Micro inertial measurement system

• US 10,732,200 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2018
• Issued: 08/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Inventors: Wang, Tao
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen C
• Application Number:
  US16/189,782
• Publication Number:
  US 20190079113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/022 using dampers and springs in combination
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/04 using elastic means single elements or their attachment F16F1/00 - F16F13/00; F16F15/023, F16F15/03 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/085 Use of both rubber and metal springs
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5783 Mountings or housings not specific to any of the devices covered by groups G01C19/5607 - G01C19/5719
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/02 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/14 by making use of gyroscopes gyroscopes per se G01C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions

Abstract

A micro inertial measurement system includes a housing, a sensing module, and a damper. The sensing module includes a rigid sensing support, a measuring and controlling circuit board mounted on the rigid sensing support and an inertial sensor set on the measuring and controlling circuit board. The inertial sensor includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The sensing module is mounted in the housing. The damper is mounted in the housing and set in the gap between the sensing module and the inside wall of the housing. By use of the above-mentioned structure, the noise immunity of the inertial measuring system can be greatly improved, and the volume and weight of the inertial measuring system can be greatly reduced.

Claims

1. An inertial measurement device, the device comprising:

a sensing module comprising a support and a measuring circuit board;

a housing containing the sensing module; and

one or more damping units arranged between the sensing module and the housing,

wherein the measuring circuit board comprises three gyroscope circuit boards, each of the three gyroscope circuit boards comprises a front surface configured to support a gyroscope and a back surface opposite the front surface, and

wherein the support comprises a plurality of external surfaces facing away from one another, the front surface of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards is coupled to and facing a corresponding external surface of the plurality of external surfaces with the gyroscope embedded within a groove on the corresponding external surface, each of the one or more damping units being in contact with the back surface of one of the three gyroscope circuit boards.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the measuring circuit board is a flexible circuit board.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein the support comprises a cube-shaped structure comprising six external surfaces.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the flexible circuit board comprises six panels and wherein each of the six panels substantially covers an external surface of the six external surfaces of the support when the flexible circuit board is folded.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the measuring circuit board comprises an accelerometer circuit board configured to support an accelerometer, the accelerometer circuit board is coupled to another external surface of the plurality of external surfaces with the accelerometer embedded within a groove on the another external surface.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the measuring circuit board comprises an anti-aliasing circuit and an A/D switching circuit, each of the anti-aliasing circuit and the A/D switching circuit is coupled to another external surface of the plurality of external surfaces with electrical components supported by the anti-aliasing circuit and the A/D switching circuit embedded within a groove on the another external surface.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the back surface of the each of the three gyroscope circuit boards does not support any electrical components.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the three gyroscope circuit boards is further configured to support an accelerometer.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more damping units are arranged relative to the sensing module such that an elastic center of the one or more damping units substantially coincides with a centroid of the sensing module.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the one or more damping units comprise six damping units, each of the six damping units arranged between the sensing module and the housing.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein a shape of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards is congruent to a shape of the corresponding external surface of the support.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the support is manufactured using an integral forming process.

13. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:

a sensing module comprising a support and a measuring circuit board;

a housing containing the sensing module; and

one or more damping units arranged between the sensing module and the housing;

wherein the measuring circuit board is configured to generate a signal indicative of a rotation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and comprises three gyroscope circuit boards, each of the three gyroscope circuit boards comprises a front surface configured to support a gyroscope and a back surface opposite the front surface, and

wherein the support comprises a plurality of external surfaces facing away from one another, the front surface of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards is coupled to and facing a corresponding external surface of the plurality of external surfaces with the gyroscope embedded within a groove on the corresponding external surface, each of the one or more damping units being in contact with the back surface of one of the three gyroscope circuit boards.

14. The UAV of claim 13, further comprising a control computer operably coupled to the measuring circuit board and configured to receive and process the signal in order to determine the rotation of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

15. A method for fabricating an inertial measurement device, comprising:

providing a support comprising a plurality of external surfaces; and

providing a measuring circuit board comprising three gyroscope circuit boards, each of the three gyroscope circuit boards comprises a front surface configured to support a gyroscope and a back surface opposite the front surface;

coupling the front surface of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards respectively to a corresponding external surface of the plurality of external surfaces by embedding the gyroscope within a groove on the external surface, thereby forming a sensing module with the front surface of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards facing the corresponding external surface of the support; and

arranging one or more damping units on the back surface of each of the three gyroscope circuit boards, so as to position the damping units between the sensing module and a housing containing the sensing module.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the measuring circuit board further comprises an accelerometer circuit board configured to support an accelerometer, and wherein the method further comprises coupling the accelerometer circuit board to another external surface of the plurality of external surfaces by embedding the accelerometer supported by the accelerometer circuit board within a groove on the another external surface.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the measuring circuit board comprises an anti-aliasing circuit and an A/D switching circuit, and the method further comprises coupling the anti-aliasing circuit and the A/D switching circuit respectively to another external surface of the plurality of external surfaces by embedding electrical components supported by the anti-aliasing circuit and the A/D switching circuit within a groove on the another external surface.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising mounting the housing onto an unmanned aerial vehicle.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the support comprises a cube-shaped structure comprising six external surfaces.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the measuring circuit board is a flexible circuit board.