Compound sensor

• US 8,997,569 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Narita, Katsutoshi, Yamaoka, Hidehiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron E
• Assistant Examiner(s): ZHONG, XIN Y
• Application Number:
  US13/241,942
• Publication Number:
  US 20120013355A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,292 Days
• Field of Search: 735/140.1
• US Class Current: 73/514.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 19/574 the devices having two sensing masses in anti-phase motion
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0888 for indicating angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/125 by capacitive pick-up
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0805 being provided with a particular type of spring-mass-system for defining the displacement of a seismic mass due to an external acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 3/22 transferred to the indicator by electric or magnetic means

Abstract

A compound sensor includes a first unit including first and second oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in a driving direction and a detecting direction; a second unit including third and fourth oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in the driving direction and the detecting direction; a drive unit to drive the first through fourth oscillators so as to oscillate the first and second oscillators in opposite phase, and the third and fourth oscillators in opposite phase, and so as to oscillate the first and second unit in opposite phase; and a detection unit configured to detect displacements of the first through fourth oscillators in the detecting direction, wherein an acceleration, angular rate, angular acceleration and centrifugal force are independently detected by canceling unnecessary inertial force components from the displacements of the first through fourth oscillators.

Claims

1. A compound sensor comprising:

a first unit including first and second oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in a driving direction and a detecting direction;

a second unit including third and fourth oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in the driving direction and the detecting direction;

a drive unit configured to drive the first, second, third and fourth oscillators so as to oscillate the first and second oscillators in opposite phase to each other, and the third and fourth oscillators in opposite phase to each other, and so as to oscillate the first unit and the second unit in opposite phase to each other;

a detection unit configured to detect displacements of the first, second, third and fourth oscillators in the detecting direction; and

a processing unit configured to calculate an acceleration, an angular rate, an angular acceleration and a centrifugal force respectively and independently from the displacements of the first, second, third and fourth oscillators,

wherein the first unit and the second unit respectively further include a same number of additional oscillators other than the first, second, third and fourth oscillators, and

wherein the drive unit drives the additional oscillators so as to make oscillators in opposite phase a same number if a total number of the oscillators included in the first unit and the second unit is even after the additional oscillators are added, and so as to oscillate the additional oscillators opposite in phase to a nearest disposed oscillator within the first unit and the second unit if the total number of the oscillators included in the first unit and the second unit is odd after the additional oscillators are added.

2. A compound sensor comprising:

a first unit including first and second oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in a driving direction and a detecting direction;

a second unit including third and fourth oscillators symmetrically disposed to each other and being able to be displaced in the driving direction and the detecting direction;

a drive unit configured to drive the first, second, third and fourth oscillators so as to oscillate the first and second oscillators in opposite phase to each other, and the third and fourth oscillators in opposite phase to each other, and so as to oscillate the first unit and the second unit in opposite phase to each other;

a detection unit configured to detect displacements of the first, second, third and fourth oscillators in the detecting direction; and

a processing unit configured to calculate an acceleration, an angular rate, an angular acceleration and a centrifugal force respectively and independently from the displacements of the first, second, third and fourth oscillators,

wherein the drive unit and the detection unit respectively include first, second, third and fourth drive parts, and first, second, third and fourth detection parts respectively corresponding to the first, second, third and fourth oscillators,

wherein the first, second, third and fourth detection parts respectively include detection electrodes to detect the displacements by increase and decrease of capacitance, the detection electrodes being made of comb-like plural fixed electrodes fixed to a supporting medium and plural movable electrodes disposed alternately opposite to each other; and

wherein a positional relation in the detecting direction of an alternate arrangement between the fixed electrodes and the movable electrodes has an arrangement where the plural fixed electrodes and the plural movable electrodes generate only one of increase and decrease of the capacitance when the displacements occur, and has an arrangement where the detection parts corresponding to oscillators driven in opposite phase by the drive unit among the first, second, third and fourth oscillators make pairs of a common arrangement and each of the pairs has a different arrangement.

3. The compound sensor as claimed in claim 2,

wherein if the first and third oscillators are arranged on a same side in the driving direction, and the second and fourth oscillators are disposed on a same side in the driving direction, and the first and second detection parts make a pair, and the third and fourth detection parts make a pair respectively,

the detection electrodes of the first and third detection parts are arranged only to increase or decrease capacitance when the first and third oscillators are displaced, and

the detection electrodes of the second and fourth detection parts are arranged only to change the capacitance in opposite to capacitance change of the detection electrodes of the first and third detection parts.

4. The compound sensor as claimed in claim 2,

wherein if the first and third oscillators are arranged on a same side in the driving direction, and the second and fourth oscillators are disposed on a same side in the driving direction, and the first and second detection parts make a pair, and the third and fourth detection parts make a pair respectively,

the detection electrodes of the first and second detection parts are arranged only to increase or decrease capacitance when the first and second oscillators are displaced, and

the detection electrodes of the third and fourth detection parts are arranged only to change the capacitance in opposite to capacitance change of the detection electrodes of the first and second detection parts.