Abstract
A method for pneumatically generating an arbitrary function is described. The system manufactured on trial consists of a pneumatic sensor, a rotating disk with fan-shaped blocks and a mechanism to drive the disk. The blocks are arranged on the periphery of the disk surface to form an annular ring as a whole, and each level of the upper surface of the blocks on the disk surface can be adjusted separately with a spring and screw assembly, in accordance with the required posisitioning related to the desired functional curve. The pneumatic sensor is a fixed nozzle which is perpendicular to the block upper surfaces, and it is a part of an pneumatic micrometer circuit with other pneumatic components. By rotating the disk at a constant speed, the gap between the nozzle and its counter-face changes, and thus a continuous pressure change analogous to the required function curve generats at the output of the pneumatic circuit. A discussion is given on the generated waveform which depends on the successive gap width, the nozzle size, and on the dynamic characteristics. Based on the similar principle, a pneumatic transducer has been made to generated an arbitrary function pneumatic pressuer by a linear displacement. The paper describes this transducer which employs many rectangular blocks arranged like keys of a piano.
