JP2006084193A - Oscillator and angular velocity sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable to easily adapt an anisotropic material such as a quarts crystal to an angular velocity sensor lowered in the height in the rotational axis direction. <P>SOLUTION: The central part (boss part) 101 the three legs 121, 122, and 123 extending from the central part in directions different by 120 degrees of the same length, and rim part 103 connected with the outer side of each leg 121, 122 and 123. The legs 121, 122 and 123 are constituted with a piezoelectric material having at least three times symmetries while centering the prescribed axes in a plane having a normal line coincident with the axis. Each of legs 121, 122 and 123 is connected with the center part 101 and the other end of which is connected with the center part 101 and the other end is connected with the rim part 103. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vibrator and an angular velocity sensor that can be applied to a sensor that detects a rotational angular velocity in a rotating system used for attitude control and position detection of an aircraft, a ship, an automobile, and the like.

  Although there are various types of angular velocity sensors, there is a vibration-type angular velocity sensor that satisfies the requirement of being thin, small and lightweight for incorporation. Conventional vibration-type angular velocity sensors detect a Coriolis force that works with rotation by vibrating a vibrator processed into a square pole.

As such a conventional angular velocity sensor, there is one using a tuning fork type vibrator (see Patent Document 1).
In addition, a vibratory gyroscope (angular velocity sensor) has been proposed in which the height in the rotation axis direction is lowered by a disc-shaped vibrator (see Patent Document 2). This uses a vibrator having a structure in which an inertial body is added to the central portion of a disc-shaped flexural vibration plate (membrane). In the vibrator having this structure, the center of gravity of the additional inertial body is displaced in the in-plane direction along with the surface vertical bending vibration of the diaphragm having a single node diameter. In this case, there is an isomorphous mode in which the node diameter is 90 degrees orthogonal.

  Therefore, if one is set as the drive mode, the Coriolis force in the in-plane direction of the additional inertial body induces the other orthogonal mode by the application of the rotational angular velocity with respect to the vertical axis of the diaphragm surface, so that the sensor operation is performed. can get. Further, according to the vibrator disclosed in Patent Document 2, a large area can be used for driving and detection, and an improvement in sensitivity is expected.

By the way, in the vibration type angular velocity sensor, resonance is used in order to obtain a large amplitude with a minimum driving energy and detect a small inertia force with high sensitivity.
For example, in general, one of the natural vibration modes in a resonance state is selected as the drive mode, and the vibration mode is driven at the resonance frequency. In addition, the shape of the vibrator is designed so that the resonance frequency of the detection mode in which the drive mode and vibration displacement are orthogonal to each other matches the resonance frequency of the drive mode.

Since quartz that is often used as a resonator is an anisotropic material, the resonance frequency is matched by adjusting the shape of the vibrator. Matching the resonance frequencies of several vibration modes is said to degenerate the vibration modes.
When the disk-shaped vibrator described above is applied to a gyroscope, the same-type degenerate mode is used.

The applicant has not yet found prior art documents related to the present invention by the time of filing other than the prior art documents specified by the prior art document information described in this specification.
JP 2002-340559 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-142156

However, the same-type degenerate mode can be used only when the vibration characteristics in the corresponding orthogonal direction are equal. For this reason, it is not easy to apply an anisotropic material such as quartz to a vibrating gyroscope using a disk-type vibrator. In general, in the disk type, it is not easy to obtain an optimal support state for obtaining sensitivity improvement by resonance.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an anisotropic material such as quartz can be easily applied to an angular velocity sensor using a vibrator having a reduced height in the rotation axis direction. The purpose is to.

  The vibrator according to the present invention is made of a piezoelectric material having symmetry at least three times around a predetermined axis, and one end thereof is connected to each other in the same plane having the above-mentioned axis as a normal, and each 120 ° Three leg portions extending in different directions and an inertial body formed thicker than the leg portions provided at one end of the three leg portions are provided.

  In this vibrator, when driven by oscillating (exciting) the three legs with the drive center line orthogonal to the center of gravity at the center of gravity as a line segment passing through any one leg in the plane described above, As the three legs vibrate, the center of gravity of the inertial body is displaced in the in-plane direction. In this state, when a rotational motion occurs around the Z axis, which is the normal to the surface passing through the center of gravity of the inertial body, the mode in which the Coriolis force in the in-plane direction of the inertial body is orthogonal to the vibration direction of excitation. Induce.

  A frame portion connected to the other end portion of the three leg portions may be provided. Further, the frame portion is fixed to the other end of the three leg portions, and the leg portions are fixed by being connected via a connecting portion provided on the side surface of the three leg portions within a predetermined distance. A portion close to a point can be connected to the frame portion.

  The angular velocity sensor according to the present invention is composed of a piezoelectric material having symmetry at least three times around a predetermined axis, and one ends thereof are connected to each other in the same plane having the axis as a normal line, and directions different from each other by 120 °. A first leg, a second leg, and a third leg, and a first leg and a second leg provided at one end of the first leg, the second leg, and the third leg. And an inertial body formed thicker than the third leg, and a first drive electrode disposed from the left end of one surface of the first leg to the left end of one surface of the second leg The second drive electrode disposed from the right end of one surface of the first leg to the right end of one surface of the third leg, and the second drive electrode from the right end of one surface of the second leg A detection electrode disposed over the left end of one surface of the three legs, and a first leg, a second leg extending radially from one end connected to each other; Disposed in the central portion of the third leg portion is intended and a common electrode.

  As described above, in the present invention, three legs extending in directions different from each other by 120 ° in the same plane with the three-fold symmetry axis of the piezoelectric material constituting the normal as a normal, and three legs And an inertial body formed to be thicker than the leg portion provided at one end. As a result, in the plane, the Z axis passing through the center of gravity of the inertial body is rotated by oscillating the three legs with the drive center line perpendicular to the center of gravity as the line passing through one of the legs. Since the rotational motion around the center can be detected, an excellent effect that an anisotropic material such as quartz can be easily applied to an angular velocity sensor using a vibrator having a reduced height in the rotational axis direction can be obtained.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a vibrator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vibrator shown in FIG. 1 is made of, for example, crystal, and has three legs 121, 122, 123 having the same length extending in directions different from the central part (connecting part) 101 by 120 °, and each leg. And a frame portion 103 connected to the outer portion.

  As described above, this vibrator is composed of a piezoelectric material having symmetry at least three times around a predetermined axis, and one ends thereof are connected to each other within the same plane having the axis as a normal line, and each 120 ° Three leg portions 121, 122, 123 extending in different directions and a frame portion 103 connecting the leg portions are provided. One end of each of the leg portions 121, 122, and 123 is connected at the central portion 101, and the other end is connected to the frame portion 103.

  Further, the central portion 101 is formed thicker than the leg portions 121, 122, 123 and functions as an inertial body. For example, the leg portions 121, 122, and 123 are formed with a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and the central portion 101 is formed with a thickness of about 0.4 mm. The leg portions 121, 122, 123 are formed with a length of about 1.5 mm and a width of about 0.6 mm. Further, the length from the central portion of the central portion 101 to the outer periphery of the frame portion 103 is about 2 mm. The frame portion 103 is formed to have a thickness of about 0.4 mm, which is the same as the central portion 101.

  In the vibrator shown in FIG. 1, for example, in a plane where the leg portions 121, 122, and 123 are arranged, a drive center line that is orthogonal to the line segment passing through the leg portion 121 at the center of gravity is used as the rotation center, and the leg portions 121, It can drive by vibrating (exciting) 122,123. Along with the vibration of the legs 121, 122, 123 by this driving, the center of gravity of the central portion 101, which is an inertial body, is displaced in the in-plane direction.

  In this state, when a rotational motion about the Z axis that is the normal line of the surface passing through the center of gravity of the central portion 101 is generated, the Coriolis force in the in-plane direction at the central portion 101 becomes the vibration direction of excitation. Induces orthogonal modes. The induced mode vibration is detected by a detection electrode provided on one of the legs 121, 122, and 123.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, by setting the drive electrode 201, the drive electrode 202, the detection electrode 203, and the common electrode 204, it is possible to perform the above-described angular velocity sensor operation. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the vibrator shown in FIG. 1, and each electrode is formed on the surface (rear surface) shown in FIG.

  The drive electrode 201 is formed from the leg 121 to the leg 122, and the drive electrode 202 is formed from the leg 121 to the leg 123. In FIG. 2, the drive electrode 201 is disposed from the left end of the back surface of the leg 121 to the left end of the back of the leg 122. On the other hand, in FIG. 2, the drive electrode 202 is disposed from the right end of the back surface of the leg 121 to the right end of the back of the leg 123. Therefore, the drive electrode 201 and the drive electrode 202 have a line-symmetric relationship with a line segment passing through the central portion of the leg 121, and have a point-symmetric relationship with the center (center of gravity) of the vibrator.

  Further, in FIG. 2, the detection electrode 203 is arranged from the right end of the back surface of the leg portion 122 to the left end portion of the back surface of the leg portion 123. The detection electrode 203 is in a line symmetric relationship with a line segment passing through the drive electrode 201 and the center portion of the leg portion 122. Further, the detection electrode 203 has a line-symmetric relationship with a line segment passing through the drive electrode 202 and the central portion of the leg portion 123. The detection electrode 203 has a point-symmetric relationship with the drive electrode 201 and the drive electrode 202 at the center (center of gravity) of the vibrator.

The common electrode 204 is disposed at the center of each leg 121, 122, 123 so as to extend radially from the center 101, and the drive electrode 201, the drive electrode 202, and the detection electrode 203 Are separated from each other.
As described above, with the electrodes arranged, by connecting to the detection circuit as shown in FIG. 3A, an output signal corresponding to the Z-axis rotation angular velocity applied to the vibrator can be obtained.

For example, a drive signal having a voltage that changes as shown in FIG. 3B is applied from the oscillation circuit 301, and the drive mode is excited. A voltage indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3B is applied to the drive electrode 201, and a voltage indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 3B is applied to the drive electrode 202.
In this driving state, when a rotational angular velocity with respect to the Z axis is applied, a detection signal based on a reference potential whose amplitude and phase change with the angular velocity at the same frequency as the driving signal is generated at the detection electrode 203.

  After the detection signal generated at the detection electrode 203 is amplified by the amplification circuit 302, the detection signal is detected by the synchronous detection circuit 304 using the drive signal as a reference signal through the phase circuit 303, so that an output signal proportional to the applied rotational angular velocity ( DC) is obtained. The rotational angular velocity around the Z axis obtained in this way is as good as 1000 times or more in sensitivity to the other axis output by the X and Y axes.

Next, another configuration example of the vibrator according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another configuration example of the vibrator according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The vibrator shown in FIG. 4 is made of, for example, quartz, and includes three legs 421, 422, and 423 having the same length extending in directions different from the central portion (connecting portion) 401 by 120 °.

  In other words, the vibrator shown in FIG. 4 is also composed of a piezoelectric material having symmetry at least three times around a predetermined axis, and one ends thereof are connected to each other in the same plane having the axis as a normal line. Three leg portions 421, 422, and 423 extending in directions different from each other by 120 ° are provided. One end of each of the three leg portions 421, 422, and 423 is connected to the center portion 401.

  Also in this vibrator, the central portion 401 is formed thicker than the leg portions 421, 422, and 423, and functions as an inertial body. For example, the leg portions 421, 422, and 423 are formed with a thickness of about 0.1 mm, and the central portion 401 is formed with a thickness of about 0.4 mm. Further, the leg portions 421, 422, and 423 are formed to have a length from the center portion 401 to the end portion of about 2 mm and a width of about 0.6 mm.

  Further, in the vibrator of FIG. 4, the leg portions 421, 422, and 423 are connected to the frame portion 403 via the connecting portion 404 on the inner side by a predetermined distance from the other ends of the leg portions 421, 422, and 423 (on the center portion 401 side). Connected. The leg portions 421, 422, and 423 are fixed to the frame portion 403 via the connecting portion 404 on the side surface at a predetermined distance inward from the other end in the region of the other end.

In the vibrator shown in FIG. 4, a portion close to a point that does not move when the vibration elements inside the leg portions 421, 422, and 423 are taken into consideration is fixed by the connecting portion 404. As a result, the influence of support is mitigated and the Q value can be improved.
In addition, this vibrator can also be used as an angular velocity sensor by disposing each electrode similarly to FIG. 2 and using a circuit similar to FIG.

It is a perspective view which shows the structural example of the vibrator | oscillator in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a vibrator illustrated in FIG. 1. It is the top view which showed arrangement | positioning of the electrode for comprising an angular velocity sensor using the vibrator | oscillator shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the other structural example of the vibrator | oscillator in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

101... Central portion (connecting portion) 103. Frame portion 121, 122, 123.

Claims (4)

A piezoelectric material having at least three-fold symmetry about a predetermined axis;
Three legs that are connected to each other in the same plane with the axis as a normal and extend in directions different from each other by 120 °;
And an inertial body formed thicker than the legs provided at the one end of the three legs. The vibrator according to claim 1,
A vibrator comprising a frame portion connected to the other end portion of the three leg portions. The vibrator according to claim 2, wherein
The frame portion is connected via a connecting portion provided on a side surface of the three leg portions on a predetermined distance inside from the other ends of the three leg portions. A piezoelectric material having at least three-fold symmetry about a predetermined axis;
A first leg, a second leg, and a third leg, one end of which is connected to each other in the same plane having the axis as a normal and extends in directions different from each other by 120 °;
An inertial body formed thicker than the first leg, the second leg, and the third leg provided at the one end of the first leg, the second leg, and the third leg;
A first drive electrode disposed from a left end portion of one surface of the first leg portion to a left end portion of one surface of the second leg portion;
A second drive electrode disposed from a right end portion of one surface of the first leg portion to a right end portion of one surface of the third leg portion;
A detection electrode disposed from a right end portion of one surface of the second leg portion to a left end portion of one surface of the third leg portion;
An angular velocity sensor comprising: a common electrode extending radially from one end connected to each other and disposed at a central portion of the first leg portion, the second leg portion, and the third leg portion. .

Images