Subject:
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The fiber optic motor as an output device
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.robotics
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Date:
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Fri, 2 Jul 1999 13:51:12 GMT
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Viewed:
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761 times
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I have an idea about a not simply decorative usage of the fiber optic "motor"
(that's not the well known fact that it can be used as a sort of rotational
sensor). BTW, as it's definitely not a motor, I'll call that part "fiber
optic rotor".
My idea is based on the fact that we can consider the fiber optic rotor an
output device with eight possible states, so it can represent an octal digit,
0 to 7. You put the fibers in a row or array shape and the one that's lighted
shows the current value. If you have more than one fiber optic rotor you can
set up a larger grid of lights. With two of them we can represent up to 64
different states on a very nice 4x4 array or 2x8. This reminds to me the
"computers" that you see in the 50s or 60s science fiction movies, full of
blinking lights. I like that look :-)
Now we need a way to make that thing rotate.
A very simple use could be to mechanically couple it to some moving parts of
your bot: gearing the things properly your lights can show the position of an
arm, slide or any other moving part.
A more sophisticated use, and the core part of my idea, is to couple the fiber
optic rotor to a true rotation sensor and a (geared down) motor. In this way
you get a true independent output device. Start the motor and stop it when the
rotation sensor reads the value you want to output. Yes I know it's not a very
"cheap" way to output a value: we need an input port, an output port and have
to supply current to the rotor too.
The interesting point comes when we use more than one fiber optic rotors: we
don't have to use a rotation sensor and a motor for each one, but just need to
couple the second rotor to the first one with a 1 to 8 ratio. After the first
rotor passes the value 7 it resets to 0 and the secondary rotor increases by
one.
I don't have a fiber optic rotor now in my hands, and don't remember if it has
a dark area between one position and its next one. This could be a problem, I
mean in this case we need a more complicated connection between the rotors,
like the wheels used in the mechanical calculators.
OK, I admit the whole thing is not very practical. Just a "different" thing.
Mario
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere."
from "Muad'Dib: Family Commentaries" by the Princess Irulan
Dune
Mario Ferrari
e-mail: mario.ferrari@edis.it
web site: http://www.geocities.com/~marioferrari/
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: The fiber optic motor as an output device
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| snip (...) fiber (...) way (...) the (...) very (...) have (...) we (...) to (...) first (...) by (...) This is indeed a very interesting point to it! :) (...) has (...) I (...) And I think this is indeed why your interesting idea won't be very (...) (25 years ago, 15-Jul-99, to lugnet.robotics)
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