Inertial rate sensor tuning fork
AssigneeBEI Technologies, Inc.
InventorStuart J. Knowles
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Vibratory tuning fork having a body of piezoelectric material with a base and a pair of tapered tines which extend from the base and decrease in lateral dimension from the base toward the tips of the tines. A crotch section at the base of the tines has an inner pair of faces which lie in crystallographic planes of the piezoelectric material and an outer pair of faces which lie in additional crystallographic planes of the material and extend between the inner pair of faces and the tines. An isolation slot is formed in the base adjacent to the crotch, with enlarged cut-outs at the ends of the slot to prevent the formation of facets and membranes across the slot.
Claims22
A tuning fork for use in an inertial rate sensor, comprising a body of piezoelectric material having a base and a pair of tapered tines which extend from the base and decrease in lateral dimension from the base toward the tips of the tines.
A tuning fork for use in an inertial rate sensor, comprising a body of crystalline material having a base, a pair of tines extending from the base and positioned symmetrically on opposite sides of an axis, and a crotch section at the base of the tines, the crotch section having an inner pair of faces which lie in crystallographic planes of the material and come together at the axis, and an outer pair of faces which lie in additional crystallographic planes of the material and extend between the inner faces and the tines.
A double ended tuning fork for use in an inertial rate sensor formed as a unitary structure of quartz, comprising a frame having a central opening, a mounting pad disposed in the opening, relatively thin bridges interconnecting the mounting pad and the frame, a pair of tapered drive tines extending from a first crotch at one end of the frame and decreasing in lateral dimension from the first crotch toward the tips of the tines, a pair of tapered pick-up tines extending from a second crotch at a second end of the frame and decreasing in lateral dimension from the second crotch toward the tips of the tines, and isolation slots formed in the frame between the bridges and the crotches.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.