Micromechanical vibratory gyroscope sensor array
First Claim
1. A micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array for detecting rotational movement, said sensor array comprising:
- a plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements fixedly oriented in a common plane relative to one another such that an in-plane direction and out-of-plane direction orthogonal thereto are defined, each microgyroscopic sensing element of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements having an associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequency;
means for driving said each microgyroscopic sensing element at a predetermined in-plane drive frequency, wherein the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements and the associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements are such that various frequency differences exist between the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies and the associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies amongst said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements;
sensing means, associated with said each microgyroscopic sensing element of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements, for sensing out-of-plane motion of said each microgyroscopic sensing element and producing a corresponding sense signal therefrom; and
signal processing means coupled to said sensing means for producing a combined signal representative of rotational movement experienced by the micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array based upon said associated sense signals produced by said sensing means from said out-of-plane motion experienced by said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements.
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Abstract
A micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array for detecting rotational movement includes a plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements fixedly oriented in a common plane relative to one another such that an in-plane direction and an out-of-plane direction orthogonal thereto are defined. A mechanism for driving each microgyroscopic sensing element at a predetermined in-plane drive frequency is provided. Each sensing element has a predefined out-of-plane resonant frequency selected such that a range of in-plane frequencies and/or out-of-plane resonant frequency differences exist among the sensing elements. A resonant gate transistor is associated with each sensing element for sensing out-of-plane motion and producing a sense signal representative thereof. Signal processing then converts the sense signal to a signal representative of rotational movement experienced by the micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array. A learning function can be added to the sensor array by associating adjustable weights with each sensing element and employing a neural network having feedback control of the adjustable weights.
18 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array for detecting rotational movement, said sensor array comprising:
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a plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements fixedly oriented in a common plane relative to one another such that an in-plane direction and out-of-plane direction orthogonal thereto are defined, each microgyroscopic sensing element of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements having an associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequency; means for driving said each microgyroscopic sensing element at a predetermined in-plane drive frequency, wherein the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements and the associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements are such that various frequency differences exist between the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies and the associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies amongst said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements; sensing means, associated with said each microgyroscopic sensing element of said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements, for sensing out-of-plane motion of said each microgyroscopic sensing element and producing a corresponding sense signal therefrom; and signal processing means coupled to said sensing means for producing a combined signal representative of rotational movement experienced by the micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array based upon said associated sense signals produced by said sensing means from said out-of-plane motion experienced by said plurality of vibrational microgyroscopic sensing elements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A micromechanical gyroscope sensor array for detecting rotational movement, said sensor array comprising:
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a plurality of rotation detecting means fixedly oriented in a common plane relative to one another such that an in-plane direction and an out-of-plane direction orthogonal thereto are defined, each rotation detecting means of said plurality of rotational detecting means having an associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequency; means for driving said each rotation detecting means at an associated predetermined in-plane drive frequency, wherein the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies of said plurality of rotation detecting means and the respective predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies of said plurality of rotation detecting means provide various frequency differences between the respective predetermined in-plane drive frequencies and the corresponding predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies amongst said plurality of rotation detecting means; a plurality of sensing means, each sensing means of said plurality of sensing means being associated with one rotation detecting means of said plurality of rotation detecting means for sensing a component of an out-of-plane motion experienced by said associated detecting means and for producing a component sense signal therefrom; and signal processing means coupled to said plurality of sensing means for producing a combined signal representative of rotational movement experienced by the micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array by combining said component sense signal produced by each sensing means of said plurality of sensing means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for detecting rotational movement employing a micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array, said sensor array including a plurality of vibrational sensing elements fixedly oriented in a common plane relative to one another such that an in-plane direction and an out-of-plane direction orthogonal thereto are defined, each vibrational sensing element of said plurality of vibrational sensing elements having an associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequency, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) driving said plurality of vibrational sensing elements at associated predetermined in-plane drive frequencies, said in-plane drive frequencies of said plurality of vibrational sensing elements and said associated predefined out-of-plane resonant frequencies of said plurality of vibrational sensing elements providing various frequency differences between respective in-plane drive frequencies and corresponding out-of-plane resonant frequencies among the plurality of vibrational sensing elements; (b) experiencing rotational movement by at least two of said plurality of vibrational sensing elements; (c) sensing at each vibrational sensing element of said plurality of vibrational sensing elements an out-of-plane motion component and producing therefrom a component sense signal; and (d) combining said component sense signal of said each vibrational sensing element to produce a signal representative of the rotational movement experienced by the micromechanical gyroscopic sensor array. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification