Vibrating gyroscope including a pair of piezoelectric bodies with electrically floating interface

• US 6,058,777 A
• Filed: 02/19/1998
• Issued: 05/09/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Original Assignee: Murata Manufacturing Co Limited
• Inventors: Ebara, Kazuhiro, Fujimoto, Katsumi, Ishitoko, Nobuyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US09/026,388
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 396/53, 310/317, 310/316, 310/323, 310/348, 310/351, 310/366, 73/504.12, 73/504.14, 73/504.15
• US Class Current: 73/504.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5642 using vibrating bars or beams

Abstract

A vibrating gyroscope includes a vibrating unit and a driving unit for driving the vibrating unit. The vibrating unit includes at least a pair of piezoelectric bodies stacked and polarized in a stacked direction thereof such that polarizing directions of the piezoelectric bodies are opposed to each other. An interface between the piezoelectric bodies is electrically floating with respect to a reference potential. The driving circuit receives at least one feedback signal from the vibrating unit and outputs to the vibrating unit a driving signal which has substantially the same phase as the feedback signal.

Claims

1. A vibrating gyroscope comprising:

a vibrating unit including at least a pair of piezoelectric bodies, the piezoelectric bodies being stacked and polarized in a stacked direction thereof such that polarizing directions of the piezoelectric bodies are opposed to each other, an interface between the piezoelectric bodies being electrically floating with respect to a reference potential; and

a driving circuit for driving the vibrating unit, the driving circuit receiving at least one feedback signal from the vibrating unit and outputting to the vibrating unit a driving signal which has substantially the same phase as the feedback signal.

2. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating unit further includes first and second electrodes on an upper surface and a bottom surface of the stacked piezoelectric bodies, respectively, and the feedback signal is output from the first electrode and the driving signal is input to the second electrode.

3. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 2, wherein the vibrating unit further includes an intermediate electrode at the interface between the piezoelectric bodies.

4. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 2, wherein the first electrode has two divided electrode portions, and the driving circuit receives two feedback signals, one from each of the divided electrode portions.

5. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 4, further comprising a detection circuit for detecting the difference between the two feedback signals.

6. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 2, wherein the vibrating unit further includes a supporting member connected to the second electrode, the supporting member being located at a point corresponding to a node of the vibrating unit.

7. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 6, wherein the supporting member is made of a conductive material and the driving signal is applied to the supporting member.

8. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 4, wherein the driving circuit includes a cumulative circuit for receiving the two feedback signals and for deriving a summed signal representing the sum of the two feedback signals;

and means for generating the driving signal from the summed signal.

9. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 8, wherein the generating means includes an amplifier having an input coupled to the cumulative circuit and an amplification circuit having an input coupled to an output of the amplifier and an output coupled to the second electrode.

10. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 9, further comprising a detection circuit for detecting the difference between the two feedback signals.

11. A vibrating gyroscope according to claim 10, wherein the detection circuit includes a differential amplification circuit having first and second inputs connected respectively to the two feedback signals, a synchronous detection circuit having a first input connected to an output of the differential amplification circuit and a second input connected to an output of the cumulative circuit, a smoothing circuit coupled to the output of the synchronous detection circuit, and an amplifying circuit coupled to the output of the smoothing circuit.