Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Yasuhito Osada

Takahiro Manabe

Mikio Nozu

Jiro Terada

Toshihiko Ichinose

Hiroshi Takenaka

Hiroshi Senda

Kazumitsu Ueda

Hiroyuki Nomura

An angular rate sensor detects an angular rate which is produced when a mobile body such as a motor vehicle moves. The angular rate detecting device comprises at least two angular rate sensors housed in a case perpendicularly to each other. The angular rate sensor comprising a pair of vibratory units which are interconnected by a connector in a tuning-fork configuration. The vibratory units of the angular rate sensors are vibrated at different frequencies. The angular rate sensors may be accommodated in a damper block, which may be housed in the case. Since the angular rate sensors are housed in the single case, the angular rate detecting device is compact in structure and small in size. With the angular rate sensors accommodated in the damper block, they are protected from resonance, crosstalk interferences, and noise, and hence can produce reliable detected output signals.

Angular rate detecting device

An angular rate sensor detects an angular rate which is produced when a mobile body such as a motor vehicle moves. The angular rate detecting device comprises at least two angular rate sensors housed in a case perpendicularly to each other. Each angular rate sensor comprises a pair of vibratory units which are interconnected by a connector in a tuning-fork configuration. The vibratory units of different angular rate sensors are vibrated at different frequencies. The angular rate sensors may be accommodated in a damper block, which may be housed in the case. Since the angular rate sensors are housed in the single case, the angular rate detecting device is compact in structure and small in size. With the angular rate sensors accommodated in the damper block, they are protected from resonance, crosstalk interferences, and noise, and hence can produce reliable detected output signals.

An angular rate sensor has a tuning fork structure composed of vibratory components. The vibratory components include piezoelectric drive and detection elements which are joined together into a tuning fork configuration, the drive and detection elements lying in respective orthogonal planes. Leads are electrically connected to the drive and detection elements, and lead terminals are electrically connected to the leads, respectively. The vibratory components are covered with a coating which is of a material having a lower elasticity than the elasticities of the vibratory components. The coating on the vibratory components effectively reduces the propagation of unwanted vibrations, thereby reducing output signal drifts.

Angular rate sensor

A flexible printed circuit substrate is bent in a flattened rectangular C-shape and electronic parts generating heat are mounted on the inner surface of a central portion of the C-shaped substrate. Then a radiating heat-sink plate is adhered on the outer surface of that central portion. Temperature-sensitive electronic parts are mounted on one end portion of the C-shaped substrate and parts consisting of a power supply circuit are mounted on the other end portion. Then the entire assembly is accommodated in a housing having a connector.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Yasuhito Osada