Movement detector having six degrees of freedom with three position sensors and method for the production of a sensor

• US 7,406,869 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2004
• Issued: 08/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Original Assignee: Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission)
• Inventors: Jouanet, Laurent, Rey, Patrice
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Hezron E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shah; Samir M.
• Application Number:
  US10/575,862
• Publication Number:
  US 20070039387A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,380 Days
• Field of Search: 735/10, 295/95
• US Class Current: 73/510
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 13/00 Indicating or recording presence, absence, or direction, of movement electric switches H01H; counting moving objects G06M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0802 Details
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0888 for indicating angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/135 by making use of contacts which are actuated by a movable inertial mass
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 1/0036 Switches making use of microelectromechanical systems [MEMS] for electromagnetic relays H01H50/005; for electrostatic relays H01H59/0009
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 35/14 Switches operated by change of acceleration, e.g. by shock or vibration, inertia switch wherein the liquid constitutes a contact of the switch H01H29/002
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49007 Indicating transducer

Abstract

The movement detector having six degrees of freedom comprises a support on which three position sensors are arranged according to three orthogonal axes. Each sensor comprises a rigid body (3), a deformable element (4) which is electrically conductive, and four conductive areas (6b) which are disposed on rigid walls (3). The deformable element (4) is balanced around the centre part thereof and has a rest position and four active positions wherein it is temporarily in contact with two of the conductive areas (6b) of the rigid body (3). The deformable element (4) of a sensor moves from a rest position to one of the active positions in response to a predetermined directional or axial translation or votation.

Claims

1. A movement detector having six degrees of freedom comprising:

a support; and

three position sensors arranged on the support according to three orthogonal axes, each sensor comprising;

a rigid body having two opposing inside walls;

conducting areas arranged on the rigid body, the conducting areas comprising four conducting areas arranged such that two of the conducting areas are arranged on one of the inside walls and two of the conducting areas are arranged on the opposing inside wall; and

an electrically conducting deformable element that is isolated from the conducting areas when the deformable element is in a rest position, and the deformable element moving from the rest position to an active position in response to a high-speed movement of predetermined direction and orientation,

wherein the deformable element associated with each sensor is in equilibrium around a central part of the deformable element,

wherein the deformable element responds, to a translation along a predetermined axis by bending, causing ends of the deformable element to substantially simultaneously and temporarily contact two conducting areas on a same inside wall, and

wherein the deformable element responds to a rotation around a predetermined axis by pivoting, causing the ends of the deformable element to substantially simultaneously and temporarily contact two conducting areas arranged on opposing inside walls.

2. The detector according to claim 1, further comprising an electronic processing circuit connected to the conducting areas of the three sensors.

3. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the deformable element is a beam in equilibrium around transverse median axis of the beam.

4. The detector according to claim 3, wherein the beam comprises conducting areas arranged at the ends of the beam.

5. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the deformable element is a disc in equilibrium around central axis of the disc.

6. The detector according to claim 5, wherein the disc comprises a peripheral conducting area on each face of the disc.

7. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the deformable element of each of the three sensors is electrically connected to a power supply contact area arranged on the rigid body of the corresponding sensor.

8. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the deformable element of each of the three sensors is in an equilibrium position corresponding to the rest position of the corresponding sensor for any movement having an acceleration less than or equal to the force of gravity G.

9. The detector according to claim 1, wherein the rigid body of each of the three sensors comprises two substrates arranged face to face, connected by balls constituting an electrical interconnection between the conducting areas of one of the substrates and output electrical contact areas formed on the other substrate.

10. The detector according to claim 9, wherein the deformable element includes two deformable half-elements, each of the deformable half-elements corresponding to one of the substrates and comprising a conducting layer, the conducting layer being supported by a central pillar,

wherein the central pillar is formed on a central power supply contact area, that is formed on the corresponding substrate.

11. A method for production of each of the three sensors according to claim 10, achieved by microelectronics techniques, the method comprising:

forming conducting areas and power supply areas on each of the substrates;

forming an output electrical contact areas on one of the substrates;

forming a central pillar on each of the substrates, the central pillar contacting the power supply contact area and supporting a conducting layer that serves as the deformable half-element;

installing balls on the output electrical contact areas; and

hybridizing the two substrates arranged face to face.