Oscillatory gyroscope

• US 20050062362A1
• Filed: 07/13/2004
• Published: 03/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Solidus Thechnologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Solidus Thechnologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Yang, Hongyuan, Straub, Marc Alan, Miller, Hugh Daniel
• Application Number:
  US10/889,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20050062362A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 310/309
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 2201/18 Machines moving with multiple degrees of freedom
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 1/008 Laterally driven motors, e.g. of the comb-drive type

Abstract

An oscillatory gyroscope has a pair of oscillatory plates that oscillating in a plane. A pedestal is coupled to the pair of oscillatory plates. A pair of sensing capacitors is not in the plane. A pair of opposing flexures may be coupled to the pedestal and to the pair of oscillatory plates.

Claims

1. An oscillatory gyroscope, comprising:

a pair of oscillatory plates, oscillating in a plane;

a single pedestal coupled to the pair of oscillatory plates; and

a pair of sensing capacitors not in the plane.

2. The gyroscope of claim 1, further including a pair of opposing flexures coupled to the pedestal and to the pair of oscillatory plates.

3. The gyroscope of claim 1, wherein a driving mode of the pair of oscillatory plates is linear and a sensing mode of the pair of oscillatory plates is rotational.

4. The gyroscope of claim 3, wherein a drive natural frequency is approximately equal to a sense natural frequency of the pair of oscillatory plates.

5. The gyroscope of claim 1, further including a first comb drive actuator coupled to one of the pair of oscillatory plates and a second comb drive actuator coupled to the other of the pair of oscillatory plates.

6. The gyroscope of claim 5, wherein the first comb drive includes a stationary plate and a movable plate.

7. The gyroscope of claim 6, wherein a drive voltage is applied to the first comb drive.

8. An oscillatory gyroscope, comprising:

a pedestal having a first end attached to a substrate;

a first planar proof mass attached to a second end of the pedestal; and

a second planar proof mass in a same plane as the first planar proof mass attached to the second end of the pedestal.

9. The gyroscope of claim 8, further including a first conductive plate spaced from the first planar proof mass and not in the same plane as the first planar proof mass.

10. The gyroscope of claim 9, further including a second conductive plate spaced from the second planar proof mass and not in the same plane as the second planar proof mass.

11. The gyroscope of claim 10, further including a differential sensor electrically coupled to the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate.

12. The gyroscope of claim 8, further including a first drive actuator acting on the first planar proof mass.

13. The gyroscope of claim 8, wherein the first planar proof mass and the second planar proof mass oscillate in the same plane in a drive mode.

14. The gyroscope of claim 8, wherein a drive natural frequency is approximately equal to a sense natural frequency of the first planar proof mass and the second planar proof mass.

15. An oscillatory gyroscope, comprising:

a pair of oscillatory proof masses having a linear drive mode and a rotational sense mode; and

a pair of electrical sense plates separated from the pair of oscillatory proof masses.

16. The gyroscope of claim 15, wherein a drive natural frequency is approximately equal to a sense natural frequency of the pair of oscillatory proof masses.

17. The gyroscope of claim 16, further including a single mechanical structure that supports both the drive mode and the sensing mode holding the pair of oscillatory proof masses to a substrate.

18. The gyroscope of claim 17, wherein the single mechanical structure includes a pair of flexures coupling the single pedestal to the pair of oscillatory proof masses.

19. The gyroscope of claim 18, further including a pair of drive actuators driving the pair of oscillatory proof masses.

20. The gyroscope of claim 15, further including a differential sensor electrically coupled to the pair of electrical sense plates.