Sensor system

• US 7,281,406 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Mase, Shunji
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAPMAN JR, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US11/085,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20050217375A1
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 73/13.7, 73/13.8, 735/040.4, 735/041.2, 735/10
• US Class Current: 73/1.37
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5719 using planar vibrating masses driven in a translation vibration along an axis
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up

Abstract

In a sensor system, a detection waveform-forming unit detects a vibration component and forms a waveform of a detected angular velocity based on the vibration component. Components of the waveform are of opposite phases relative to each other and acceleration waveform components are in phase relative to each other. An acceleration signal-forming unit operates on the waveform to cancel the waveform of opposite phases to each other, and produces a second kind acceleration signal. An abnormal condition-detecting unit detects an abnormal condition in either the angular velocity sensor unit or an acceleration sensor unit provided separately based on the second kind acceleration signal and a first kind acceleration signal.

Claims

1. A sensor system comprising:

an angular velocity sensor unit comprising a first sensor unit and a second sensor unit, each of which comprises a vibrator which vibrates in a predetermined reference direction and a detection waveform-forming unit which detects a vibration component in a predetermined direction for detecting an angular velocity intersecting the predetermined reference direction and forms a waveform, of a detected angular velocity based on the vibration component, wherein the first sensor unit and the second sensor unit are mounted on a same substrate so that an axial direction for detecting the angular velocity defines an angle equal to or less than 90 degrees with the direction of gravitational acceleration, wherein waveform components produced by the first and second sensor units arc of opposite phases relative to each other and acceleration waveform components are in phase relative to each other;

an acceleration sensor unit provided separately from the angular velocity sensor unit;

differential waveform operation means for differentially amplifying the first angular velocity detection waveform of the first sensor unit and the second angular velocity waveform of the second sensor unit, and for producing an angular velocity signal waveform canceling the in-phase acceleration waveform component superposed on the angular velocity detection waveforms;

a second kind acceleration signal-forming unit for additionally amplifying the first angular velocity detection waveform and the second angular velocity waveform to cancel the first angular velocity detection waveform and the second angular velocity waveform which are of opposite phases to each other, and producing a second kind acceleration signal comprised of remaining in-phase acceleration waveform component; and

an abnormal condition-detecting unit for detecting an abnormal condition in either the angular velocity sensor unit or the acceleration sensor unit based on the second kind acceleration signal and a first kind acceleration signal which is the acceleration signal detected and produced by the acceleration sensor unit.

2. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sensor units have a structure in which the vibrator is mounted on a frame so as to vibrate via a beam the vibrator, the beam and frame being integrally formed by micro-machining the silicone substrate.

3. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sensor units are mounted on the substrate so that an axial direction for detecting the angular velocity is in agreement with direction of gravitational acceleration.

4. A sensor system according to claim 3, wherein one of the first and second sensor units is mounted on the first main surface of the substrate and the other is mounted on the second main surface, wherein a positional relationship between the first and second sensor units is maintained so that their upsides are apposite relative to each other with the direction of normal on the main surfaces of the substrate and in a manner so that the axial direction for detecting the angular velocity is in agreement with the direction of normal on the main surfaces.

5. A sensor system according to claim 4, wherein the first and second sensor units are arranged maintaining such a relationship that null positions of the vibrators are brought into agreement with each other in the reference direction of the vibrators.

6. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor unit is constituted as a non-driving type acceleration sensor, wherein the acceleration sensor unit further comprises a filtering unit for filtering high-frequency components out of a response frequency band of the vibration type angular velocity sensor from the acceleration signals.

7. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the angular velocity sensor unit and the acceleration sensor unit are incorporated in a housing.

8. A sensor system according to claim 7, wherein the acceleration sensor unit is mounted in the housing maintaining such a positional relationship that the direction for detecting the acceleration meets the direction for detecting the angular velocity of the angular velocity sensor unit at an angle of smaller than 90 degrees.

9. A sensor system according to claim 8, wherein the acceleration sensor unit is mounted on the same substrate such that the direction for detecting the acceleration is in agreement with the direction for detecting the angular velocity of the angular velocity sensor unit.

10. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the differential waveform operation means is for producing the angular velocity by canceling the components vibrating in phase among the vibration waveforms of the pair of vibrators in the direction for producing the angular velocity, and the second kind acceleration signal-forming unit is for detecting the second kind acceleration by canceling the components vibrating in opposite phases among the vibration waveforms of the pair of vibrators in the direction for detecting the angular velocity.

11. A sensor system according to claim 10, wherein the abnormal condition detecting unit differentially amplifies the first kind acceleration signal and the second kind acceleration signal, and forms and produces an abnormal condition detection signal based on a level of the differential signal.