Patent ID: 7398683

Claim:
A capacitive acceleration sensor, comprising: a pair of electrodes comprising a movable electrode that is responsive to acceleration, at least one stationary plate portion, and an axis of rotation, wherein the movable electrode is supported by springs such that the movable electrode is rigidly supported at the axis of rotation and is free to rotate about the axis of rotation; and said capacitive acceleration sensor further comprising at least three additional pairs of electrodes, wherein the at least three additional pairs of electrodes are of similar structure to the pair of electrodes, wherein the position of the pairs of electrodes are arranged symmetrically with respect to at least two additional pairs of electrodes; wherein the at least three additional pairs of electrodes and the pair of electrodes are configured to together provide multi-axis acceleration sensing using capacitive principles, and wherein negative direction vectors of at least four movable electrodes intersect at essentially one point.