Micromachined double tuning-fork gyrometer with detection in the plane of the machined wafer

• US 7,051,591 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2004
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Chaumet, Bernard, Loil, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAPMAN JR, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US10/926,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20050097956A1
• Time in Patent Office: 642 Days
• Field of Search: 735/041.2, 735/041.4, 735/041.6
• US Class Current: 73/504.12
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5747 each sensing mass being connected to a driving mass, e.g. driving frames

Abstract

The invention relates to a gyrometer based on a vibrating structure, produced by micromachining in a thin planar wafer, including two symmetrical moving assemblies coupled by a coupling structure connecting these two assemblies in order to allow transfer of mechanical vibration energy between them, each moving assembly comprising three moving elements, a first inertial moving element intended to vibrate in two orthogonal directions Ox and Oy in the plane of the wafer, a second moving element intended to vibrate along Oy and connected to the first moving element and to fixed anchoring zones, by first linking means which allow the vibration movement of the first moving element along Oy to be transmitted to the second moving element without permitting movement of the second element along the Ox direction and a third moving element intended to vibrate along Oy and connected to the second moving element and to fixed anchoring zones by second linking means which allow the vibration movement of the second moving element along Oy to be transmitted, in phase opposition, to the third moving element.

Claims

1. A gyrometer based on a vibrating structure, comprising:

in a thin planar wafer including two symmetrical moving assemblies coupled by a coupling structure connecting these two assemblies in order to allow transfer of mechanical vibration energy between them, each moving assembly comprising three moving elements, a first inertial moving element intended to vibrate in two orthogonal directions Ox and Oy in the plane of the wafer, a second moving element intended to vibrate along Oy and connected to the first moving element and to fixed anchoring zones, by first linking means which allow the vibration movement of the first moving element along Oy to be transmitted to the second moving element without permitting movement of the second element along the Ox direction and a third moving element intended to vibrate along Oy and connected to the second moving element and to fixed anchoring zones by second linking means which allow the vibration movement of this second moving element along Oy to be transmitted, in phase opposition, to the third moving element.

2. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first moving element is a rectangular external intermediate frame connected to the coupling structure and surrounding the second moving element having a rectangular internal intermediate frame which surrounds the third moving element, and the coupling structure comprises an outer frame surrounding the external intermediate frame.

3. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the third moving element, designated the detection mass, is connected to the internal intermediate frame by two first narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Ox direction and a low stiffness in the Oy direction, and the detection mass is connected to at least one anchoring zone by at least two second narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Ox direction and low stiffness in the Oy direction.

4. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 3, wherein each first flexure arm is folded in the form of a U and has two elongate parts extending in the Ox direction, these two parts being connected by a short linking element.

5. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 4, wherein the internal intermediate frame is connected to the external intermediate frame by two third narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Oy direction and low stiffness in the Ox direction, and the internal intermediate frame is connected to an anchoring zone by at least two fourth narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Ox direction and low stiffness in the Oy direction.

6. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 4, wherein the coupling structure is connected to the first moving element of each assembly by short rigid links.

7. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the internal intermediate frame is connected to the external intermediate frame by two third narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Oy direction and low stiffness in the Ox direction, and the internal intermediate frame is connected to an anchoring zone by at least two fourth narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Ox direction and low stiffness in the Oy direction.

8. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the coupling structure is connected to the first moving element of each assembly by short rigid links.

9. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 3, wherein the coupling structure comprises, around each moving assembly, an outer frame and a short linking bar between the outer frames.

10. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the internal intermediate frame is connected to the external intermediate frame by two third narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Oy direction and low stiffness in the Ox direction, and the internal intermediate frame is connected to an anchoring zone by at least two fourth narrow and elongate flexure arms which exhibit high resistance to elongation in the Ox direction and low stiffness in the Oy direction.

11. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 10, wherein each third flexure arm is folded in the form of a U and has two elongate parts extending in the Oy direction, these two parts being connected by a short linking element.

12. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 11, wherein that the short linking element of one of the third arms is connected to the similar linking element of another third arm by a cross-member elongate in the Ox direction.

13. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the coupling structure is connected to the first moving element of each assembly by short rigid links.

14. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the coupling structure comprises, around each moving assembly, an outer frame and a short linking bar between the outer frames.

15. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fixed anchoring zones of the third moving element are separate from the second fixed anchoring zones of the second moving element.

16. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coupling structure is connected to the first moving element of each assembly by short rigid links.

17. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the coupling structure comprises, around each moving assembly, an outer frame and a short linking bar between the outer frames.

18. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fixed anchoring zones of the third moving element are separate from the second fixed anchoring zones of the second moving element.

19. The gyrometer as claimed in of claims 1, wherein the following condition is satisfied or virtually satisfied

K_40,42,44,46/M₃₀=(K_60,62,64,66+2K₂₀)/(M₅₀+M₁₀).

where K_40,42,44,46 is the stiffness coefficient of the second flexure arms, K_60,62,64,66 is the stiffness coefficient of the fourth flexure arms, K₂₀ is the stiffness coefficient along Oy of the outer frame and M₅₀,M₁₀,M₃₀ are the respective masses of the first, second and third moving elements.

20. The gyrometer as claimed in claim 19, wherein M₃₀<

M₅₀+M₂ so as to increase the sensitivity of the gyrometer.