Magnetically driven vibrating beam force transducer
US4912990A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 1989 |
| Grant date | Apr 3, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 27, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S73/01
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A vibrating beam force transducer that can be realized in a silicon micromachined device such as a micromachined accelerometer. The transducer includes a beam having a longitudinal axis, and a drive circuit electrically coupled to the beam for causing the beam to oscillate at a resonant frequency that is a function of a force applied along the longitudinal beam axis. The drive circuit provides an electrical current to the beam, and the beam, or a conductive portion thereof, conducts the current along a path that includes an axial component parallel to the longitudinal axis. A magnetic field is created intersecting the axial component, such that the electric current interacts with the magnetic field to produce a force that causes the beam to oscillate at the resonant frequency. In a preferred embodiment, the transducer has a double ended tuning fork configuration, and the current path extends along one beam and back along the other beam.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.