Multiaxial micromachined differential accelerometer

• US 20050140356A1
• Filed: 11/10/2004
• Published: 06/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Rougeot, Claude, Leverrier, Bertrand, Inglese, Jerome
• Granted Patent: US 7,104,128 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 324/162
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/08 with conversion into electric or magnetic values
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/097 by vibratory elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/082 for two degrees of freedom of movement of a single mass

Abstract

The invention relates to a differential accelerometer micromachined in a plane plate, comprising a base and a differential measurement cell which includes a moveable seismic mass and two force sensors that are connected to the mass and to the base. Under the effect of an acceleration along Ox and/or Oy, Ox and Oy being directions orthogonal to the plane of the plate, the seismic mass is capable of undergoing linear displacement along a direction parallel to the acceleration, and has a center of gravity located at the intersection of a plane A1 perpendicular to the plane of the plate and passing through Ox and of a plane A2 perpendicular to the plane of the plate and passing through Oy; a first force sensor comprises, along Ox, two identical detection systems for a differential measurement of the linear displacement along Ox, and associated with each detection system a filtering system connected to the base, and a second force sensor comprises, along Oy, two other identical detection systems for the differential measurement of the linear displacement along Oy, and associated with each detection system a filtering system connected to the base, each filtering system allowing the associated detection system to move along a direction perpendicular to that of its detection without permitting it to move along its detection direction.

Claims

1. A differential accelerometer micromachined in a plane plate, comprising:

a base and a differential measurement cell which includes a moveable seismic mass and two force sensors that are connected to the mass and to the base, wherein, under the effect of an acceleration along Ox and/or Oy, Ox and Oy being directions orthogonal to the plane of the plate, the seismic mass is capable of undergoing linear displacement along a direction parallel to the acceleration, and has a center of gravity located at the intersection of a plane A1 perpendicular to the plane of the plate and passing through Ox and of a plane A2 perpendicular to the plane of the plate and passing through Oy and wherein a first force sensor comprises, along Ox, two identical detection systems for a differential measurement of the linear displacement along Ox, and associated with each detection system a filtering system connected to the base, and a second force sensor comprises, along Oy, two other identical detection systems for a differential measurement of the linear displacement along Oy, and associated with each detection system a filtering system connected to the base, each filtering system allowing the associated detection system to move along a direction perpendicular to that of its detection without permitting it to move along its detection direction.

2. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the planes A1 and A2 are planes of symmetry of the measurement cell.

3. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base and the seismic mass have between them a gap along a direction Oz perpendicular to the plane of the plate, includes means for measuring the variation in the gap between the base and the seismic mass for the purpose of measuring the movement of the mass along Oz.

4. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the base and the seismic mass form a capacitor and wherein the means for measuring the variation in the gap are means for measuring the variation in the capacitance of the capacitor.

5. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the four detection systems are identical.

6. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection system(s) is a resonant or capacitive or piezoelectric system.

7. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 6, wherein the detection system is a resonant system which comprises at least one vibrating beam or two vibrating tuning-fork beams which is or are located along the detection axis.

8. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the detection system(s) is an amplification system for amplifying the force that generates the linear displacement.

9. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 8, wherein the amplification system comprises two rigid terminations and, anchored in these terminations, two vibrating tuning-fork beams located perpendicular to the axis of detection, and two pairs of arms attached, on one side, to the terminations and, on the other side, to the associated filtering system.

10. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filtering systems are placed toward the outside of the measurement cell relative to the detection systems with which they are respectively associated.

11. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filtering systems are placed toward the inside of the measurement cell relative to the detection systems with which they are respectively associated.

12. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the filtering system comprises a body connected, on the one hand, to the associated detection system and, on the other hand at anchoring points to the base via flexure arms that are rigid or quasi-rigid in the detection direction of the detection system and are flexible in the direction perpendicular to that of the detection.

13. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 12, wherein the flexure arms are straight or articulated.

14. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 12, wherein the filtering system comprises four flexure arms.

15. The accelerometer as claimed in claim 13, wherein the filtering system comprises four flexure arms.