start time of the device can be shortened by up to 36.6%.