Microelectromechanical gyroscope with continuous self-test function
First Claim
1. A microelectromechanical gyroscope, comprising:
- a body;
a sensing mass, elastically coupled to the body and movable with respect to the body according to a degree of freedom in response to rotations of the body about a sensing axis;
a self-test actuator configured to produce a self-test signal, the self-test actuator including;
a modulator having a first input configured to receive a base-band signal and a second input configured to receive a carrier signal, the modulator being configured to generate the self-test signal by modulation of the carrier signal with the base-band signal;
a capacitive coupling that couples the self-test actuator to the sensing mass and is configured to apply, in response to a self-test signal from the self-test actuator, electrostatic forces to move the sensing mass in accordance with the degree of freedom and at an actuation frequency; and
a sensing device configured to sense transduction signals indicative of displacements of the sensing mass according to the degree of freedom, and to discriminate, in the transduction signals, spectral components corresponding to the actuation frequency and spectral components indicative of motion of the sensing mass caused by the rotation of the body, the sensing device including;
a signal demodulator having a demodulation input configured to receive the carrier signal and a transduction signal input coupled to the sensing mass and configured to receive the transduction signals, the signal demodulator being configured to generate first demodulated signals by demodulation of the transduction signals with the carrier signal; and
a self-test demodulator having a signal input coupled to the signal demodulator and configured to receive the first demodulated signals and a demodulation input configured to receive the base-band signal, the self-test demodulator being configured to generate second demodulated signals by demodulation of the first demodulated signals with the base-band signal.
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Abstract
A microelectromechanical gyroscope includes a body and a sensing mass, which is movable with a degree of freedom in response to rotations of the body about an axis. A self-test actuator is capacitively coupled to the sensing mass for supplying a self-test signal. The capacitive coupling causes, in response to the self-test signal, electrostatic forces that are able to move the sensing mass in accordance with the degree of freedom at an actuation frequency. A sensing device detects transduction signals indicating displacements of the sensing mass in accordance with the degree of freedom. The sensing device is configured for discriminating, in the transduction signals, spectral components that are correlated to the actuation frequency and indicate the movement of the sensing mass as a result of the self-test signal.
28 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A microelectromechanical gyroscope, comprising:
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a body; a sensing mass, elastically coupled to the body and movable with respect to the body according to a degree of freedom in response to rotations of the body about a sensing axis; a self-test actuator configured to produce a self-test signal, the self-test actuator including; a modulator having a first input configured to receive a base-band signal and a second input configured to receive a carrier signal, the modulator being configured to generate the self-test signal by modulation of the carrier signal with the base-band signal; a capacitive coupling that couples the self-test actuator to the sensing mass and is configured to apply, in response to a self-test signal from the self-test actuator, electrostatic forces to move the sensing mass in accordance with the degree of freedom and at an actuation frequency; and a sensing device configured to sense transduction signals indicative of displacements of the sensing mass according to the degree of freedom, and to discriminate, in the transduction signals, spectral components corresponding to the actuation frequency and spectral components indicative of motion of the sensing mass caused by the rotation of the body, the sensing device including; a signal demodulator having a demodulation input configured to receive the carrier signal and a transduction signal input coupled to the sensing mass and configured to receive the transduction signals, the signal demodulator being configured to generate first demodulated signals by demodulation of the transduction signals with the carrier signal; and a self-test demodulator having a signal input coupled to the signal demodulator and configured to receive the first demodulated signals and a demodulation input configured to receive the base-band signal, the self-test demodulator being configured to generate second demodulated signals by demodulation of the first demodulated signals with the base-band signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A self-test method, comprising:
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moving a sensing mass of a microelectromechanical gyroscope in accordance with a degree of freedom and at an actuation frequency, the moving including applying electrostatic forces to the sensing mass; sensing transduction signals indicative of displacements of the sensing mass in accordance with the degree of freedom; supplying a self-test signal by modulating a carrier signal with a self-test signal; and discriminating, in the transduction signals, spectral components corresponding to the actuation frequency and spectral components indicative of a movement of the sensing mass in response to rotation of the sensing mass the discriminating including; generating a first demodulated signal by demodulating the transduction signals using the carrier signal; and generating a second demodulated signal by demodulating the first demodulated signal using the self-test signal. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method, comprising:
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driving a sensing mass by introducing a first signal to a microelectromechanical gyroscope, the sensing mass being movably coupled to a body in the microelectromechanical gyroscope, the sensing mass being movable with respect to the body according to a degree of freedom in response to rotations of the body about a first axis; detecting a second signal corresponding to movement of the sensing mass according to a degree of freedom, the second signal including a first component directed toward movement of the rotations of the body and a second component directed to movement of the sensing mass in response to introduction of the first signal; producing the first signal by modulating a third signal having a frequency equal to a drive frequency of the sensing mass with a fourth signal having a frequency lower than the drive frequency; and separating the first and the second component from the second signal, the separating including; producing a first demodulated signal by demodulating the second signal with a fifth signal having a frequency equal to the drive frequency; deriving the first component of the second signal from the first demodulated signal; producing a second demodulated signal by demodulating the first demodulated signal with a sixth signal having a frequency equal to the frequency of the fourth signal; and deriving the second component of the second signal from the second demodulated signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A device, comprising:
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a microelectromechanical gyroscope including; a body; a driving mass movably coupled to the body; and a sensing mass movably coupled to the driving mass; a driving device configured to drive the body, the sensing mass being configured to move in response to movement of the body; an actuator configured to apply a biasing force to the sensing mass to introduce a corresponding motion to the sensing mass relative to the driving mass; a sensing device configured to detect motion of the sensing mass according to a degree of freedom and to distinguish in the detected motion a component corresponding to motion of the body from a component corresponding to motion of the sensing mass introduced by the biasing force applied by the actuator, the sensing device including; a capacitive coupling that couples the sensing device to the body, the sensing device being configured to detect differential changes in the capacitive coupling in response to motion of the sensing mass and configured to produce a corresponding first signal; first and second demodulators, the first demodulator configured to extract, from a first signal produced by the detected motion of the sensing mass, a second signal corresponding to the motion of the body, and the second demodulator configured to extract, from the second signal, a third signal corresponding to motion of the sensing mass introduced by the biasing force applied by the actuator. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification