Accelerometer with reduced extraneous vibrations owing to improved return movement

• US 7,552,638 B2
• Filed: 08/11/2004
• Issued: 06/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sercel (Cggveritas), Shell Oil Company (Shell Plc)
• Original Assignee: Sercel (Cggveritas)
• Inventors: Menard, Jean-Paul, Moreau, Maurice
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok; Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US11/547,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20080092651A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,784 Days
• Field of Search: 735/141.7, 735/141.8, 735/143.2, 735/143.6, 735/143.8
• US Class Current: 73/514.18
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/131 with electrostatic counterbalancing means

Abstract

An accelerometer uses variations in capacitance to detect and measure the movement of a moving mass in relation to a fixed part. The accelerometer comprises a first series of electrodes, which are solidly connected to the mass and which are interdigitated with a second series of electrodes. The second series of electrodes are solidly connected to the fixed part. The accelerometer further comprises an electronic circuit which: detects the variation in at least one capacitance between the moving mass and the fixed part, in the form of a moving mass displacement indicator; and also generates an electrostatic stress in order to return the moving mass to the initial position thereof.

Claims

1. An accelerometer using variations in capacitance to detect the movement of a moving mass, the accelerometer comprising:

the moving mass and a fixed part;

a first series of moving electrodes solidly connected to the moving mass and interdigitated with a second series of fixed electrodes solidly connected to the fixed part, wherein each moving electrode forms, with an adjacent fixed electrode, a variable capacitance depending on the position of the moving mass; and

an electronic circuit, the electronic circuit to detect the variation of at least one capacitance between the moving mass and the fixed part as an indicator of the displacement of the moving mass from an initial position, and to generate an electrostatic repeated return force for returning the moving mass to an initial position, the electronic circuit to generate the electrostatic repeated return force in response to a previous displacement measurement, wherein said electrostatic repeated return force is specifically selected so that a frequency mechanical power spectrum of the electrostatic repeated return force has a substantially zero power zone at the mechanical resonance frequency of the electrodes of the moving mass and of the fixed part.

2. The accelerometer according to claim 1, wherein the electronic circuit performs repeated return of the moving mass in time slots (Ta), wherein a frequency transform of a corresponding square wave signal has a return to substantially zero at the resonance frequency of the electrodes of the moving mass and of the fixed part.

3. The accelerometer according to claim 2, wherein an average slot time (Ta) is predetennined so that the frequency transform of the square wave signal has a return to substantially zero (1/Ta) at the resonance frequency of the electrodes of the moving mass and of the fixed part.

4. The accelerometer according to claim 3, wherein the average slot time (Ta) is selected so that the frequency transform of the square wave signal has a first return to zero (1/Ta) at the resonance frequency of the electrodes of the moving mass and of the fixed part.

5. The accelerometer according to claim 1, wherein the electrostatic return force is applied in time slots with an average width Ta, and wherein Ta is selected according to the relationship 1/Ta=F where F is the resonance frequency of the electrodes of the moving mass and of the fixed part.

6. The accelerometer according to claim 3, wherein the frequency transform of the square wave signal has the shape of a cardinal sine.

7. The accelerometer according to claim 1, wherein the electrode(s) of the moving mass and/or the fixed part each have a section, the width of which varies towards their free end.

8. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or of the fixed part have at least one part with a continuous change in section width.

9. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or the fixed part have at least one part, the section width of which has steep changes.

10. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or the fixed part have at least one part, the section width of which decreases towards the free end of the relevant electrode.

11. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or the fixed part include a trapezoidal shape with decreasing width (L,I) towards their free end.

12. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or the fixed part include apart, the section width of which varies with steps of constant width, the width (L,I) steeply changing between each step.

13. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the moving mass and/or the fixed part include apart, the width of which gradually decreases towards the free end of the electrode by forming at least one rounded side edge.

14. The accelerometer according to claim 7, wherein the electrodes of the fixed part have a complementary shape to the gap located between two adjacent electrodes of the moving mass.