Analog accelerometer
AssigneeMesserschmitt-Boelkow-Blohm Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung
InventorNorbert Nissl
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Abstract
The present accelerometer has an inertia mass and a measuring device for suring a force acting on the inertia mass. The measuring device compares the intensity of light emanating from at least one optical fiber light source, with the light intensity entering at least one receiving optical fiber, after the light has been reflected, preferably repeatedly, in a gap formed by at least two reflecting surfaces. The gap is changeable by the force acting on the inertia mass. The acceleration to be measured may vary the gap width where the gap is formed between two parallel reflecting surfaces. Where the gap is formed by two surfaces including a gap defining angle, the acceleration to be measured may vary said gap defining angle.
Claims18
An apparatus for measuring acceleration, comprising housing means, inertia mass means, spring means movably locating said inertia mass means in said housing means for responding to an acceleration force, force measuring means responsive to movements of said inertia mass means, said force measuring means comprising first and second light reflecting surface means arranged to form a gap of variable width between said first and second light reflecting surface means, at least one of said reflecting surface means being operatively associated with said inertia mass means so that said gap is varied in its width in response to said acceleration force acting on said inertia mass means;
- said apparatus further comprising light source means, light input means for introducing light from said light source means into said gap, light output means operatively connected to said gap, light receiving means arranged to exclusively receive light from said light output means after repeated reflections in said gap, whereby the change in intensity of the light emanating, after said repeated reflections, from said gap through said light output means and entering said light receiving means represents a measurement of said acceleration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.