Quartz resonant gyroscope or quartz resonant tuning fork gyroscope

US5388458A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Marc S. Weinberg · Needham, US
• Anthony Petrovich · Tewksbury, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 24, 1992
• Grant date: Feb 14, 1995
• Expiry date: Nov 24, 2012

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01C19/5607
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A resonantly vibrating or tuning fork rate sensor in which a quartz beam is instrumented with electrodes in first and second regions forming respective sense and drive electrodes wherein the piezoelectric resonance affect of the quartz material between the drive electrodes is used as a tuning element for an oscillator circuit. The electrodes are driven in a balanced voltage mode and sensed in a common mode rejection differential amplifier while leads running to the electrodes along the quartz beam are placed at positions of minimal field strength for improving the signal to noise ratio of the device. The rate sensor utilizes a multi-electrode pattern in order to make such lead placement possible. The sense pattern and drive pattern may be either in one orientation with the drive electrodes proximate to the body of the quartz resonator or in a second pattern with the sense electrodes proximate to the body. Both the drive electrodes and the sense electrodes operate on the piezoelectric principal, utilizing constriction to induce vibration from the drive electrodes and sensing the current generated from piezoelectric effect resulting from the vibrational compression which occurs out o…