Multi-axis inertial sensor with dual mass and integrated damping structure
First Claim
1. An inertial sensor comprising:
- a substrate;
a first movable element suspended from said substrate;
a second movable element suspended from said substrate and positioned laterally adjacent to said first movable element, each of said first and second movable elements having a mass that is asymmetric relative to a rotational axis;
a first spring system coupling said first movable element to said substrate; and
a second spring system coupling said second movable element to said substrate, wherein said first and second spring systems enable said first and second movable elements to move together in response to force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in at least two orthogonal directions, wherein;
said first and second spring systems facilitate translatory motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a first force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a first direction substantially parallel to a surface of said substrate; and
said first and second spring systems further facilitate in-plane torsion motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a second force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a second direction substantially parallel to said surface of said substrate, said second direction being substantially orthogonal to said first direction.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inertial sensor includes first and second movable elements suspended from a substrate and interconnected by a beam. The second movable element is positioned laterally adjacent to the first movable element, and each of the movable elements has a mass that is asymmetric relative to a rotational axis. A first spring system couples the first movable element to the substrate and a second spring system couples the second movable element to the substrate. The spring systems and the beam enable the movable elements to move together in response to force imposed upon the movable elements. In particular, the first and second movable elements can undergo in-plane torsion motion in response to force, such as acceleration, imposed in a sense direction. Additionally, damping structures may be integrated into the first and second movable elements to effectively increase a damping ratio of the device resulting from the in-plane torsion motion.
24 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An inertial sensor comprising:
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a substrate; a first movable element suspended from said substrate; a second movable element suspended from said substrate and positioned laterally adjacent to said first movable element, each of said first and second movable elements having a mass that is asymmetric relative to a rotational axis; a first spring system coupling said first movable element to said substrate; and a second spring system coupling said second movable element to said substrate, wherein said first and second spring systems enable said first and second movable elements to move together in response to force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in at least two orthogonal directions, wherein; said first and second spring systems facilitate translatory motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a first force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a first direction substantially parallel to a surface of said substrate; and said first and second spring systems further facilitate in-plane torsion motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a second force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a second direction substantially parallel to said surface of said substrate, said second direction being substantially orthogonal to said first direction. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An inertial sensor comprising:
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a substrate; a first movable element suspended from said substrate; a second movable element suspended from said substrate and positioned laterally adjacent to said first movable element, each of said first and second movable elements having a mass that is asymmetric relative to a rotational axis; a beam interconnected between said first and second movable elements; a first spring system coupling said first movable element to said substrate, said first spring system including a first anchor element coupled to said substrate at said rotational axis and a first spring having a first end coupled to said first anchor element and a second end coupled to said first movable element; and a second spring system coupling said second movable element to said substrate, said second spring system including a second anchor element coupled to said substrate at said rotational axis and a second spring having a third end coupled to said second anchor element and a fourth end coupled to said second movable element wherein said beam and said first and second spring systems enable said first and second movable elements to move together in response to force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in at least two orthogonal directions, and wherein; said first and second spring systems facilitate translatory motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a first force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a first direction substantially parallel to a surface of said substrate; and said first and second spring systems facilitate in-plane torsion motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a second force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a second direction substantially parallel to said surface of said substrate, said second direction being substantially orthogonal to said first direction. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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16. An inertial sensor comprising:
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a substrate; a first movable element suspended from said substrate; a second movable element suspended from said substrate and positioned laterally adjacent to said first movable element, each of said first and second movable elements having a mass that is asymmetric relative to a rotational axis; a first damping structure extending from a first inner edge of said first movable element toward said second movable element; a second damping structure extending from a second inner edge of said second movable element toward said first movable element; a first spring system coupling said first movable element to said substrate; and a second spring system coupling said second movable element to said substrate, said first and second spring systems enabling said first and second movable elements to move together, wherein; said first and second spring systems facilitate translatory motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a first force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a first direction substantially parallel to a surface of said substrate; said first and second spring systems further facilitate in-plane torsion motion of said first and second movable elements in response to a second force imposed upon said first and second movable elements in a second direction substantially parallel to said surface of said substrate, said second direction being substantially orthogonal to said first direction; and said second damping structure is operatively coupled with said first damping structure to dampen an oscillatory response of said first and second movable elements resulting from said in-plane torsion motion. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification