Tri-axial accelerometers
First Claim
1. A tri-axial moving magnet accelerometer comprising a housing, a magnet mounted within the housing so as to be displaceable with respect to three mutually transverse measurement axes in response to an applied force, said magnet being mounted on a support member which is coupled to the housing by a planar diaphragm so as to allow for pivoting of said support member in the directions of two of said measurement axes by flexing of said diaphragm and so as to permit linear displacement of said support member in the direction of the third of said measurement axes by deformation of said diaphragm perpendicularly to the plane of said diaphragm, and sensing means for sensing displacement of said magnet and for providing a respective output signal proportional to the component of the applied force along each of said three measurement axes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An accelerometer has a moving magnet within a housing. The magnet is mounted within a support member connected to the center of a diaphragm so as to permit movement of the magnet along a measurement axis extending in the axial direction of the support member by deformation of the diaphragm and so as to permit movement of the magnet along two mutually orthogonal measurement axes parallel to the diaphragm by flexing of the diaphragm to allow for pivoting of the support member. Furthermore displacement of the magnet with respect to the three mutually transverse measurement axes in response to an applied force is sensed by a pickoff capacitor, and a respective output signal proportional to the component of the applied force along each of the measurement axes is supplied by associated sensing circuitry. Simultaneously the magnet is restored to its null position by associated force coil pairs. The use of a single magnet for measurement along the three axes renders the accelerometer of high accuracy and decreases the size of the measurement assembly.
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Citations
7 Claims
- 1. A tri-axial moving magnet accelerometer comprising a housing, a magnet mounted within the housing so as to be displaceable with respect to three mutually transverse measurement axes in response to an applied force, said magnet being mounted on a support member which is coupled to the housing by a planar diaphragm so as to allow for pivoting of said support member in the directions of two of said measurement axes by flexing of said diaphragm and so as to permit linear displacement of said support member in the direction of the third of said measurement axes by deformation of said diaphragm perpendicularly to the plane of said diaphragm, and sensing means for sensing displacement of said magnet and for providing a respective output signal proportional to the component of the applied force along each of said three measurement axes.
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6. A tri-axial moving magnet accelerometer comprising a housing, a permanent magnet disposed within said housing, a flexural mounting element attached to said housing and mounting said magnet so that said magnet is displaceable with respect to three mutually transverse measurement axes in response to an applied force, said magnet being mounted on a support member which is pivotally coupled to said housing by said mounting element so as to allow for pivoting of said support member in the directions of two of said measurement axes, said support member being linearly displaceable in the direction of the third of said measurement axes, and said support member being mounted on a planar diaphragm constituting said mounting element so as to be pivotal in the directions of said two measurement axes by flexing of said diaphragm and so as to be linearly displaceable in the direction of said third measurement axis by deformation of said diaphragm perpendicularly to the plane of said diaphragm, sensing means for sensing displacement of said magnet for providing a respective output signal proportional to the component of the applied force along each of said three measurement axes, and force balance coils responsive to displacement of said magnet for applying a respective restoring force to said magnet along each of said three measurement axes in order to urge said magnet towards a null position.
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7. A tri-axial moving magnet accelerometer comprising a housing, a permanent magnet disposed within said housing, a flexural mounting element attached to said housing and mounting said magnet so that said magnet is displaceable with respect to three mutually transverse measurement axes in response to an applied force, sensing means for sensing displacement of said magnet and for providing a respective output signal proportional to the component of the applied force along each of said three measurement axes, and force balance coils responsive to displacement of said magnet for applying a respective restoring force to said magnet along each of said three measurement axes in order to urge said magnet towards a null position, said force balance coils comprising a respective pair of force coils associated with each of said measurement axes, the coils of each said pair being spaced apart along the associated measurement axis with said magnet therebetween.
Specification