Patent ID: 8798450

Claim:
A gimbal ball, comprising: an inner gimbal; first and second motor magnets mounted to the inner gimbal; an outer shell rotatably connected around the inner gimbal and extending to the far periphery of the gimbal ball; an intermediate gimbal disposed between the inner gimbal and the outer shell; and first and second motor coils mounted to the outer shell without any intermediate shells separating the first motor coil and second motor coil from the outer shell; wherein the first motor magnet and first motor coil are collectively configured to rotate the inner gimbal relative to the outer shell about a first axis, and the second motor magnet and second motor coil are collectively configured to rotate the inner gimbal relative to the outer shell about a second axis; wherein mounting of the motor coils to the outer shell is configured to facilitate heat transfer away from the first and second motor coils by heat transfer across the shell; wherein the intermediate gimbal is rotatably connected around the inner gimbal, and the outer shell is rotatably connected around the intermediate gimbal; and wherein the first motor magnet and first motor coil are collectively configured to rotate the inner gimbal and the intermediate gimbal relative to the outer shell about a first axis, and the second motor magnet and second motor coil are collectively configured to rotate the inner gimbal relative to the outer shell about a second axis while leaving the intermediate gimbal in a fixed orientation.