Angular velocity sensor

• US 6,705,151 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2001
• Issued: 03/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Uemura, Takeshi, Nozoe, Toshiyuki, Tamura, Masami
• Primary Examiner(s): MOLLER, RICHARD ALAN
• Application Number:
  US09/811,786
• Publication Number:
  US 20010037683A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• Field of Search: 73/13.7, 73/17.7, 73/18.2, 735/041.2
• US Class Current: 73/1.37
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5607 using vibrating tuning forks double-ended tuning forks using planar vibrating masses suspended at opposite ends G01C19/5719
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 21/02 of speedometers

Abstract

The present invention aims to present an angular velocity sensor having a self diagnosis function.

An angular velocity sensor of the present invention includes a driving part for stably vibrating a driving part of a sensor element having a driver part and a detector part for detecting an angular velocity and detection means for detecting the angular velocity of the sensor element and obtains a self diagnosis signal for a malfunction by detecting a mechanical coupling signal obtained at the detection means.

Claims

1. An angular velocity sensor comprising:

a sensor including a vibrator and a detector for detecting an angular velocity;

a drive unit including a driver circuit and a monitor circuit, wherein said driver circuit supplies a driving signal to the vibrator part of said sensor, and said monitor circuit receives a monitor signal from said sensor;

detection unit including an amplifier unit and a synchronous demodulator, wherein said amplifier unit receives outputs from the detector of said sensor and wherein said synchronous demodulator sample-holds an output from said amplifier unit in synchronous with the driving signal or the monitor signal from said drive unit and outputs an angular velocity signal; and

self diagnosis unit which provides a diagnosis signal to detect an abnormality of at least one of said sensor, said detection unit and said drive unit by providing a displacement signal synchronized with said driving signal or said monitor signal to said detection unit.

2. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein said self diagnosis unit comprises an attenuator for attenuating said signal synchronized with said driving signal or said monitor signal to generate said displacement signal, and an injector for providing said displacement signal from said attenuator to said detection unit.

3. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 2, further including a changing unit for changing said self diagnosis unit to either a working state or a non-working state, said changing unit disposed between said attenuator and said injector.

4. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 3, further including a judging unit for continuously judging an abnormality of said sensor element by detecting an output level of said detection unit during the non-working state of said self diagnosis unit.

5. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 3, wherein said changing unit is a switch for connecting or disconnecting, in accordance with an external signal, said signal synchronized with said driving signal to a circuit, said circuit having an output coupled to said synchronous detector.

6. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 3, wherein said changing unit comprises a timer circuit for connecting or disconnecting for a given time, in accordance with an external signal, said signal synchronized with said driving signal to a circuit, said circuit having an output coupled to said synchronous detector.

7. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 2, wherein said injector comprises a capacitor.

8. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 2, wherein said injector comprises a resistor.

9. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 2, wherein said attenuator includes a ladder network resistor capable of digitally adjusting an amplitude and/or phase of an input signal.

10. An angular velocity sensor according to claim 2, further including a balancing unit, wherein said balancing unit is disposed at an input terminal of one of said pair of current amplifiers and said input terminal is not connected to said injector, in order to keep a balance of input characteristics between each of said pair of current amplifiers.