Guard bands which control out-of-plane sensitivities in tuning fork gyroscopes and other sensors
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
- a substrate with a surface;
an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied;
an inner drive with comb electrodes;
proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes;
sense electrodes disposed on said substrate below said proof masses, a voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes; and
guard bands formed on said substrate substantially between said inner and outer interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate.
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Abstract
Guard bands which reduce or eliminate force and sensitivity associated with proof mass motion normal to the substrate as a result of voltage transients is disclosed. The guard bands are biased to reduce the coupling ratio to zero and thereby enable starting and improved performance. Various configurations of guard bands may be employed including distinct inner and outer guard bands, distinct inner guard bands only, extended sense electrodes below inner sensing combs with no outer guards, distinct outer guard bands with extended sense electrodes, and sense electrodes extended beneath both drive and sensing combs.
148 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
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a substrate with a surface; an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied; an inner drive with comb electrodes; proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes; sense electrodes disposed on said substrate below said proof masses, a voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes; and guard bands formed on said substrate substantially between said inner and outer interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
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a substrate with a surface; an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied; an inner drive with comb electrodes; proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes; sense electrodes disposed on said substrate below said proof masses, a voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes; and guard bands formed on said substrate substantially between said inner interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
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a substrate with a surface; an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied; an inner drive with comb electrodes; proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes; and sense electrodes disposed on said substrate and extended below said proof masses substantially between said inner interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate, wherein a bias voltage that is proportional to the drive signals is applied to said extended sense electrodes. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
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a substrate with a surface; an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied; an inner drive with comb electrodes; proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes; sense electrodes disposed on said substrate and extended below said proof masses substantially between said inner interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate, a voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes; and guard bands formed on said substrate substantially between said outer interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A tuning fork gyroscope comprising:
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a substrate with a surface; an outer drive with comb electrodes to which drive signals are applied; an inner drive with comb electrodes; proof masses with inner and outer comb electrodes, said proof masses suspended above said substrate by a support flexure, said inner comb electrodes interleaved with said inner drive comb electrodes and said outer comb electrodes interleaved with said outer drive comb electrodes, an overlap region defined by said interleaved comb electrodes; a first set of sense electrodes disposed on said substrate and extended below said proof masses substantially between said inner interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate, a first voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes; and a second set of sense electrodes disposed on said substrate and extended below said proof masses substantially between said outer interleaved comb electrodes and said substrate, a second voltage applied to said sense electrodes to detect capacitive changes. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification