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Solid-state gyroscopes and planar three-axis inertial measurement unit

  • US 7,197,928 B2
  • Filed: 03/15/2006
  • Issued: 04/03/2007
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2003
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A z-axial solid-state gyroscope, manufactured by a conductive material and comprising:

  • two sets of a proof mass and a corresponding two driver bodies suspended between two parallel plates by an elastic beam assembly so that they can move along a first axis and a second axis parallel to a surface of the plates;

    the z-axial solid-state gyroscope sensing an angular velocity about a z-axis perpendicular to the surface of the plates and a first-axial acceleration and a second-axial acceleration;

    a front and a back surfaces of each driver body forming a plurality of grooves perpendicular to the first axis, a surface of each plate facing to each driver body being formed of two sets of driving electrodes, respectively including a number of stripe electrodes perpendicular to the first axis, the two sets of driving stripe electrodes being interposed with each other to form two sets of driving capacitors with a corresponding surface of the driver body;

    a front and a back surfaces of each proof mass forming a plurality of grooves perpendicular to the second axis, a surface of each plate facing to the proof mass being formed of two sets of sensing electrodes, respectively including a number of stripe electrodes parallel to the grooves of the proof mass, the two sets of sensing stripe electrodes being interposed with each other to form two sets of sensing capacitors with a corresponding surface of the proof mass;

    the capacitances thereof changing with the movement of the proof masses along the second axis;

    the driving capacitors of the two driver bodies corresponding to each proof mass are divided into two parts;

    the first part of the driving capacitors being excited with a DC bias and an AC voltage at the mechanical resonant frequency with proper phases to drive the two proof masses to vibrate in opposite direction to each other along the first axis; and

    the second part of the driving capacitors being excited with a high frequency AC voltage to sense a vibration amplitude in the opposite direction to each other and a displacement in the same direction of the two proof masses along the first axis, and feedback them to the first part of the driving capacitors to control the vibration amplitude of the two proof masses and to rebalance a specific force along the first axis;

    the sensing capacitors been excited with a high frequency AC voltage to sense a vibration amplitude signal in the opposite direction and an displacement in the same direction of the two proof masses along the second axis; and

    output signals of each proof mass induced by an angular velocity and an acceleration are respectively a AC signal and a DC signal, which are separated into an angular velocity signal and an acceleration signal by a signal processing means.

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