Micro inertial measurement system

Abstract

An inertial measurement device includes a sensing module including a support, a flexible circuit board, and a plurality of sensors. The support includes a plurality of external surfaces facing away from one another. Two or more of the plurality of external surfaces each includes a groove engraved thereon. The flexible circuit board substantially covers the plurality of external surfaces of the support and includes a plurality of panels configured to be bent along edges of the support. The plurality of sensors each is arranged at a respective one of the plurality of panels of the flexible circuit board and received in a groove of a corresponding one of the plurality of external surfaces of the support.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An inertial measurement device, comprising:
 a sensing module including:
 a support including a plurality of external surfaces facing away from one another, two or more of the plurality of external surfaces each including a groove engraved thereon; 
 a flexible circuit board substantially covering the plurality of external surfaces of the support and including a plurality of panels configured to be bent along edges of the support; and 
 a plurality of sensors each arranged at a respective one of the plurality of panels of the flexible circuit board and received in a groove of a corresponding one of the plurality of external surfaces of the support. 
   
     
     
         2 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of external surfaces are orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
         3 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 1 , wherein measuring axes of the plurality of sensors are orthogonal to each other. 
     
     
         4 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of panels includes a front surface that supports one or more electrical components and faces an external surface of the plurality of external surfaces of the support. 
     
     
         5 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 4 , wherein each of the plurality of panels further includes a back surface that is opposite to the front surface and faces away from the support, and the back surface does not support any electrical components. 
     
     
         6 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of sensors include a gyroscope and an accelerometer. 
     
     
         7 . The inertial measure device of  claim 6 , wherein the support has an inherent frequency that is substantially different from an operating vibration frequency of the gyroscope. 
     
     
         8 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a housing including an upper housing and a lower cover together forming a cavity configured to contain the sensing module.   
     
     
         9 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a plurality of damping units arranged between the sensing module and an inside wall of the housing.   
     
     
         10 . The inertial measurement device of  claim 9 , wherein the plurality of damping units are arranged relative to the sensing module such that an elastic center of the one or more damping units substantially coincides with a centroid of the sensing module. 
     
     
         11 . The inertial measure device of  claim 9 , wherein the support includes a cube-shaped structure with six external surfaces. 
     
     
         12 . The inertial measure device of  claim 11 , wherein the flexible circuit board includes six panels. 
     
     
         13 . The inertial measure device of  claim 12 , wherein the plurality of damping units include six damping units, and each of the damping units is arranged between a respective one of the six panels and the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The inertial measure device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible circuit board includes an anti-aliasing circuit. 
     
     
         15 . The inertial measure device of  claim 1 , wherein the flexible circuit board includes an A/D switching circuit. 
     
     
         16 . The inertial measure device of  claim 1 , wherein a shape of each of the plurality of panels is congruent to a shape of a corresponding one of the plurality of external surfaces of the support. 
     
     
         17 . The inertial measure device of  claim 1 , wherein the support is manufactured using an integral forming process. 
     
     
         18 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
 a sensing module including:
 a support including a plurality of external surfaces facing away from one another, two or more of the plurality of external surfaces each including a groove engraved thereon; 
 a flexible circuit board substantially covering the plurality of external surfaces of the support and including a plurality of panels configured to be bent along edges of the support; and 
 a plurality of sensors each arranged at a respective one of the plurality of panels of the flexible circuit board and received in a groove of a corresponding one of the plurality of external surfaces of the support. 
   
     
     
         19 . The UAV of  claim 18 , wherein:
 the plurality of sensors include a gyroscope; and   the flexible circuit board is configured to generate a signal indicative of a rotation of the UAV using the gyroscope.   
     
     
         20 . The UAV of  claim 19 , further comprising:
 a control computer operably coupled to the flexible circuit board and configured to receive and process the signal to determine the rotation of the UAV.