Method of simultaneously and directly generating an angular position and angular velocity measurement in a micromachined gyroscope
First Claim
1. An improvement in a method for controlling a micromachined gyroscope comprising a substrate, a proof mass coupled to the substrate by an isotropic suspension such that the proof mass can move in any direction in a working plane, one or more drive electrodes configured to cause the proof mass to oscillate in the working plane in a precessing elliptical path, and one or more sense electrodes configured to sense the motion of the proof mass in the working plane, the improvement comprising:
- measuring the angle of precession of the elliptical path in the working plane from which an angle of rotation of the gyroscope is determined; and
simultaneously measuring the angular rate of rotation of the gyroscope.
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Abstract
A sensor is fabricated with micron feature sizes capable of simultaneously measuring absolute angles of rotation and angular rotational rates. The measurements are made directly from the position and velocity of the device without the need for electronic integration or differentiation. The device measures angle directly, avoiding the integration of electronic errors and allowing for higher performance in attitude measurement. These performance improvements and flexibility in usage allow for long term attitude sensing applications such as implantable prosthetics, micro-vehicle navigation, structural health monitoring, and long range smart munitions. Through the fabrication of the device using lithographic methods, the device can be made small and in large qualities, resulting in low costs and low power consumption.
16 Citations
26 Claims
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1. An improvement in a method for controlling a micromachined gyroscope comprising a substrate, a proof mass coupled to the substrate by an isotropic suspension such that the proof mass can move in any direction in a working plane, one or more drive electrodes configured to cause the proof mass to oscillate in the working plane in a precessing elliptical path, and one or more sense electrodes configured to sense the motion of the proof mass in the working plane, the improvement comprising:
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measuring the angle of precession of the elliptical path in the working plane from which an angle of rotation of the gyroscope is determined; and
simultaneously measuring the angular rate of rotation of the gyroscope. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An improvement in a method for controlling a MEMS gyroscope comprised of vibrational lumped mass system rigidly attached to a substrate via suspension members which are attached to a proof mass on one end and anchored to the substrate through the anchors, the suspension members allowing isotropic compliance of movement of the proof mass within a working plane while restricting motion along an axis of rotation, electrostatic forces being used for the vibrational actuation of the gyroscope by means of fixed electrodes wherein position and velocity of the proof mass are detected by an output current induced by the motion of the gyroscope, the improvement comprising:
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driving the gyroscope in a mode where the equations of state for detected positions of the proof mass as a function of time form an elliptical orbit which is characterized after time averaging by orbital parameters including an inclination φ
of the elliptical path from a fixed inertial reference frame wherein the rate change of the inclination φ
is physically equal and opposite to the input rotation Ω
of the gyroscope
{dot over (φ
)}=−
Ωand where the magnitude of the inclination φ
is physically equal to the negative angle of rotation of the gyroscope - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An improvement in a micromachined gyroscope comprising a substrate, a proof mass coupled to the substrate by an isotropic suspension such that the proof mass can move in any direction in a working plane, one or more drive electrodes configured to cause the proof mass to oscillate in the working plane in a precessing elliptical path, and one or more sense electrodes configured to sense the motion of the proof mass in the working plane, the improvement comprising:
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means for measuring the angle of precession of the elliptical path in the working plane or an angle of rotation of the gyroscope; and
means for simultaneously measuring the angular rate of rotation of the gyroscope. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An improvement in a MEMS gyroscope comprised of vibrational lumped mass system rigidly attached to a substrate via suspension members which are attached to a proof mass on one end and anchored to the substrate through the anchors, the suspension members allowing isotropic compliance of movement of the proof mass within a working plane while restricting motion along an axis of rotation, electrostatic forces being used for the vibrational actuation of the gyroscope by means of fixed electrodes wherein position and velocity of the proof mass are detected by an output current induced by the motion of the gyroscope, the improvement comprising:
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means for driving the gyroscope in a mode where the equations of state for detected positions of the proof mass as a function of time form an elliptical orbit which is characterized after time averaging by orbital parameters including an inclination φ
of the elliptical path from a fixed inertial reference frame wherein the rate change of the inclination φ
is physically equal and opposite to the input rotation Ω
of the gyroscope
{dot over (φ
)}=−
Ωand where the magnitude of the inclination φ
is physically equal to the negative angle of rotation of the gyroscope - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification