Patent ID: 7178398

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a first proofmass employable to sense a first acceleration along a first input axis; a second proofmass employable to sense a second acceleration along a second input axis; and a third proofmass employable to sense a third acceleration along a third input axis; wherein the first input axis, the second input axis, and the third input axis are substantially orthogonal; and wherein the first proofmass, the second proofmass, and the third proofmass are substantially coplanar; and wherein each of the first proofmass, the second proofmass, and the third proofmass comprise one or more voids, a center of geometry, and a center of mass; and wherein the one or more voids serve to position the center of mass below the center of geometry; and wherein the one or more voids are positioned in the first proofmass, the second proofmass, and the third proofmass to orient the first input axis, the second input axis, and the third input axis into three substantially orthogonal directions; and wherein the first proofmass, the second proofmass, and the third proofmass lie substantially in a plane; and wherein the one or more voids in the first and second proofmasses orient the first and second input axes in an in-plane direction; and wherein the first proofmass is positioned relative to the second proofmass in the plane to orient the first input axis to be orthogonal to the second input axis; and wherein the one or more voids in the third proofmass serve to position the center of mass of the third proofmass below the center of geometry and to a side of an axis of rotation of the third proofmass to orient the third input axis into an out-of-plane direction orthogonal to the first and second input axes.