METHOD OF MEASURING ANGULAR DISPLACEMENTS WITH LASER GYROSCOPE Russian patent published in 2014 - IPC G01C19/64 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: disclosed is a method of measuring angular displacements with a laser gyroscope which includes tuning and operating a laser gyroscope in double-frequency mode at one of orthogonally polarised ring laser modes of the laser gyroscope, dithering by superposing magnetic field onto the active element of the ring laser with elliptical or circular polarisation of radiation in the active element of the ring laser, selecting information on angular displacements from information coming from the ring laser, periodic alternate operation of the ring laser in double-frequency mode on ring laser orthogonal polarisation modes; switching the ring laser to the orthogonal polarisation mode after each operation of the ring laser at any of said modes, wherein the method includes pre-measuring change in voltage across the piezoelectric head of the ring laser which corresponds to switching from a mode with one polarisation sign to the next orthogonal polarisation mode; when measuring angular displacements immediately before the beginning of each switching, disconnecting the perimeter control system from the piezoelectric head of the sensor; further, while voltage from operation at the previous mode is still unchanged at the piezoelectric head, applying an additional previously measured voltage across the piezoelectric head, said additional voltage corresponding to a switch from a mode with one polarisation sign to the next orthogonal polarisation mode, wherein the sign of said additional voltage is defined such that overall voltage is in the region of controlling the perimeter control system; the phase of the perimeter control system is switched to tuning and operation on the orthogonal polarisation mode; the perimeter control system is connected to the piezoelectric head of the sensor at a preselected time or during said switch, after which the perimeter control system automatically completes adjustment of the frequency of the ring laser of the laser gyroscope to the orthogonal polarisation mode.

EFFECT: method considerably reduces errors in angular displacement measurements during polarisation switching by reducing duration of switching.