Isolated planar gyroscope with internal radial sensing and actuation
First Claim
1. An inertial sensor, comprising:
- a planar mechanical resonator for substantially in-plane vibration and having a central mounting point;
a rigid support for the resonator at the central mounting point;
at least one excitation electrode within an interior of the planar mechanical resonator to excite in-plane vibration of the resonator; and
at least one sensing electrode within the interior of the resonator for sensing the motion of the excited resonator.
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Abstract
The present invention discloses an inertial sensor comprising a planar mechanical resonator with embedded sensing and actuation for substantially in-plane vibration and having a central rigid support for the resonator. At least one excitation or torquer electrode is disposed within an interior of the resonator to excite in-plane vibration of the resonator and at least one sensing or pickoff electrode is disposed within the interior of the resonator for sensing the motion of the excited resonator. In one embodiment, the planar resonator includes a plurality of slots in an annular pattern; in another embodiment, the planar mechanical resonator comprises four masses; each embodiment having a simple degenerate pair of in-plane vibration modes.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. An inertial sensor, comprising:
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a planar mechanical resonator for substantially in-plane vibration and having a central mounting point;
a rigid support for the resonator at the central mounting point;
at least one excitation electrode within an interior of the planar mechanical resonator to excite in-plane vibration of the resonator; and
at least one sensing electrode within the interior of the resonator for sensing the motion of the excited resonator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method producing an inertial sensor, comprising the steps of:
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providing a planar mechanical resonator for substantially in-plane vibration and having a central mounting point;
supporting the resonator at the central mounting point;
providing at least one excitation electrode within an interior of the resonator to excite in-plane vibration of the resonator; and
providing at least one sensing electrode within the interior of the resonator for sensing the motion of the excited resonator. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A resonator for an inertial sensor, comprising:
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a plurality of concentric rings; and
interleaved segments connecting the concentric rings. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification