Physical quantity sensor

• US 8,037,755 B2
• Filed: 09/21/2007
• Issued: 10/18/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yanagisawa, Tohru, Nagata, Yoichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen; Andre
• Application Number:
  US12/442,437
• Publication Number:
  US 20100039094A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,488 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 73/504.04
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/56 Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses, e.g. vibratory angular rate sensors based on Coriolis forces
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/021 using purely analogue techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/097 by vibratory elements

Abstract

A physical quantity sensor 1 comprises a driving circuit 4 that drives a sensor element based on a reference signal; the sensor element 3 that is driven by the driving circuit 4 to convert an externally applied physical quantity to an electrical signal; and an amplifier circuit 5 that amplifies an output signal of the sensor element 3. The driving circuit 4 controls a driving signal, which drives the sensor element, based on the reference signal so that the driving signal is at a fixed level, and the amplifier circuit 5 has a gain characteristic that amplifies the output signal in a direction reverse to a direction in which the reference signal varies or the driving signal of the driving circuit varies. This configuration allows the physical quantity sensor to reduce output level variations in the sensor output against signal level variations in the reference signal and to make the sensitivity constant.

Claims

1. A physical quantity sensor comprising:

a driving circuit that drives a sensor element based on a reference signal;

said sensor element that is driven by said driving circuit to convert an externally applied physical quantity to an electrical signal; and

an amplifier circuit that amplifies an output signal of said sensor element wherein

said driving circuit controls a driving signal, which drives said sensor element, based on the reference signal so that the driving signal is at a constant level, and

said amplifier circuit has a gain characteristic that amplifies an output signal in a direction reverse to a direction in which the reference signal varies or the driving signal of said driving circuit varies.

2. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 wherein

said amplifier circuit has the gain characteristic that increases or decreases the output signal in the reverse direction of an increase/decrease direction of the reference signal or an increase/decrease direction of the driving signal of said driving circuit determined by variations in the reference signal, whereby

an output level of the output signal of said amplifier circuit is kept constant regardless of variations in the reference signal.

3. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 or 2 wherein

said amplifier circuit comprises an active circuit and a resistance circuit having a plurality of resistor elements wherein a gain is determined by a resistance ratio between the resistor elements and

said resistance circuit has a variable resistance circuit in at least a part of said resistor elements, said variable resistance circuit making a resistance value variable according to variations in the reference signal or variations in the driving signal of said driving circuit.

4. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 or 2 wherein

said amplifier circuit comprises an inverting amplifier circuit or a non-inverting amplifier circuit that has an operational amplifier and an input resistance circuit and a feedback resistance circuit connected to said operational amplifier wherein a gain is determined by a resistance ratio between said input resistance circuit and said feedback resistance circuit and

a variable resistance circuit is formed in a resistor element of at least one of said input resistance circuit and said feedback resistance circuit, said variable resistance circuit making a resistance value variable according to variations in the reference signal or variations in the driving signal of said driving circuit.

5. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 3, further comprising a first frequency converter that converts a level of the reference signal or the driving signal of said driving circuit to a frequency wherein

said variable resistance circuit changes the resistance value by a pulse modulated signal with a frequency obtained through the conversion by said first frequency converter.

6. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 5, further comprising a second frequency converter that converts a power supply voltage to a frequency wherein

said variable resistance circuit changes the resistance value by a pulse modulated signal with a frequency, obtained through the conversion by said second frequency converter, for making the gain of said amplifier circuit proportional to an increase/decrease in the power supply voltage.

7. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 or 2 wherein

said amplifier circuit is configured to determine a gain by a resistance ratio between a plurality of resistor elements connected to an active circuit,

is configured to comprise a voltage-dividing circuit, which divides a voltage of the reference signal or the driving signal of said driving circuit into a predetermined steps, and comparison circuits and, at the same time, to determine the gain by a resistance ratio between a plurality of resistor elements, and

has a variable resistance circuit formed in at least a part of said plurality of resistor elements for making a resistance value variable,

each of said comparison circuits receives a divided voltage output of said voltage-dividing circuit at one of input ends and receives a voltage, determined by a power supply voltage, at another input end, and

said variable resistance circuit changes the resistance value by an output signal of each comparison circuit to make the gain of said amplifier circuit inversely proportional to an increase/decrease in the reference signal or the driving signal of said driving circuit and, at the same time, to make the gain proportional to an increase/decrease in the power supply voltage.

8. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 7, further comprising:

a resistance selection circuit that selects the resistance value according to the output signal from said comparison circuits wherein

said variable resistance circuit changes the resistance value to a resistance value selected by said resistance selection circuit.

9. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 3, further comprising a voltage to current converter that converts a voltage of the reference signal or a voltage of the driving signal of said driving circuit to a current wherein

said variable resistance circuit changes the resistance value by the current obtained by the conversion through said voltage to current converter.

10. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a power supply that supplies a power supply voltage to said amplifier circuit wherein

said amplifier circuit makes the gain proportional to an increase/decrease in the power supply voltage.

11. The physical quantity sensor according to claim 1 or 2 wherein

the output level of the output signal of said amplifier circuit is kept constant against reference signal variations generated by a change in a temperature.