Gyro sensor system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10767992-B2
Application number	US-201715705229-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 14, 2017
Priority date	Mar 24, 2017
Publication date	Sep 8, 2020
Grant date	Sep 8, 2020

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a gyro sensor system including a gyro sensor unit is disclosed. The unit includes a movable body, a spring mechanism, a detector, an adjuster, and a rotation angle acquisition unit. The spring mechanism vibrates the movable body. A detector detects an amplitude of vibration of the movable body due to Coriolis force. The adjuster adjusts a first resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body in free vibration and a second resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body due to Coriolis force on the movable body so that the first and second resonance frequencies are to coincide with each other based on the amplitude of the vibration due to Coriolis force. The rotation angle acquisition unit acquires a rotation angle of the movable body, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to Coriolis force.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A gyro sensor system comprising at least one gyro sensor unit comprising:
a movable body;
a spring mechanism configured to vibrate the movable body;
a detector capable of detecting an amplitude of vibration of the movable body wherein the vibration is due to a Coriolis force acting on the movable body;
an adjuster configured to adjust a first resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body in free vibration and a second resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body wherein the vibration is due to the Coriolis force acting on the movable body, so that the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency coincide with each other, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector; and
a rotation angle acquisition unit configured to acquire a rotation angle of the movable body, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector in a state in which the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency are adjusted by the adjuster so that the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency coincide with each other,
wherein the adjuster comprises:
an adjustment signal generation circuit configured to generate an adjustment signal to coincide the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency with each other, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector; and
an adjustment mechanism configured to receive the adjustment signal generated from the adjustment signal generation circuit to perform the adjustment of the movable body.

2. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment signal generation circuit generates the adjustment signal so that the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector is maximized.

3. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the adjustment signal generation circuit generates the adjustment signal so that a temporal change in the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector is minimized.

4. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein when the movable body is rotated by 90° with respect to an axis that is perpendicular to a direction of the vibration due to the free vibration and a direction of the vibration due to the Coriolis force and that passes through a center of a pattern of the movable body, the pattern of the movable body is not rotationally symmetric.

5. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the gyro sensor unit further comprises a catch and release mechanism configured to catch the movable body and release the caught movable body so that the movable body is in the free vibration.

6. The gyro sensor system of claim 5 , wherein the detector performs a detection of the amplitude for performing the adjustment and a detection of the amplitude for acquiring the rotation angle in a period during which the movable body freely vibrates by being released from the catch and release mechanism.

7. The gyro sensor system of claim 5 , wherein the vibration due to the Coriolis force is forcibly attenuated after the movable body is caught by the catch and release mechanism.

8. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein when the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force is increased to be larger than a predetermined value, the detection of the amplitude for acquiring the rotation angle is performed.

9. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the movable body is controlled so that the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force is constant.

10. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gyro sensor unit comprises first and second gyro sensor units.

11. The gyro sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one gyro sensor unit comprises three gyro sensor units, and the three gyro sensor units are respectively sensitive about three respective axes that are all perpendicular to each other.

12. A gyro sensor system comprising a sensor unit comprising:
a movable body;
a spring mechanism configured to vibrate the movable body;
a detector capable of detecting an amplitude of vibration of the movable body wherein the vibration is due to a Coriolis force acting on the movable body;
an adjuster configured to adjust a first resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body in free vibration and a second resonance frequency of vibration of the movable body wherein the vibration is due to the Coriolis force acting on the movable body, so that the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency coincide with each other, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector; and
a rotation angle acquisition unit configured to acquire a rotation angle of the movable body, based on the amplitude of the vibration due to the Coriolis force detected by the detector in a state in which the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency are adjusted by the adjuster so that the first resonance frequency and the second resonance frequency coincide with each other; and
a damping coefficient adjustment mechanism comprising a variable capacitor whose capacitance is changed by a displacement of the movable body, and a resistor connected to the variable capacitor,
wherein the damping coefficient adjustment mechanism adjusts a damping coefficient of the movable body based on an energy loss occurring when a part of electric charges accumulated in the variable capacitor passes through the resistor by the displacement of the movable body.

13. The gyro sensor system of claim 12 , wherein the damping coefficient adjustment mechanism further includes a variable voltage source and a switch connected between the variable capacitor and the variable voltage source, and
an accumulated charge amount of the variable capacitor is controlled by adjusting a voltage of the variable voltage source.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk

Inventors

• Ikehashi Tamio

Classifications

• G01C19/5726 Primary

  Signal processing · CPC title

• G01C19/5762

  the sensing mass being connected to a driving mass, e.g. driving frames · CPC title