Fiber optic accelerometer and method of measuring inertial force
US4322829A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 11, 1980 |
| Grant date | Mar 30, 1982 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 11, 2000 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S359/90
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A mass is attached between light reflective ends of a pair of rectilinearly aligned optic fibers and maintained in such position with the fibers under a slight tension. The pair of fibers comprise a portion of two arms of a Mach Zehnder or Michelson interferometer so that an acceleration along the longitudinal axis of the rectilinearly aligned optic fibers increases the length of one of the pair of fibers and shortens the length of the other, whereby electromagnetic rays traveling in the pair of fibers, travel different distances resulting in a phase shift which phase shift is directly proportional to the force applied to the fibers by the mass and therefore directly proportional to the acceleration. Accelerations in directions perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the fibers cause equal phase shifts in each arm and therefore would not be detected. Thermal expansion of the fibers and acoustical noises should also balance out.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.