Measurement Device and Method for Measuring

• US 20140005975A1
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno
• Original Assignee: Nederlandse Organisatie Voor Toegepast-Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek Tno
• Inventors: Ruizenaar, Marcel Gregorius Anthonius
• Granted Patent: US 9,441,966 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 15/00 Surveying instruments or accessories not provided for in groups G01C1/00 - G01C13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/38 Testing, calibrating, or compensating of compasses
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/00 Gyroscopes; Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses; Turn-sensitive devices without moving masses; Measuring angular rate using gyroscopic effects
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/56 Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses, e.g. vibratory angular rate sensors based on Coriolis forces
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5776 Signal processing not specific to any of the devices covered by groups G01C19/5607 - G01C19/5719
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/005 initial alignment, calibration or starting-up of inertial devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/08 with conversion into electric or magnetic values
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 21/00 Testing or calibrating of apparatus or devices covered by the preceding groups

Abstract

A measuring device is disclosed for measuring a vectorial physical quantity (x), comprising a first and a second sensor (S1, S2), an actuator (M2), a noise extraction unit (NX) and a low frequency noise estimator (LF). The first and a second sensor (S1, S2) are arranged for measuring a component of the vectorial physical quantity (x), and for generating a respective sense signal (y1, y2). The sensors have an Allan variance curve with a minimum value for a particular integration time Tmin, said Allan variance curve having a first tangent line to a portion of the curve for which the integration time approaches 0, and having a second, horizontal, tangent line of constant standard deviation corresponding to said Allan minimum value, said first and said second tangent line having an intersection point for a second particular integration time. The low frequency noise estimator (LF) estimates a low frequency noise component from the difference signal (r) and from information about the relative rotation (a) between the sensors and generates an estimated noise signal (n1) indicative for the estimated value of said noise component. The low frequency noise estimator has an effective integration time that is at least two times a sample time with which the sense signals are obtained, which effective integration time is less than the smallest particular integration time of the sensors comprised in the measuring device and which effective integration time is at most two times said second integration time.

Claims

1. Measuring device for measuring a vectorial physical quantity (x), comprising

at least a first and a second sensor (S1, S2) each arranged for measuring a component of the vectorial physical quantity (x), and for generating a respective sense signal (y1, y2), said sense signals each including a first part indicative for the component of the measured quantity (x) and a second, noise part, said sensors having an Allan variance curve with a minimum value for a particular integration time Tmin, said Allan variance curve having a first tangent line to a portion of the curve for which the integration time approaches 0, and having a second, horizontal, tangent line of constant standard deviation corresponding to said Allan minimum value, said first and said second tangent line having an intersection point for a second particular integration time,

an actuator (M2) for causing a relative rotation between said at least a first and a second sensor,

a noise extraction unit (NX) for receiving the sense signals (y1, y2) and for providing a difference signal (r) indicative for a weighted difference between the sense signals (y1, y2), said weighted difference being substantially independent of the vectorial physical quantity (x), said noise extraction unit (NX) comprising,

a signal weighting unit (SW) for weighting the sense signals (y1, y2) dependent on the relative rotation, and for providing mutually weighted sense signals (y1r, y2), the signal weighting unit having at least one multiplication unit for multiplying one of the sense signals with a weighting factor,

a signal compensation unit (SC), for receiving the mutually weighted sense signals (y1r, y2) from the signal weighting unit, and for providing a difference signal (r) indicative for a difference between the mutually weighted sense signals,

a low frequency noise estimator (LF) for estimating a low frequency noise component from the difference signal (r) and from information about the relative rotation (a) between the sensors and for generating an estimated noise signal (n1) indicative for the value of said noise component, said low frequency noise estimator having an effective integration time, which is at least two times a sample time with which the sense signals are obtained, which effective integration time is less than the smallest particular integration time of the sensors comprised in the measuring device and which effective integration time is at most two times said second integration time,

a correction unit (NC) for receiving the estimated noise signal and the output signal (y1) of one of the sensors and for providing an output signal (x1) indicative for a sensed value of the vectorial physical quantity corrected for the noise as estimated by said low frequency noise estimator.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the effective integration time is less than or equal to said second integration time.

3. Measuring device according to claim 1, comprising a respective actuator (M1, M2) and a respective signal rotation unit (R1, R2) for each of the sensors (S1, S2), wherein the signal weighting unit (R1) for the first sensor (S1) mathematically inverts the rotation caused to the first component of the first signal by the rotation of the actuator (R1) for said first sensor, and wherein the signal weighting unit (R2) for the second sensor (S2) mathematically inverts the rotation caused to the first component of the second sense signal by the rotation of the actuator (R2) for said second sensor.

4. Measuring device according to claim 1, having a reference frame, wherein the first sensor (S1) is fixed with respect to said reference frame, and provided with an actuator (M2) for rotating the second sensor (S2) with respect to the reference frame, and with a signal weighting unit (R2) for mathematically inverting the rotation caused to the first component of the second signal by the rotation of the actuator (R2) for said second sensor.

5. Measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the low-frequency noise estimator is a least squares estimator, wherein the effective integration time is the duration of a time-frame wherein a sequence of samples is obtained used for estimating the low frequency noise component.

6. Measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the low-frequency noise estimator is a Kalman filter with a turn-over frequency Fc, the effective integration time being 1/Fc.

7. Measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the low-frequency noise estimator is a Kalman filter with system covariance matrix being a unity matrix with scale factor k_Q, and a noise covariance matrix being a unity matrix with scale factor k_R, the effective integration time being the product of the sample time Ts and the square root of the ratio defined by the noise covariance matrix k_R divided by the system covariance scale factor k_Q.

8. Measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator (M2) is arranged for causing a continuous relative rotation between said at least a first and a second sensor.

9. Measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator (M2) is arranged for causing a stepwise relative rotation between a plurality of mutually different angular positions.

10. Measuring device according to claim 9, the plurality of mutually different angular positions differ from each other by an angle in the range from 40 to 140 degrees.

11. Measuring device according to claim 10, wherein the plurality of angular positions is two, and these angular positions differ by 90 degrees.

12. Measuring method for measuring a vectorial physical quantity (x), comprising

measuring a component of the vectorial physical quantity (x) with at least a first and a second sensor (S1, S2) therewith generating a respective sense signal (y1, y2,) respectively, said sense signals each including a first part indicative for the component of the measured quantity (x) and a second, noise part, said sensors having an Allan variance curve with a minimum value for a particular integration time Tmin, said Allan variance curve having a first tangent line to a portion of the curve for which the integration time approaches 0, and having a second, horizontal, tangent line of constant standard deviation corresponding to said Allan minimum value, said first and said second tangent line having an intersection point for a second particular integration time,

causing a relative rotation between said at least a first and a second sensor,

providing a difference signal (r) indicative for a weighted difference between the sense signals (y1, y2), said weighted difference being substantially independent of the vectorial physical quantity (x), comprising the steps of

weighting the sense signals (y1, y2) dependent on the relative rotation to provide mutually weighted sense signals (y1r, y2), the signal weighting unit having at least one multiplication unit for multiplying one of the sense signals with a weighting factor,

providing a difference signal (r) indicative for a difference between the mutually weighted sense signals (y1r, y2),

estimating a correlated low frequency noise component from the difference signal (r) and from information about the relative rotation (α

) between the sensors and for generating an estimated noise signal (n) indicative for the estimated value of said noise component, said low frequency noise estimation having an associated effective integration time that is at least two times a sample time with which the sense signals are obtained, which effective integration time is less than the smallest particular integration time of the sensors comprised in the measuring device and which effective integration time is at most two times said second integration time,

providing an output signal (x1) indicative for a sensed value (y1) of the vectorial physical quantity corrected for the noise (n) as estimated by said low frequency noise estimation.