Arrangement for measuring a rate of rotation using a vibration sensor

• US 8,042,393 B2
• Filed: 09/13/2007
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG), Sensordynamics AG
• Original Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG), Sensordynamics AG
• Inventors: Kempe, Volker, Strle, Drago, Gier, Lothar
• Primary Examiner(s): Allen; Andre
• Application Number:
  US12/443,664
• Publication Number:
  US 20100011857A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 73/504.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5712 the devices involving a micromechanical structure

Abstract

An arrangement for measuring a rate of rotation using a vibration sensor, being excited and measured by means of capacitive drive elements, and the rotation of said sensor in an axis, excited by a rotation in another axis by means of the Coriolis force, being measured by means of capacitive measuring elements. Excitation voltages can be supplied to the fixed electrodes of the drive elements, the frequency of said voltages corresponding to the resonance frequency or the subharmonic of the resonance frequency of the vibration sensor. An alternating voltage having a first measuring frequency which is higher than the excitation frequency can be supplied to capacitive elements for measuring the excited vibration. Alternating voltages having a second measuring frequency higher than the excitation frequency are supplied to the fixed electrodes of the measuring elements can be supplied to drive elements causing a vibration excitation in a direction on the basis of the excitation voltage, being in antiphase with the excitation voltage.

Claims

1. An arrangement for measuring a rate of rotation comprising

a vibration sensor, the vibration sensor comprising:

a mount;

a disk pivotably coupled to the mount; and

a ring coupled to the disk, the ring configured to vibrate rotationally, perpendicular to a first axis with respect to the disk;

a plurality of capacitive drive elements configured to rotationally vibrate the ring and measure the vibration of the ring perpendicular to the first axis;

a plurality of capacitive measuring elements configured to measure a rotation of the disk in a second axis, which is excited by rotation in a third axis under the action of a Coriolis force,

the capacitive drive elements and the capacitive measuring elements each respectively comprising;

fixed electrodes; and

moveable electrodes configured to be moved with the vibration sensor, the movable electrodes coupled to the mount,

wherein the fixed electrodes of the capacitive drive elements are supplied with excitation voltages, a frequency of the excitation voltage corresponds to at least one of a resonant frequency or a subharmonic of the resonant frequency of the vibration sensor; and

a plurality of capacitive vibration measuring elements configured to measure the excited vibration of the disk, the plural capacitive vibration measuring elements supplied with an AC voltage at a first measuring frequency which is higher than the frequency of the excitation voltages,

wherein the fixed electrodes of the capacitive measuring elements are supplied with AC voltages at a second measuring frequency which differs from the first measuring frequency and is higher than the frequency of the excitation voltages.

2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising additional capacitive measuring elements configured to measure the excited vibration.

3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the capacitive drive elements are used to measure the excited vibration.

4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a demodulator configured to form a signal that represents the rate of rotation and synchronously demodulate a signal tapped off from the mount using at least one of the AC voltage at the second measuring frequency and the excitation voltage.

5. The arrangement as claimed in claim 4, wherein the demodulator is configured to demodulate the signal tapped off from the mount using the first measuring frequency and use the demodulated signal to regulate the excitation voltages.

6. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a charge amplifier having an output coupled to a bandpass filter and an input coupled to the mount.

7. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least four groups of the capacitive drive elements are provided, wherein antiphase AC voltage components and the same bias voltages are respectively applied to two of said groups.

8. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second measuring frequencies is about 10 times to 500 times the frequency of the excitation voltage.

9. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vibration sensor is a vibrational gyroscope.

11. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one resilient member configured to couple the ring to the disk.

10. An arrangement for measuring a rate of rotation, the arrangement comprising:

a vibration sensor, the vibration sensor comprising;

a mount having a fixed connection;

a disk pivotably coupled to the mount; and

a ring coupled to the disk, the ring configured to vibrate rotationally, perpendicular to a first axis with respect to the disk;

at least four groups of capacitive drive elements configured to vibrate and measure vibration of the ring perpendicular to the first axis, wherein an antiphase AC voltage components and a same bias voltages respectively being applied to two of said groups of capacitive drive elements;

a plurality of capacitive measuring elements configured to measure a rotation of the disk in a second axis, which is excited by rotation in a third axis in response to a Coriolis force,

the plural capacitive drive elements and the capacitive measuring elements each comprising;

fixed electrodes; and

moveable electrodes configured to be moved with the vibration sensor, the movable electrodes being coupled to the fixed connection.