ANGULAR AND LINEAR FLEXURE PLATE ACCELEROMETER
First Claim
1. A dual capacitance accelerometer comprising:
- a housing;
a first flexure plate coupled to said housing and defining a first flex axis;
a second flexure plate fixed within said housing spaced apart from said first flexure plate and defining a second flex axis in parallel relation to said first flex axis;
a rigid plate adjacent to and in substantially parallel relation to said first and second flexure plates, said rigid plate coupled to said housing, said rigid plate and said first flexure plate defining a first distance and said rigid plate and said second flexure plate defining a second distance, wherein said first distance varies in response to acceleration forces acting upon said first flexure plate thereby generating a first frequency signal from said first flexure plate and wherein said second distance varies in response to acceleration forces acting upon said second flexure plate thereby generating a second frequency signal from said second flexure plate; and
a controller receiving said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, said controller generating a linear acceleration signal in response to a fraction of a sum of said first accelerometer signal and said second accelerometer signal, said controller further generating an accelerometer stabilizing controller signal in response to said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, thereby maintaining said first flexure plate and said second flexure plate in a common plane.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An accelerometer system includes a rigid plate system coupled to an inertial platform. A first flexure plate defines a first flex axis and is adjacent to the rigid plate system a first distance from the spin axis. The first flexure plate generates a first frequency signal in response to acceleration of the first flexure plate. A second flexure plate defines a second flex axis and is adjacent to the rigid plate system a second distance from the spin axis. The second flexure plate generates a second frequency signal in response to acceleration of the second flexure plate. A controller including receives the first frequency signal and the second frequency signal and generates an angular acceleration signal from a difference of the first frequency signal and the second frequency signal. The controller also generates a linear acceleration signal in response to an average of the first frequency signal and the second frequency signal. The controller also controls a missile system in response to the first frequency signal and the second frequency signal.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A dual capacitance accelerometer comprising:
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a housing;
a first flexure plate coupled to said housing and defining a first flex axis;
a second flexure plate fixed within said housing spaced apart from said first flexure plate and defining a second flex axis in parallel relation to said first flex axis;
a rigid plate adjacent to and in substantially parallel relation to said first and second flexure plates, said rigid plate coupled to said housing, said rigid plate and said first flexure plate defining a first distance and said rigid plate and said second flexure plate defining a second distance, wherein said first distance varies in response to acceleration forces acting upon said first flexure plate thereby generating a first frequency signal from said first flexure plate and wherein said second distance varies in response to acceleration forces acting upon said second flexure plate thereby generating a second frequency signal from said second flexure plate; and
a controller receiving said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, said controller generating a linear acceleration signal in response to a fraction of a sum of said first accelerometer signal and said second accelerometer signal, said controller further generating an accelerometer stabilizing controller signal in response to said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, thereby maintaining said first flexure plate and said second flexure plate in a common plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for operating an accelerometer system defining a z-spin axis comprising:
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generating a first frequency signal from a first flexure and a rigid plate along a first flex axis;
generating a second frequency signal from a second flexure plate and said rigid plate along a second flex axis parallel to and spaced a distance from said first flex axis;
controlling an inertial platform such that said first flexure plate and said second flexure plate remain in an xz-plane;
averaging said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal; and
generating a linear acceleration signal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An accelerometer system comprising:
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an inertial platform maintaining a minimized rotation in response to a stabilizing controller signal;
a rigid plate system coupled to said inertial platform and defining a reference plane, a spin axis, and a linear acceleration axis, wherein said spin axis is within said reference plane and said linear acceleration axis is perpendicular to said reference plane;
a first flexure plate defining a first flex axis, said first flexure plate adjacent to said rigid plate system a first distance from said spin axis, said first flexure plate generating a first frequency signal in response to acceleration of said first flexure plate;
a second flexure plate defining a second flex axis, said second flexure plate adjacent to said rigid plate system a second distance from said spin axis, said second flexure plate generating a second frequency signal in response to acceleration of said second flexure plate; and
a controller comprising a first frequency control device and a second frequency control device, said controller receiving said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, said first frequency control device generating an angular acceleration signal from a difference of said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, said second frequency control device generating a linear acceleration signal in response to a sum of said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, said controller further generating said stabilizing controller signal in response to said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal, and said controller controlling a missile system in response to said first frequency signal and said second frequency signal. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification