This invention claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/613,864 filed Sep. 28, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated by reference.
Vibration Rectification Error (VRE) is common in accelerometers. If the VRE is not compensated for, performance of the accelerometer is degraded.
Therefore, there exists a need for methods and apparatus for minimizing VRE for closed-loop accelerometers.
The present invention provides systems and methods for minimizing vibration rectification error (VRE) for a closed-loop accelerometer. In one embodiment, the method includes applying a known vibration signal to the closed-loop accelerometer along a first axis and adjusting a feedback gain setting until VRE is below a first threshold value. After the feedback gain setting has been adjusted, applying a random vibration signal to the closed-loop accelerometer along the first axis and adjusting a servo system proportional gain value until VRE is below a second threshold value.
The preferred and alternative embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings.
During operation of the system 20, an acceleration load is applied to the accelerometer 30, whereby the proof mass 52 flexes in the direction of the experienced acceleration load. The position measurement circuit 32 determines the position of the proof mass 52 based on signal sent from the detectors 40. The controller 34 generates a restoring force signal based on the determined position of the proof mass 52.
The switching logic 36 sends the restoring force signal to one of the multipliers 48 or 50 depending upon the signal outputted by the controller 34. Then actuator 42 or 44 applies a restoring force to the proof mass 52 in order to center the proof mass 52 within the accelerometer 30. The system 20 reports the acceleration load applied to the proof mass 52 based on either one of the voltage or current level of the restoring force signal.
The present invention includes methods and systems for adjusting the value of KL or KU, then adjusting the value of KP used in the controller 34 for minimizing the effects of vibration rectification error (VRE). KP is the proportional gain value and KI is the servo system integral gain value. The output of the controller 34 is shown by Equation (1):
KI∫xdt+KPx (1)
x—amount of proof mass displacement
The controller 34 converts the sensed distance value into the restoring force signal.
In one embodiment, an automatic gain value adjusting device 60 is in data communication with the controller 34 and multipliers 48 and 50. The device 60 includes a processor and memory for executing program code that analyzes the output of the controller 34 and automatically adjusts the gain values in order to minimize VRE. The device 60 performs the process shown in
Next at a block 86, KP is adjusted using a random vibration signal. This is described in more detail below in
Upon completion of the process 70, VRE has been minimized because of adjusting KP after adjustments have been made to KL or KU. In systems with more than one accelerometer, the process 70 is repeated for the untested accelerometers.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, as noted above, many changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the accelerometer 30 are MEMS or non-MEMS devices that can be made from silicon, quartz, fused silica, or any other material that develops its rebalancing force using electrostatics, magnetic fields, piezo-electric effects, or any other means. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the disclosure of the preferred embodiment. Instead, the invention should be determined entirely by reference to the claims that follow.
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4891982 | Norling | Jan 1990 | A |
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5375469 | Levy et al. | Dec 1994 | A |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20060065039 A1 | Mar 2006 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60613864 | Sep 2004 | US |