Patent ID: 7150192

Claim:
An acceleration measurement method adapted to an electrostatic-capacity-type acceleration sensor comprising a first capacitance detector and a second capacitance detector both of which have moving electrodes and fixed electrodes arranged on a substrate surface so that facing areas therebetween are varied in response to input acceleration, wherein said second capacitance detector sets the facing areas between the moving electrodes and the fixed electrodes to be larger than those of the first capacitance detector when the input acceleration is zero, said acceleration measurement method comprising the steps of: inputting first acceleration information representing capacitance variations detected between the moving electrodes and the fixed electrodes in the first capacitance detector; inputting second acceleration information representing capacitance variations detected between the moving electrodes and the fixed electrodes in the second capacitance detector; making a decision as to whether or not the first acceleration information exceeds an upper limit value that is set in advance with respect to the first capacitance detector; if a decision result is ‘NO’, outputting the first acceleration information; and if the decision result is ‘YES’, outputting the second acceleration information.