Method and apparatus for measuring acceleration using a fiber optic accelerometer
US6779402B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 18, 2002 |
| Grant date | Aug 24, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 18, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01P15/093
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method for measuring acceleration using a fiber optic accelerometer having a pair of fiber optic coils positioned around a deformable support structure. The support structure possesses a nominally cylindrical shape with the fiber optic coils being wound around opposite ends of the cylindrical support structure from each other. The support structure deforms from its nominally cylindrical shape to a conical shape in response to acceleration along a sensing axis. The changing shape of the support structure causes one of the fiber optic coils to expand while the other of the fiber optic coils contracts. The fiber optic coils are included in an interferometer such that acceleration along the sensing axis produces a phase difference between light signals propagating in the fiber optic coils resulting from their expansion and contraction.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.