POSITION SENSOR AND POSITION SENSOR ARRANGEMENT FOR A CONTACTLESS DETERMINATION OF A POSITION BY MEANS OF REDUNDANT MAGNET-SENSITIVE SENSOR ELEMENTS
First Claim
1. Position sensor for a contactless determination of a position by means of redundant magnet-sensitive sensor elements, comprising:
- a giver unit and a sensor unit that is movable in relation to the giver unit within a predetermined position determination range, whereinthe giver unit comprises permanent magnet areas disposed in a ring or ring segment pattern and comprises an alternating pole sequence in the direction of the relative movement, so that for the sensor unit an inhomogeneous, alternating magnetic field results,the sensor unit comprises at least two magnet-sensitive sensor elements that generate one or more electrical output signals that are at least dependent on the respective local magnetic field direction, and that are disposed at different positions adjacent to the surface of the giver unit, wherein the predetermined position determination range and the pole sequence of the giver unit are adapted to interact in such a manner that each sensor element during a relative motion between giver and sensor unit over the entire given determination range senses a change of the magnetic field direction of maximally 360 deg., so that each sensor element over the given position determination range generates an output signal that is definite for each particular relative position between giver and sensor unit, andat least two pairs of poles on the giver unit and at least two sensor elements are provided, wherein each sensor element is arranged in the magnetic sphere of influence of another pole of the giver unit,wherein at least one of the sensor elements is adapted to measure the angular orientation of the respective local magnetic field vector.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention creates a position sensor and a position sensor arrangement on the basis of magnetic field sensing sensors maximizing reliability against defects and external interference signals and providing redundancy, in particular for shift-by-wire systems in automobiles. The invention includes various aspects and preferred embodiments that including individual sensors that can either only measure the direction of the magnetic field or in addition to that the absolute value of the magnetic field. The specific embodiments depend on the desired diagnostic options, redundancy and compensation capabilities both as to interfering magnetic fields and sensor failures or non-plausible output signals of individual sensors. An evaluation unit can be provided for compensating measurement deviations.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. Position sensor for a contactless determination of a position by means of redundant magnet-sensitive sensor elements, comprising:
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a giver unit and a sensor unit that is movable in relation to the giver unit within a predetermined position determination range, wherein the giver unit comprises permanent magnet areas disposed in a ring or ring segment pattern and comprises an alternating pole sequence in the direction of the relative movement, so that for the sensor unit an inhomogeneous, alternating magnetic field results, the sensor unit comprises at least two magnet-sensitive sensor elements that generate one or more electrical output signals that are at least dependent on the respective local magnetic field direction, and that are disposed at different positions adjacent to the surface of the giver unit, wherein the predetermined position determination range and the pole sequence of the giver unit are adapted to interact in such a manner that each sensor element during a relative motion between giver and sensor unit over the entire given determination range senses a change of the magnetic field direction of maximally 360 deg., so that each sensor element over the given position determination range generates an output signal that is definite for each particular relative position between giver and sensor unit, and at least two pairs of poles on the giver unit and at least two sensor elements are provided, wherein each sensor element is arranged in the magnetic sphere of influence of another pole of the giver unit, wherein at least one of the sensor elements is adapted to measure the angular orientation of the respective local magnetic field vector. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for a contactless determination of a position by means of redundant magnet-sensitive sensor elements, comprising the steps of:
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providing and fixing a giver unit comprising permanent magnet areas disposed in a ring or ring segment pattern and comprises an alternating pole sequence in a direction of relative movement, so that for the sensor unit an inhomogeneous, alternating magnetic field results, providing and moving a sensor unit having at least 2 sensor elements in the direction of relative movement in relation to the giver unit along a predetermined rotational movement path within a predetermined position determination range of less than 360 degrees, measuring the angular orientation of the respective local magnetic field vectors by the 2 sensor elements, correlating the angular orientation of the local magnetic field vectors to the relative movement position between the giver unit and the sensor unit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. Position sensor for a contactless determination of a position by means of at least one magnet-sensitive sensor element, comprising:
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a giver unit and a sensor unit that is movable in relation to the giver unit within a predetermined position determination range, wherein the giver unit comprises permanent magnet areas disposed in a ring or ring segment pattern and comprises at least one north pole and one south pole in an alternating pole sequence in the direction of the relative movement, so that for the sensor unit an inhomogeneous, alternating magnetic field results, the sensor unit comprises at least one magnet-sensitive sensor element that generates one or more electrical output signals that are at least dependent on the respective local magnetic field direction, wherein the predetermined position determination range and the pole sequence of the giver unit are adapted to interact in such a manner that each sensor element during a relative motion between giver and sensor unit over the entire given determination range senses a change of the magnetic field direction of maximally 360 deg., so that the at least one sensor element over the given position determination range generates an output signal that is definite for each particular relative position between giver and sensor unit, and at least one pair of poles on the giver unit and at least one sensor element is provided and arranged in the magnetic sphere of influence of a pole of the giver unit, wherein the at least one sensor element is adapted to measure the angular orientation of the respective local magnetic field vector.
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Specification