Patent ID: 6998599
Filing Date: 2006-02-14
Classification: G01L,G01P

Abstract:
1. A microbend accelerometer comprising: a housing having a housing base and a housing top, said housing base having at least one corrugation that protrudes from at least one surface, a mass assembly disposed between said housing top and the side of the housing base that features said at least one corrugation, a sensing fiber disposed between said mass assembly and said housing base, said sensing fiber being coupled on each end to a lead fiber, said lead fiber having a higher numerical aperture than said sensing fiber, wherein light propagates through the first of said lead fibers and is launched into said sensing fiber, propagates therethrough and is launched into a second of said lead fibers, wherein upon an acceleration event along a predetermined axis, said mass assembly coupled to said sensing fiber distorts said sensing fiber causing the intensity of said light propagating through said sensing fiber to modulate in proportion to the magnitude of said acceleration event.