Patent ID: 7051656

Claim:
An apparatus for sensing acceleration along two orthogonal axes, comprising: (a) a substrate; (b) a shuttle formed within a well in the substrate, with the shuttle being suspended by a plurality of springs for movement in the plane of the substrate; (c) a first latch located on one side of the shuttle and attached to the substrate for locking the shuttle in a first position until a first acceleration component substantially normal to the plane of the substrate is sensed by the first latch whereupon the first latch is disengaged by the first acceleration component and moves in a direction substantially normal to the plane of the substrate to enable the shuttle to move in an orthogonal direction substantially in-plane with the substrate in response to a second acceleration component which is substantially in-plane with the substrate; and (d) a second latch located on another side of the shuttle for locking the shuttle after the in-plane movement of the shuttle to a second position located away from the first position.