Angular velocity sensor and electronic device

• US 7,673,512 B2
• Filed: 10/30/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Kazuo, Honda, Junichi, Inaguma, Teruo
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok; Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US11/928,931
• Publication Number:
  US 20080105052A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 735/041.6, 735/041.2, 735/040.4, 310/370
• US Class Current: 73/504.16
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5607 using vibrating tuning forks double-ended tuning forks using planar vibrating masses suspended at opposite ends G01C19/5719

Abstract

An angular velocity sensor includes a base portion, three arm portions that extend as one piece from the base portion to an approximately same direction, a piezoelectric film formed on one surface of each of the arm portions, drive electrodes for excitation formed on the piezoelectric films of at least two outer arm portions, and detection electrodes for angular velocity detection formed on the piezoelectric film of at least a center arm portion. Among the three arm portions, the two outer arm portions are excited in phase, and the center arm portion is excited in opposite phase with the two outer arm portions. The drive electrodes excite the arm portions in a first direction vertical to surfaces on which the piezoelectric films are formed. The detection electrodes detect a vibration in a second direction parallel to the surfaces on which the piezoelectric films of the arm portions are formed.

Claims

1. An angular velocity sensor, comprising:

a base portion;

three arm portions that extend as one piece from the base portion to an approximately same direction;

a piezoelectric film formed on one surface of each of the arm portions;

drive electrodes for excitation formed on the piezoelectric films of at least a first arm portion and a second arm portion, said first and second arm portions being positioned on outer sides, among the three arm portions; and

detection electrodes for angular velocity detection formed on the piezoelectric film of at least a centrally-positioned arm portion, among the three arm portions, wherein;

among the three arm portions, the two arm portions that are positioned on outer sides are excited in phase with respect to each other, and the centrally-positioned arm portion is excited in opposite phase with respect to the two arm portions that are positioned on outer sides,

the drive electrodes excite the arm portions in a first direction vertical to surfaces on which the piezoelectric films are formed, and

the detection electrodes detect a vibration in a second direction parallel to the surfaces on which the piezoelectric films of the arm portions are formed.

2. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein among the three arm portions, the centrally-positioned arm portion is provided with a vibration plummet.

3. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein a formation width of the centrally-positioned arm portion, among the three arm portions, is formed to be larger than that of the two arm portions that are positioned on outer sides.

4. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the three arm portions have a same resonant frequency in the first direction, and among resonant frequencies of the three arm portions in the second direction, only the resonant frequency of the centrally-positioned arm portion is set near the resonant frequency in the first direction.

5. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein on the piezoelectric film of the centrally-positioned arm portion, among the three arm portions, a reference electrode that detects a vibration characteristic of the arm portion is formed.

6. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the detection electrodes are formed in pair on the piezoelectric film of the centrally-positioned arm portion, among the three arm portions, symmetrically about an axis of the centrally-positioned arm portion, a first one of the detection electrodes is formed on a first side of the centrally-positioned arm portion and is formed continuously from the centrally-positioned arm portion via the base portion to an outer arm portion on the first side, and a second detection electrode is formed on a second side opposed symmetrically about the axis of the centrally-positioned arm portion and is formed continuously from the centrally- positioned arm portion via the base portion to an outer arm portion on the second side.

7. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein the base portion is formed with a plurality of external connecting terminals for inputting and outputting a signal to each of the arm portions, and each of the external connecting terminals is formed on one surface of the base portion at a position of minimum vibration between the three arm portions.

8. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 7, wherein each of the external connecting terminals is formed in a position deviated from an extended line of an axis of each of the arm portions.

9. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 7, wherein the base portion is provided with a cushioning portion having a width smaller than a formation width of the base portion between a root region of each of the arm portions and a formation area of the external connecting terminals.

10. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the centrally-positioned arm portion is excited in opposite phase with the first and the second arm portions by counteraction of excitation of the first and second arm portions.

11. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 9, wherein a following relationship is satisfied:

0.25≦

(f0/fv)≦

1/√

2

where

fv is a resonant frequency of a first vibration system in the first direction of the first and second arm portions, the first vibration system including the first, second, and third arm portions, and the support portion, and

f0 is a resonant frequency of a second vibration system in the first direction, the second vibration system including the first, second, and third arm portions, the support portion, and a connection portion.

12. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 1, wherein:

the centrally-positioned arm portion is excited by piezoelectric drive by a third drive electrode in opposite phase with the first and the second arm portions, the third drive electrode being formed on a center portion of the centrally-positioned arm portion.

13. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 6, wherein:

the centrally-positioned arm portion includes, as the detection electrodes,

a first detection electrode, and

a second detection electrode disposed symmetrically to the first detection electrode about an axis of the first direction of the third arm portion;

the first arm portion includes a third detection electrode that detects Coriolis force acted on the first arm portion;

the second arm portion includes a fourth detection electrode that detects Coriolis force acted on the second arm portion; and

the angular velocity sensor further includes

a controller that calculates a first sum signal of an output signal from the first detection electrode and an output signal from the third detection electrode, and a second sum signal of an output signal from the second detection electrode and an output signal from the fourth detection electrode, respectively, and that detects a differential signal of the first sum signal and the second sum signal as a angular velocity signal.

14. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 6, which includes:

a controller that calculates a sum signal ((a+c)+(b+d)) and feeds back the sum signal to a self-oscillating circuit as a reference signal,

where

a is a detection value of the first one of the detection electrodes,

b is a detection value of the second one of the detection electrodes,

c is a detection value of a third detection electrode formed on the first arm portion, said first arm portion being positioned adjacent to the first side of the centrally-positioned arm portion, and

d is a detection value of a fourth detection electrode formed on the second arm portion, said second arm portion being positioned adjacent to the second side of the centrally-positioned arm portion.

15. The angular velocity sensor according to claim 6, which includes:

a third detection electrode formed on the first arm portion, the first arm portion being positioned adjacent to the first side of the centrally-positioned arm portion; and

a fourth detection electrode formed on the second arm portion, the second arm portion being positioned adjacent to the second side of the centrally-positioned arm portion,

wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth detection electrodes have a length in a third direction perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction, and said lengths are approximately equal to each other.

16. An electronic device, comprising:

a main body; and

an angular velocity sensor,

wherein the angular velocity sensor includes;

a first arm portion, including a first drive electrode, that is excited in a first direction by piezoelectric drive;

a second arm portion, including a second drive electrode, arranged to extend in a length direction of the first arm portion, and being excited by piezoelectric drive in the first direction in phase with the first arm portion;

a third arm portion, including detection electrodes that detect Coriolis force acted in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and the length direction, arranged to extend in the length direction between the first arm portion and the second arm portion, and vibrating in opposite phase with vibrations of the first and second arm portions; and

a base portion that supports the first, second, and third arm portions, and

wherein the angular velocity sensor is disposed within the main body, and

the first direction in perpendicular to a plane extending through a central axis of each of said arm portions.