RESONANT SENSOR MEASUREMENT DEVICE

• US 20130192372A1
• Filed: 01/24/2013
• Published: 08/01/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: COLINET, Eric, Arcamone, Julien, Arndt, Gregory
• Application Number:
  US13/748,836
• Publication Number:
  US 20130192372A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/579
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/0365 the undesired influence being measured using a separate sensor, which produces an influence related signal
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 13/00 Measuring resonant frequency

Abstract

Device for the measurement of at least one physical variable, comprising at least:

• • a first and a second resonant sensor, one of the two resonant sensors being sensitive to a variation of the physical variable to be measured and the other of the two resonant sensors not being sensitive to a variation of the physical variable to be measured;
  • means capable of imposing the same resonant frequency on the first and the second resonant sensors;
  • means of measuring a phase shift between the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors.

Claims

1. A device for the measurement of at least one physical variable, comprising at least:

a first and a second resonant sensor, one of the two resonant sensors being sensitive to a variation of the physical variable to be measured and the other of the two resonant sensors not being sensitive to a variation of the physical variable to be measured;

means capable of imposing a same resonant frequency on the first and the second resonant sensors;

means of measuring a phase shift between the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors;

in which the means capable of imposing the same resonant frequency on the first and the second resonant sensors comprise at least;

two amplifiers, the inputs of which are connected to outputs from the first and the second resonant sensors, and

a phase shift circuit, one input of which is connected to an output of one of the two amplifiers and one output of which is connected to the inputs to the first and second resonant sensors;

or in which the means capable of imposing the same resonant frequency on the first and the second resonant sensors comprise at least;

a differential amplifier comprising a non-inverting input connected to an output of the first resonant sensor, an inverting input connected to an output of the second resonant sensor, an inverting output connected to an input of the first resonant sensor, and a non-inverting output connected to an input of the second resonant sensor, and

a first capacitor connected to the inverting output of the differential amplifier, and a second capacitor connected to the non-inverting output of the differential amplifier;

and when the means of imposing the same resonant frequency onto the first and the second resonant sensors comprise said two amplifiers) and said phase shift circuit, the means of measuring the phase shift between the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors are capable of measuring a phase shift between signals output onto the outputs from the two amplifiers.

2. A measurement device according to claim 1, in which the first and/or second resonant sensors are of the NEMS and/or MEMS type.

3. A measurement device according to claim 1, in which the physical variable that will be measured may be a mass, temperature, acceleration or pressure.

4. A measurement device according to claim 1, also comprising means of calculating a variation of said physical variable from the measured phase shift.

5. A measurement device according to claim 1, also comprising means of calculating a variation of the physical variable using a difference between values of the power supply voltage of the resonant sensors.

6. A measurement device according to claim 5, also comprising means capable of electrically powering one of the two resonant sensors by a power supply signal, the value of which depends on the value of a power supply signal from the other of the two resonant sensors and the phase shift between the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors.

7. A measurement device according to claim 1, in which the measurement means that measure the phase shift between the signals output from the first and the second resonant sensors comprise at least one phase comparator.

8. The method for measuring the variation of at least one physical variable, comprising at least the following steps:

force the oscillation of a first and a second resonant sensor, at the same resonant frequency, one of the two resonant sensors being sensitive to a variation of the physical variable to be measured and the other of the two resonant sensors not being sensitive to the variation of the physical variable to be measured;

measurement of a phase shift between the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors;

and in which the first and the second resonant sensors are put into oscillation at the same resonant frequency, as follows;

by applying the same signal output from a counter reaction loop made with the first or the second resonant sensor to the input of the first and the second resonant sensors, or

by applying a signal output from a counter reaction loop produced with the first and the second resonant sensors to the input of the first and the second resonant sensors respectively, and a differential amplifier to which the output signals from the first and the second resonant sensors are input.