Piezoelectric ring gyroscope

A ring gyroscope which comprises:

• a substantially circular and flexible ring which defines a ring plane, and which is flexibly suspended from a substrate so that the ring can undergo shape oscillation in the ring plane, wherein the ring comprises first and second transversal symmetry axes in the ring plane which are orthogonal to each other, and the ring also comprises first and second diagonal symmetry axes in the ring plane which are orthogonal to each other, and the angle between each transversal symmetry axis and the adjacent diagonal symmetry axis is 45°,
• wherein the gyroscope further comprises
• one or more primary piezoelectric split transducers configured to drive the ring into resonance oscillation, placed on first sectors of the ring, and one or more secondary piezoelectric split transducers configured to sense the oscillation of the ring, placed on one or more second sectors of the ring, and each first sector crosses a transversal symmetry axis of the ring and is symmetric with respect to that symmetry axis, and each second sector crosses a diagonal symmetry axis of the ring and is symmetric with respect to that diagonal symmetry axis of the ring,
• a suspension structure configured to support the weight of the ring, wherein the suspension structure comprises N outer suspenders, where N is an integer greater than or equal to two, and each outer suspender extends along a ring tangent from a suspension attachment point on the outer edge of the ring to an anchor point, wherein the suspension attachment points are substantially evenly distributed along the ring perimeter, and the ratio between the vertical thickness of each outer suspender in the direction perpendicular to the ring plane and the radial width of that outer suspender in the direction of the ring radius is at least 4:1.