Sensing circuit for vibration type of angular rate sensor
First Claim
1. A sensing circuit for a vibration type of angular rate sensor, comprising:
- a vibrator;
a driving unit that drives the vibrator to vibrate at a predetermined amplitude by using, as a feedback signal, an error voltage signal in which an amplitude of vibration of the vibrator is reflected;
a follow-up signal forming unit that forms, by using the error voltage signal, a follow-up signal following up the error voltage signal at changes which are gentler than changes in the error signal;
a normal voltage-range setting unit that sets a range of a normal voltage for the error voltage signal by using the follow-up signal; and
a determining unit that determines whether or not the sensor circuit is in a malfunctioning condition, on the basis of an estimation as to whether or not the error voltage signal is within the range of the normal voltage.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensing circuit for a vibration type of angular rate sensor comprises a vibrator, driving unit, follow-up signal forming unit, normal voltage-range setting unit, and determining unit. The driving unit drives the vibrator to vibrate at a predetermined amplitude by using, as a feedback signal, an error voltage signal in which an amplitude of vibration of the vibrator is reflected. The follow-up signal forming unit forms, by using the error voltage signal, a follow-up signal following up the error voltage signal at changes which are gentler than changes in the error signal. The normal voltage-range setting unit sets a range of a normal voltage for the error voltage signal by using the follow-up signal. The determining unit determines whether or not the sensor circuit is in a malfunctioning condition, by using an estimation as to whether or not the error voltage signal is within the range of the normal voltage.
11 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A sensing circuit for a vibration type of angular rate sensor, comprising:
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a vibrator; a driving unit that drives the vibrator to vibrate at a predetermined amplitude by using, as a feedback signal, an error voltage signal in which an amplitude of vibration of the vibrator is reflected; a follow-up signal forming unit that forms, by using the error voltage signal, a follow-up signal following up the error voltage signal at changes which are gentler than changes in the error signal; a normal voltage-range setting unit that sets a range of a normal voltage for the error voltage signal by using the follow-up signal; and a determining unit that determines whether or not the sensor circuit is in a malfunctioning condition, on the basis of an estimation as to whether or not the error voltage signal is within the range of the normal voltage. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A sensing circuit for a vibration type of angular rate sensor, comprising:
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a vibrator; driving means for driving the vibrator to vibrate at a predetermined amplitude by using, as a feedback signal, an error voltage signal in which an amplitude of vibration of the vibrator is reflected; follow-up signal forming means for forming, by using the error voltage signal, a follow-up signal following up the error voltage signal at changes which are gentler than changes in the error signal; normal voltage-range setting means for setting a range of a normal voltage for the error voltage signal by using the follow-up signal; and determining means for determining whether or not the sensor circuit is in a malfunctioning condition, on the basis of an estimation as to whether or not the error voltage signal is within the range of the normal voltage.
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12. A sensing circuit for a vibration type of angular rate sensor, comprising:
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a vibrator; a driving unit that drives the vibrator to vibrate at a predetermined amplitude by using, as a feedback signal, an error voltage signal in which an amplitude of vibration of the vibrator is reflected; a follow up signal forming unit that forms, by using the error voltage signal, a follow-up signal following up the error voltage signal at changes which are gentler than changes in the error signal; a normal voltage-range setting unit that sets a range of a normal voltage for the error voltage signal by using the follow-up signal; and an estimating unit that estimates whether or not the error voltage signal is within the range of the normal voltage, whereby the error voltage signal is estimated as being normal when the error signal is within the range of the normal voltage and as being malfunctioning when the error signal is outside the range of the normal voltage.
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Specification