ANGULAR RATE SENSOR HAVING A SENSE ELEMENT CONSTRAINED TO MOTION ABOUT A SINGLE AXIS AND FLEXIBLY ATTACHED TO A ROTARY DRIVE MASS

摘要

Disclosed is a micro-gyro and method of driving a micro-gyro. The method and structure are embodied in a micro-gyro of the type where first flexures extend from an anchor connect to a sense plate, where second flexures extend from the sense plate connect to a drive ring, where the drive ring is driven to oscillate about a drive axis, and where the first flexures constrain the sense plate from moving about the drive axis but permit the sense plate and the attached drive ring to rock about a sense axis. The sense plate, drive ring and flexures form a plate-ring-flexure system that is tuned such that the system rocks about the sense axis in a first or fundamental mode where the plate and ring move substantially in phase at the lowest resonant frequency.