Planar inertial sensor, in particular for portable devices having a stand-by function
First Claim
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1. An inertial sensor, comprising:
- a first region of semiconductor material formed by a first plurality of arc-shaped regions arranged on concentric circumferences, said first region being fixed; and
a second region of semiconductor material formed by a second plurality of arc-shaped regions arranged on concentric circumferences, each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality facing, on a first side thereof, a respective arc-shaped region of said second plurality, and positioned such that a distance between each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality and the respective arc-shaped region of said second plurality is substantially less than a distance between each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality and any of the arc-shaped regions of said second plurality positioned on a second side of the respective one of said first plurality of arc-shaped regions, said second region being mobile and extending in a plane, and said second region being translatable with respect to said first region in any direction belonging to said plane.
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Abstract
A planar inertial sensor includes a first region and a second region of semiconductor material. The second region is capacitively coupled, and mobile with respect to the first region. The second region extends in a plane and has second portions, which face respective first portions of the first region. Movement of the second region, relative to the first region, in any direction belonging to the plane modifies the distance between the second portions and the first portions, which in turn modifies a value of the capacitive coupling.
27 Citations
31 Claims
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1. An inertial sensor, comprising:
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a first region of semiconductor material formed by a first plurality of arc-shaped regions arranged on concentric circumferences, said first region being fixed; and a second region of semiconductor material formed by a second plurality of arc-shaped regions arranged on concentric circumferences, each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality facing, on a first side thereof, a respective arc-shaped region of said second plurality, and positioned such that a distance between each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality and the respective arc-shaped region of said second plurality is substantially less than a distance between each of said arc-shaped regions of said first plurality and any of the arc-shaped regions of said second plurality positioned on a second side of the respective one of said first plurality of arc-shaped regions, said second region being mobile and extending in a plane, and said second region being translatable with respect to said first region in any direction belonging to said plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A portable electronic apparatus comprising:
a device for re-activation from stand-by, said device for re-activation from stand-by including an inertial sensor having a first region of semiconductor material, said first region having a first plurality of electrodes, and a second region of semiconductor material, said second region being mobile with respect to said first region and having a second plurality of electrodes formed by a plurality of concentric rings, each of the second plurality of electrodes facing, at least in part, a respective one of said first plurality of electrodes, said second region extending in a plane, and said second region being translatable with respect to said first region in any direction belonging to said plane. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A device, comprising:
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a support substrate; a stator region formed on the substrate and including a sensor region having a plurality of sensor electrodes electrically coupled to a common node; and a rotor, including a plurality of rotor electrodes mechanically coupled to the rotor, movably coup led to the substrate such that the rotor is free to move in any direction lying in a plane parallel to a surface of the substrate, the rotor being capacitively coupled to the stator region such that translation of the rotor a given distance in any direction lying in the plane changes the capacitive coupling to a degree substantially equal to a change of the coupling resulting from displacement of the rotor the same distance in any other direction lying in the plane. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method, comprising:
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displacing a rotor having a plurality of concentric rings mechanically coupled to the rotor, within a plane, a distance relative to a stator having a plurality of sensor electrodes arranged such that each sensor electrode faces a respective portion of one of the plurality of concentric rings; and varying a capacitive coupling between the rotor and the stator in direct relation to the distance the rotor is displaced, a magnitude of the variation being substantially independent of a direction of displacement of the rotor within the plane. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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Specification