ANGULAR VELOCITY SENSOR

• US 20130000404A1
• Filed: 06/25/2012
• Published: 01/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: KATSUMATA, Takashi, HIGUCHI, Hirofumi
• Granted Patent: US 8,794,069 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/504.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5712 the devices involving a micromechanical structure

Abstract

An angular velocity sensor includes a vibrator, a support substrate, an anchor section, a connection beam section, a driving section, and a detection section. The vibrator includes an inner vibrator and an outer vibrator, which vibrate in opposite circumferential directions when driven by the driving section. The connection beam section couples the vibrator to the anchor section, and is elastic in a z-direction and a circumferential direction. The connection beam section includes first connection beams, each of which is coupled to the outer vibrator at one end and is coupled to the inner vibrator at the other end, and second connection beams, each of which is coupled to a vibration node of a corresponding first connection beam at one end and is coupled to the anchor section at the other end.

Claims

1. An angular velocity sensor comprising:

a vibrator arranged on a x-y plane defined by an x-direction and a y-direction perpendicular to each other, the vibrator including an outer vibrator having an annular plane shape on the x-y plane and an inner vibrator having an annular plane shape on the x-y plane, the inner vibrator arranged in a region surrounded by an inner surface of the outer vibrator;

a support substrate arranged apart from the vibrator in a z-direction perpendicular to the x-y plane;

an anchor section extending from the support substrate to the x-y plane on which the vibrator is arranged;

a connection beam section coupling the vibrator to the anchor section, the connection beam section having an elasticity in the z-direction and an elasticity in an circumferential direction around the z-direction;

a driving section vibrating the vibrator in the circumferential direction; and

a detection section detecting a displacement of the vibrator in the z-direction,

wherein the connection beam section includes a plurality of first connection beams and a plurality of second connection beams, each of the first connection beams is coupled to the inner surface of the outer vibrator at one end and is coupled to an outer surface of the inner vibrator at the other end, each of the second connection beams is coupled to a corresponding one of the first connection beams at one end and is coupled to the anchor section at the other end,

wherein the driving section vibrates the inner vibrator and the outer vibrator in opposite circumferential directions to perform a coupled vibration, and

wherein the one end of each of the second connection beams is coupled to a vibration node of the corresponding one of the first connection beams, and the vibration node is a point that has no vibration during the coupled vibration performed by the inner vibrator and the outer vibrator.

2. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein the inner vibrator and the outer vibrator are arranged concentrically.

3. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein a distance between the inner surface of the outer vibrator and the outer surface of the inner vibrator is constant, and

wherein the inner vibrator is coupled with the outer vibrator via the first connection beams.

4. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein each of the first connection beams has two side surfaces along the z-direction, and

wherein two of the second connection beams are respectively coupled to the two side surfaces of the corresponding one of the first connection beams.

5. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein each of the first connection beams has a straight shape perpendicular to the inner surface of the outer vibrator and the outer surface of the inner vibrator.

6. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 5,

wherein each of the second connection beams includes:

a first sub-beam having a rectangular planar shape on the x-y plane and longitudinally parallel to the corresponding one of the first connection beams;

a second sub-beam having a rectangular planar shape on the x-y plane and longitudinally parallel to the corresponding one of the first connection beams;

a rigid member having a higher rigidity than the first sub-beam and the second sub-beam; and

a third sub-beam having a rectangular planar shape on the x-y plane and longitudinally perpendicular to the corresponding one of the first connection beams,

wherein the rigid member includes a plumb sub-member, a first protruded sub-member, and two second protruded sub-members arranged in such a manner that the plum sub-member is longitudinally parallel to the corresponding one of the first connection beams, the first protruded sub-member is protruded from a center point of the plumb sub-member in a direction being apart from the corresponding one of the first connection beams, and the two second protruded sub-members are respectively protruded from two ends of the plumb sub-member in a direction approaching to the corresponding one of the first connection beams,

wherein two ends of the first sub-beams, which correspond to the other end of each of the second connection beams, are coupled to the anchor section, and a center point of the first sub-beam is coupled to the first protruded sub-member,

wherein the second sub-beam is coupled to the two second protruded sub-members at two ends, respectively, and

wherein one end of the third sub-beam is coupled to a center point of the second sub-beam, and the other end of the third sub-beam, which corresponds to the one end of each of the second connection beams, is coupled to the vibration node of the corresponding one of the first connection beams.

7. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 5,

wherein each of the second connection beams includes:

a fourth sub-beam having a rectangular planar shape on the x-y plane and longitudinally perpendicular to the corresponding one of the first connection beams;

a fifth sub-beam having a rectangular planar shape on the x-y plane and longitudinally perpendicular to the corresponding one of the first connection beams;

a sixth sub-beam having a U-shape with straight corners on the x-y plane, the sixth sub-beam having two ends arranged apart from the corresponding one of the first connection beams;

a seventh sub-beam having a U-shape with straight corners on the x-y plane, the seventh sub-beam having two ends arranged apart from the corresponding one of the first connection beams, the seventh sub-beam having a length greater than a length of the sixth sub-beam such that the sixth sub-beam is arranged in a region surrounded by the seventh sub-beam; and

two eighth sub-beams having rectangular planar shapes on the x-y plane, one of the two eighth sub-beams coupling one end of the sixth sub-beam to one end of the seventh sub-beam, and the other of the two eight sub-beams coupling the other end of the sixth sub-beam to the other end of the seventh sub-beam,

wherein one end of the fourth sub-beam apart from the corresponding one of the first connection beams, which corresponds to the other end of each of the second connection beams, is coupled to the anchor section,

wherein the other end of the fourth sub-beam near the corresponding one of the first connection beams, is coupled to a center point of the sixth sub-beam,

wherein one end of the fifth sub-beam apart from the corresponding one of the first connection beams is coupled to a center point of the seventh sub-beam, and

wherein the other end of the fifth sub-beam near the corresponding one of the first connection beams, which corresponds to the one end of each of the second connection beams, is coupled to the vibration node of the corresponding one of the first connection beams.

8. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein the driving section includes a flexible driving electrode section and a fixed driving electrode section, the flexible driving electrode section is coupled to the vibrator, and the fixed driving electrode section is coupled to the support substrate and is arranged facing the flexible driving electrode section in a direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction.

9. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 8,

wherein the flexible driving electrode section is coupled to the inner vibrator and the outer vibrator.

10. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 8,

wherein the flexible driving electrode section is coupled to only one of the inner vibrator and the outer vibrator.

11. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1,

wherein the detection section includes a plurality of first detectors, and

wherein each of the first detectors includes:

a first flexible detection electrode arranged on the x-y plane;

a connection member having an elasticity in the z-direction and coupling the first flexible detection electrode to the vibrator; and

a first fixed detection electrode attached to the support substrate and facing the first flexible detection electrode in the z-direction.

12. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 11,

wherein the first detection section includes two first flexible detection electrodes arranged facing each other in the x-direction across the vibrator.

13. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 12,

wherein the first detection section includes two first flexible detection electrodes arranged facing each other in the y-direction across the vibrator.

14. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 12,

wherein the connection beam section has a smaller elastic modulus in the z-direction than the connection member of each of the first detectors such that the connection beam section is more likely to be distorted in the z-direction than the connection member of each of the first detectors.

15. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, further comprising

another detection section having a plurality of second detectors detecting a displacement of the vibrator in a direction perpendicular to the z-direction,

wherein each of the second detectors includes a second flexible detection electrode coupled to the vibrator and a second fixed detection electrode attached to the support substrate, and the second flexible detection electrode faces the second fixed detection electrode in the direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction.

16. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, further comprising

a monitor section that monitors a vibration state of the vibrator,

wherein the monitor section includes a flexible monitor electrode section coupled to the vibrator and a fixed monitor electrode section attached to the support substrate, the flexible monitor electrode section faces the fixed monitor electrode section in the direction perpendicular to the circumferential direction.