Control device, rotation rate sensor and method of operating a control device with harmonic set point signal

A rotation rate sensor, comprising

• a moveably supported oscillator which is excitable in a direction of excitation to a harmonic resonance oscillation,
• a sensor unit suitable for outputting a measurement signal representing a deviation of the oscillator along the direction of excitation,
• an actuator unit acting on the oscillator which is controllable by control signals, characterized by
• a controller main unit configured to deduce from the measurement signal and a harmonic set point signal a control signal for the actuator unit such that the actuator unit counteracts a deviation of deflection of the oscillator from a set amplitude of a resonance oscillation, and
• a controller extension unit configured to determine at deactivated actuator unit from the measurement signal an actual phase and an actual amplitude of a residual oscillation of the oscillator and to output to the controller main unit a harmonic set point signal adapted to the actual phase and the actual amplitude such that after activating the actuator unit an amplitude of the residual oscillation of the oscillator is amplified phase synchronously up to a set amplitude and that in this process energy contained in the residual oscillation is used.

A method for operating a control device with harmonic command variables, comprising

• generating of a measurement signal representing a deflection of an oscillator along a direction of excitation by means of a sensor unit,
• generating of a phase and amplitude synchronous harmonic set point signal based on an estimation of an actual phase and an actual amplitude of a residual oscillation of the oscillator at deactivated actuator unit,
• generating of a synchronized control signal for an actuator unit from the measurement signal and the phase and amplitude synchronous harmonic set point signal such that the actuator unit counteracts the deviations of the oscillator from a harmonic oscillation, and
• activating of the actuator unit at or after providing the synchronized control signal.