Digital force balanced instrument
US5497660A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 31, 1994 |
| Grant date | Mar 12, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 31, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01P15/125
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A digital force balanced instrument such as an accelerometer that incorporates a directly digital electrostatic forcer with servo loop plates charged by a digital feedback loop is disclosed. The accelerometer has a proofmass electrode suspended in a cantilever configuration between electrodes on either side thereof, which proofmass is displaced upon acceleration. Each side electrode includes a plurality of electrostatic plates sized in binarily weighted multiples of area. An induced signal in the proofmass electrode is quantized via A/D converter in the feedback loop, which activates the appropriate number of plates to force the proofmass to an initial position.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.