Gyro module

• US 7,849,741 B2
• Filed: 12/11/2007
• Issued: 12/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Epson Toyocom Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Takayuki, Tateyama, Mitsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok; Helen C.
• Application Number:
  US12/000,282
• Publication Number:
  US 20080257042A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,099 Days
• Field of Search: 735/040.2, 735/040.4, 735/041.2, 735/041.5, 735/041.6, 735/10, 735/11
• US Class Current: 73/504.12
• 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

A gyro module includes: two gyro element pieces outputting a signal, the signal being obtained by combining a signal of an angular velocity of a first detection axis and a signal of an angular velocity of a second detection axis; and an arithmetic circuit for performing an addition and a subtraction with respect to the signal outputted from the two gyro element pieces. The two gyro element pieces are a first gyro element piece and a second gyro element piece. The first and second gyro element pieces are arranged such that a detection sensitivity polarity of the first detection axis of the first gyro element piece is same as that of the second gyro element piece, and a detection sensitivity polarity of the second detection axis of the first gyro element piece and that of the second gyro element piece are inverted.

Claims

1. A gyro module, comprising:

two gyro element pieces outputting a signal, the signal being obtained by combining a signal of an angular velocity of a first detection axis and a signal of an angular velocity of a second detection axis; and

an arithmetic circuit for performing an addition and a subtraction with respect to the signal outputted from the two gyro element pieces, wherein the two gyro element pieces are a first gyro element piece and a second gyro element piece; and

the first and second gyro element pieces are arranged such that a detection sensitivity polarity of the first detection axis of the first gyro element piece is same as that of the second gyro element piece, and a detection sensitivity polarity of the second detection axis of the first gyro element piece and that of the second gyro element piece are inverted, wherein

each of the gyro element pieces includes a base, two connecting arms extending in a symmetry direction from the base as a center, driving arms extending in the symmetry direction from the connecting arms as centers, and two detecting arms extending in an orthogonal direction to the connecting arms and in the symmetry direction from the base as the center; and

the detecting arms include a weight part being wider than the width of the weight part of the driving arms such that the relationship between the width of the weight part of the driving arms and detecting arms satisfies the equation 5d≦

D≦

10d, where d corresponds to the width of the weight part of the driving arms and D corresponds to the width of the weight part of the detecting arms.

2. The gyro module according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the two gyro element pieces is a double tuning fork vibration gyro sensor.

3. The gyro module according to claim 1, wherein the gyro element pieces are made of a crystal plate, and the first and the second detection axes are an optical axis and a mechanical axis of quartz crystal axes.

4. The gyro module according to claim 1, further comprising:

a comparison unit comparing a signal level of an adding result of the arithmetic circuit with a signal level of a subtracting result of the arithmetic circuit so as to measure time during which the signal levels are matched; and

an alarm unit raising an alarm in response to a signal outputted from the comparison unit.