Inertia measurement module and triaxial accelerometer

• US 10,473,686 B2
• Filed: 07/23/2015
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Weifang Goertek Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (Goertek Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Goertek Incorporated
• Inventors: Zhang, Tingkai
• Primary Examiner(s): Macchiarolo, Peter J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Campbell, Irving A
• Application Number:
  US15/538,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20170363655A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 7351432
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0814 for translational movement of the mass, e.g. shuttle type
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/082 for two degrees of freedom of movement of a single mass
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0831 the mass being of the paddle type having the pivot axis between the longitudinal ends of the mass, e.g. see-saw configuration

Abstract

An inertia measurement module and three-axis accelerometer, comprising a first pole piece (4) located on a substrate and a mass block (1) suspendingly connected above the substrate via elastic beams (11, 12); the elastic beams (11, 12) includes a first elastic beam (12) and a second elastic beam (11), two ends of the second elastic beams (11) being connected to an anchor point (6) of the substrate, two ends of the first elastic beam (11) being connected to the mass block (1); a center of the first elastic beam (12) and/or the second elastic beam (11) deviates from a center of gravity of the mass block (1); the mass block (1) is further provided with a first movable electrode (9) and a second movable electrode (10) in a Y-axis and an X-axis direction; the movement of one axis in a plane of the inertia measurement module cannot be affected by an eccentric structure feature, such that both X-axis movement and Y-axis movement are linear movements, thus not intensifying an inter-axis coupling, and also not reducing displacement of a mass block on the X-axis and the Y-axis, thus improving capacitance detection precision.

Claims

1. A triaxial accelerometer, comprising:

two structurally symmetric inertial measurement modules; and

a connecting beam for connecting mass blocks in the two inertial measurement modules,

wherein each one of the two inertial measurement modules comprises;

a substrate;

a first pole piece, as a lower electrode, located on the substrate;

a mass block suspended above the substrate, an upper electrode for forming a Z-axis detection capacitor with the first pole piece being arranged on the mass block; and

elastic beams configured to connect the substrate with the mass block, wherein the elastic beams comprise a first elastic beam located in the X-axis direction and a second elastic beam located in the Y-axis direction and cross-connected with the first elastic beam;

two ends of the second elastic beam are connected with anchor points on the substrate and two ends of the first elastic beam are connected with the mass block, or the two ends of the first elastic beam are connected with the anchor points on the substrate and the two ends of the second elastic beam are connected with the mass block;

the center(s) of the first elastic beam and/or the second elastic beam are/is deviated from the gravity center of the mass block,

wherein the mass block is further provided with a first movable electrode and a second movable electrode in the Y-axis and X-axis directions, respectively; and

the substrate is provided with a first fixed electrode configured to form a Y-axis detection capacitor with the first movable electrode, and a second fixed electrode configured to form an X-axis detection capacitor with the second movable electrode,

wherein the connecting beam comprises transverse beams located in the X-axis direction, and longitudinal beams located in the Y-axis direction;

one end of the longitudinal beam is connected with the corresponding transverse beam, and the other end thereof is connected with the side wall of the corresponding mass block;

and the longitudinal beams and the second elastic beams are in the same straight line, and

wherein the first elastic beam is located on the center line in the X-axis direction of the mass block, and the second elastic beam is deviated from the center line in the Y-axis direction of the mass block.

2. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 1, wherein there are two first elastic beams symmetrically distributed along the center line in the X-axis direction of the mass block, and the second elastic beams are deviated from the center line in the Y-axis direction of the mass block.

3. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 1, further comprising:

reinforcing beams for connecting the two transverse beams,

wherein the second elastic beams in the two inertial measurement modules are symmetrically distributed with respect to the reinforcing beams.

4. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 3, wherein:

two reinforcing beams are provided parallel to each other, and

the two reinforcing beams and the transverse beams form a rectangular frame.

5. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 4, further comprising a cant beam located in the rectangular frame.

6. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 1, wherein:

the first elastic beams of at least one of the two structurally symmetric inertial measurement modules are deviated from center lines in the X-axis direction of the mass blocks; and

the triaxial accelerometer further comprises reinforcing beams for connecting the two transverse beams, wherein the second elastic beams in the two inertial measurement modules are symmetrically distributed with respect to the reinforcing beams.

7. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 6, wherein there are two reinforcing beams parallel to each other, and the two reinforcing beams and the transverse beams form a rectangular frame.

8. The triaxial accelerometer of claim 6, wherein there are two reinforcing beams parallel to each other, and the two reinforcing beams and the transverse beams form a rectangular frame.

9. A triaxial accelerometer comprising:

two structurally symmetric inertial measurement modules each comprising;

a substrate;

a first pole piece, as a lower electrode, located on the substrate;

a mass block suspended above the substrate, an upper electrode for forming a Z-axis detection capacitor with the first pole piece being arranged on the mass block; and

elastic beams configured to connect the substrate with the mass block, wherein the elastic beams comprise a first elastic beam located in the X-axis direction and a second elastic beam located in the Y-axis direction and cross-connected with the first elastic beam;

two ends of the second elastic beam are connected with anchor points on the substrate and two ends of the first elastic beam are connected with the mass block, or the two ends of the first elastic beam are connected with the anchor points on the substrate and the two ends of the second elastic beam are connected with the mass block;

the center(s) of the first elastic beam and/or the second elastic beam are/is deviated from the gravity center of the mass block,

wherein the mass block is further provided with a first movable electrode and a second movable electrode in the Y-axis and X-axis directions, respectively; and

the substrate is provided with a first fixed electrode configured to form a Y-axis detection capacitor with the first movable electrode, and a second fixed electrode configured to form an X-axis detection capacitor with the second movable electrode,

wherein the first elastic beams of each of the two structurally symmetric inertial measurement modules is deviated from center lines in the X-axis direction of the mass blocks;

a connecting beam for connecting two sides of the mass blocks in the two inertial measurement modules, respectively, the connecting beam comprising transverse beams located in the X-axis direction and longitudinal beams located in the Y-axis direction, one end of the longitudinal beam being connected with the corresponding transverse beam, and the other end thereof being connected with the side wall of the corresponding mass block; and

reinforcing beams for connecting the two transverse beams, wherein the second elastic beams in the two inertial measurement modules are symmetrically distributed with respect to the reinforcing beams.