Method and Apparatus for Contactless Detection of the Rotational Angle of a Rotatable Element
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Abstract
The invention relates to a device and a method for determining the rotational angle of a rotatable element in a non-contact manner, the device including at least one magnetoresistive sensor element which emits at least one first signal for determining a rotational angle of the rotatable element in a first region. A plunger core and a coil move in relation to each other in the axial direction of a shaft according to the rotary movement of the shaft, the coil emitting another signal relating to the modification of the coil inductance, such that rotational angles beyond the first region can be clearly determined in association with the first signal.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1-12. -12. (canceled)
- 13. An apparatus for contactless detection of the rotational angle of a rotatable element, the apparatus comprising at least one magnetoresistive sensor element which outputs at least one first signal for detecting a rotational angle of the rotatable element in a first range, a driven shaft, a coil, or plunger core move able in the axial direction of the shaft as a fiction of rotary motion of the shaft, the coil outputting a further signal pertaining to the change in the coil inductance as a result of said axial movement, and means combining the further signal with the first signal unambiguously to detect rotational angles of the rotatable element beyond the first range.
- 28. A method for contactless detection of the rotational angle of a rotatable element, in which at least one magnetoresistive sensor signal is output by at least one magnetoresistive sensor element for detecting a rotational angle in a first range, the method comprising outputting a coil signal by a coil, which signal describes the variation in the coil inductance upon a rotary motion of a shaft as a consequence of the relative motion between a plunger core and the coil in the axial direction of the shaft, and for unambiguous detection of rotational angles beyond the first range, the coil signal and the at least one magnetoresistive sensor signal are combined.
Specification