Oscillating Regulator

Oscillating Regulator 

a regulating device with an output regulator that oscillates (vibrates) continuously with a period substantially smaller than the time constant of the regulated object. Oscillating regulator systems are classified according to the nature of the oscillation mode of the control element; in the simplest case this mode is the natural vibration of the regulator system itself. Oscillating regulators are compact and simple in design; they are used extensively in assemblies in which small oscillations around the average value of the regulated variable are permissible.

The most common type of oscillating regulator is the voltage regulator, which contains an electromagnetic relay that has a high resetting ratio. The winding of the relay is connected to the voltage output of a generator. If the generator voltage is lower than a certain value, the normally closed contacts of the relay shunt the resistance in the circuit of the field winding, as a result of which the voltage begins to increase. When it reaches a certain value, the relay operates, its contacts are opened, and the voltage begins to decrease. This results in a release of the relay, the contacts are again opened, and the entire process is repeated. The generator voltage pulsates in the range of the specified average value at a certain frequency. Such oscillating regulators are used for low-power generators—for example, in automobiles and air-craft.

The setting of an oscillating regulator depends on the relay spring tension, the size of the gap in the magnetic system, or the electrical resistance in the circuit of the winding.

The actuating element of an oscillating regulator can also be made to oscillate by an outside device independent of the regulated object.

REFERENCES

Osnovy avtomaticheskogo regulirovaniia: Teoriia. Edited by V. V. Solodovnikov. Moscow, 1954.
Tsypkin, Ia. Z. Teoriia releinykh sistem avtomaticheskogo regulirovaniia. Moscow, 1955.