Micro inertial measurement system

• US 10,132,827 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2015
• Issued: 11/20/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. (d/b/a DJI) (iFlight Technology Company Limited)
• Inventors: Wang, Tao
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen
• Application Number:
  US14/940,721
• Publication Number:
  US 20160097793A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 73493, 73431, 73510, 73511, 702145, 702151
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/022 using dampers and springs in combination
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/04 using elastic means single elements or their attachment F16F1/00 - F16F13/00; F16F15/023, F16F15/03 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 15/085 Use of both rubber and metal springs
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/5783 Mountings or housings not specific to any of the devices covered by groups G01C19/5607 - G01C19/5719
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 1/02 Housings
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/14 by making use of gyroscopes gyroscopes per se G01C19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions

Abstract

A micro inertial measurement system includes a housing, a sensing module, and a damper. The sensing module includes a rigid sensing support, a measuring and controlling circuit board mounted on the rigid sensing support and an inertial sensor set on the measuring and controlling circuit board. The inertial sensor includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer. The sensing module is mounted in the housing. The damper is mounted in the housing and set in the gap between the sensing module and the inside wall of the housing. By use of the above-mentioned structure, the noise immunity of the inertial measuring system can be greatly improved, and the volume and weight of the inertial measuring system can be greatly reduced.

Claims

1. An inertial measurement device, the device comprising:

a sensing module comprising a support and a flexible circuit board,

wherein the support comprises six external surfaces, at least one external surface comprising a groove engraved thereon, and

wherein the flexible circuit board (1) comprises one or more electrical components, the one or more electrical components comprising at least one of a gyroscope or an accelerometer, (2) is coupled to the support with the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer embedded within the groove on the at least one external surface of the support, and (3) comprises a front surface configured to support the one or more electrical components and a back surface opposite the front surface and not supporting any electrical components, wherein a portion of the flexible circuit board is disposed over a corresponding portion of the at least one external surface outside of the groove engraved thereon, the front surface of the flexible circuit board facing the at least one external surface and the back surface facing away from the at least one external surface.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the support comprises six adjoining plane faces comprising the six external surfaces, each plane face comprising four sides adjoined to four other plane faces.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the support comprises a cube-shaped structure comprising the six external surfaces.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the flexible circuit board is configured to wrap around the six external surfaces of the support structure, wherein the flexible circuit board comprises a plurality of panels, and wherein the flexible circuit board is foldable such that at least a subset of the plurality of panels are orthogonal to each other when the flexible circuit board is wrapped around the six external surfaces of the support.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the flexible circuit board comprises six panels and wherein each of the six panels substantially covers a corresponding external surface of the support when the flexible circuit board is folded.

6. The device of claim 1, further comprising a housing containing therein said sensing module, and one or more damping units arranged between the sensing module and the housing.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the one or more damping units comprise six damping units, each of the six damping units being in contact with a corresponding panel of the flexible circuit board.

8. A method for fabricating the inertial measurement device of claim 1, the method comprising:

providing the support comprising the six external surfaces; and

coupling the flexible circuit board to the support by embedding the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer within the groove on the at least one external surface of the support, thereby forming the sensing module.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the embedding comprises embedding the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer within the groove on the at least one external surface with the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer facing the groove on the at least one external surface.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising positioning the sensing module within a housing.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising arranging one or more damping units between the sensing module and the housing.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising mounting the housing onto an unmanned aerial vehicle.

13. A movable device, the device comprising:

the inertial measurement device of claim 1; and

a carrier carrying the inertial measurement device, wherein the flexible circuit board is configured to generate a signal indicative of at least one of an acceleration or a rotation of the carrier.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein the carrier is an unmanned aerial vehicle.

15. The device of claim 13, further comprising a control computer operably coupled to the flexible circuit board and configured to receive and process the signal in order to determine at least one of the acceleration or the rotation of the carrier.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer embedded within the groove on the at least one external surface is between the back surface of the flexible circuit board and a portion of the at least one external surface of the support within the groove.

17. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one external surface comprises a portion within the groove oriented outward relative to a center of the support.

18. The device of claim 6, wherein the one or more damping units are in contact with the back surface of the flexible circuit board.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein at least a portion of the flexible circuit board is sandwiched between the at least one of the gyroscope or the accelerometer on the front surface and embedded within the groove, and the one or more damping units in contact with the back surface of the flexible circuit board.

20. The device of claim 1, wherein a shape of the flexible circuit board is congruent to a shape of the at least one external surface of the support.

21. The device of claim 1, wherein the support is manufactured using an integral forming process.