Sensor system

• US 7,284,408 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Issued: 10/23/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Kato, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAPMAN JR, JOHN E
• Application Number:
  US11/085,124
• Publication Number:
  US 20050216149A1
• Time in Patent Office: 945 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 19/56 Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses, e.g. vibratory angular rate sensors based on Coriolis forces
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 21/00 Testing or calibrating of apparatus or devices covered by the preceding groups

Abstract

An inertia sensor system incorporates a vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit and an acceleration sensor unit provided separately. The inertia sensor system also includes a second-type acceleration signal generation unit to extract an acceleration signal component from a detection-object vibration component generated by the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit and outputs the extracted acceleration signal component as a second-type acceleration signal. An abnormality detection unit detects an abnormality of at least the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit or the acceleration sensor unit based on the second-type acceleration signal and a first-type acceleration signal detected and output by the acceleration sensor unit.

Claims

1. A sensor system comprising:

a vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit including;

a pair of vibrators vibrating in a reference direction determined in advance at phases opposite to each other, wherein the pair of vibrators output opposite-phase waveform components to vibrate in an angular-speed detection direction at phases opposite to each other and same-phase waveform components to vibrate in the angular-speed detection direction at a same phase, wherein the angular-speed detection direction is perpendicular to the reference direction; and

a detection waveform generation unit for detecting a detection-object vibration component resulting from application of an angular speed to the vibrator as a component in the angular-speed detection direction and for generating an angular-speed detection waveform based on the detection-object vibration component;

an acceleration sensor unit for outputting a first-type acceleration signal, wherein the first acceleration sensor unit is provided separately from the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit;

a second-type acceleration-signal generation unit for extracting an acceleration signal component from the same-phase waveform components generated by the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit and outputting the extracted acceleration signal component as a second-type acceleration signal; and

an abnormality detection unit for detecting an abnormality of at least the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit or the acceleration sensor unit based on the second-type acceleration signal and the first-type acceleration signal.

2. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein a frequency-characteristic conversion device is provided in the second-type acceleration-signal generation unit for bringing the frequency response characteristic, which is exhibited by the second-type acceleration signal with respect to an input acceleration, to the frequency characteristic of the first-type acceleration signal.

3. A sensor system according to claim 2, wherein:

the acceleration sensor unit includes;

an acceleration detection signal generation unit; and

an output filter provided in the acceleration sensor unit for eliminating unnecessary waveform components from the original waveform of an acceleration detection signal generated by the acceleration detection signal generation unit and outputting the remaining waveform as the first-type acceleration signal, and

the frequency-characteristic conversion means provided in the second-type acceleration-signal generation unit is implemented by a filter unit, which outputs the second-type acceleration signal and has the same filter type, the same filter order and the Same filter cutoff frequency as the output filter provided in the acceleration sensor unit.

4. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit and the acceleration sensor unit are accommodated in one box.

5. A sensor system according to claim 1, wherein the abnormality detection unit computes a difference signal representing the difference between the first-type acceleration signal and the second-type acceleration signal, generates an abnormality detection signal based on the level of the difference signal and outputs the generated abnormality detection signal.

6. A sensor system according to claim 5, further comprising a change-over switch for selecting either the first-type acceleration signal or the second-type acceleration signal based on the abnormality detection signal generated by the abnormality detection unit.

7. A sensor system according to claim 5, further comprising:

a window comparator coupled to the acceleration unit for outputting another abnormality detection signal when the first-type acceleration signal is not within a predetermined reference voltage range; and

a change-over switch for selecting either the first-type acceleration signal or the second-type acceleration signal based on the abnormality detection signal generated by the abnormality detection unit and the another abnormality detection signal generated by the window comparator coupled to the acceleration sensor unit.

8. A sensor system comprising:

a vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit including;

a pair of the vibrators vibrating in a reference direction determined in advance at phases opposite to each other; and

a detection waveform generation unit for detecting a detection-object vibration component resulting from application of an angular speed to the vibrator as a component in an angular-speed detection direction set to cross the reference direction and for generating an angular-speed detection waveform based on the detection-object vibration component;

an acceleration sensor unit for outputting a first-type acceleration signal, wherein the first acceleration sensor unit is provided separately from the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit;

a second-type acceleration-signal generation unit for extracting an acceleration signal component from a detection-object vibration component generated by the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit and outputting the extracted acceleration signal component as a second-type acceleration signal;

an abnormality detection unit for detecting an abnormality of at least the vibration-type angular-speed sensor unit or the acceleration sensor unit based on the second-type acceleration signal and the first-type acceleration signal,

an angular-speed computation means for computing an angular speed based on opposite-phase waveform components output by the vibrators to vibrate in the angular-speed detection direction at phases opposite to each other and outputting an angular-speed detection signal as the computed angular speed; and

an acceleration detection means for computing an acceleration based on same-phase waveform components output by the vibrators to vibrate in the angular-speed detection direction at the same phase and outputting the second-type acceleration signal as the computed acceleration.

9. A sensor system according to claim 8, wherein:

the angular-speed computation means computes an angular speed by mutual cancellation of the waveform components output by the vibrators to vibrate in the angular-speed detection direction at the same phase; and

the acceleration detection means computes an acceleration by mutual cancellation of the waveform components output by the vibrators to vibrate in the angular-speed detection direction at phases opposite to each other.