Sensor and method for determining an angular position of a rotor using an elongated member
First Claim
1. A sensor for determining an angular position of a rotor, said sensor comprising:
- an elongated member for attachment to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia identifying predetermined designated segments along said length;
a field source for generating a field adjacent to a selected portion of said length of the elongated member; and
a field effect detector for detecting at least one of said indicia associated with said selected portion of said length of the elongated member in response to generation of said field adjacent to said selected portion, said detected at least one of said indicia identifying at least one of said designated segments, said at least one identified designated segment being functionally related to the angular position of said rotor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensor for determining an angular position of a rotor comprises an elongated member for attachment to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor. The elongated member has a length and includes indicia identifying predetermined designated segments along the length. A field source generates a field adjacent to a selected portion of the length of the elongated member. A field effect detector detects at least one of the indicia associated with the selected portion of the length of the elongated member in response generation of the field adjacent the selected portion. The detected one of the indicia identifies at least one of the designated segments. The identified designated segment is functionally related to the angular position of the rotor.
15 Citations
36 Claims
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1. A sensor for determining an angular position of a rotor, said sensor comprising:
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an elongated member for attachment to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia identifying predetermined designated segments along said length; a field source for generating a field adjacent to a selected portion of said length of the elongated member; and a field effect detector for detecting at least one of said indicia associated with said selected portion of said length of the elongated member in response to generation of said field adjacent to said selected portion, said detected at least one of said indicia identifying at least one of said designated segments, said at least one identified designated segment being functionally related to the angular position of said rotor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A sensor for determining an angular position of a rotor, said sensor comprising:
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an elongated member for attachment to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia identifying predetermined designated segments along said length; a light source for illuminating a selected portion of said length of the elongated member; and a detector for detecting at least one of said indicia associated with said selected portion of said length of the elongated member in response to illumination of said selected portion by said light source, said detected at least one of said indicia identifying at least one of said designated segments, said at least one identified designated segment being functionally related to the angular position of said rotor. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An apparatus for determining an angular position of a rotor, said apparatus comprising:
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an elongated member for attachment to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia representing digital bits to identify predetermined designated segments along said length, each designated segment being identified by a code word comprising a plurality of digital bits; and a detector for detecting the digital bits from a selected portion of said length of the elongated member, said selected portion of said length being functionally related to the angular position of said rotor, said detector determining values of the detected digital bits, monitoring the determined values to recognize at least one code word, and determining the angular position of the rotor based upon the at least one recognized code word. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for determining an angular position of a rotor, said method comprising the steps of:
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attaching an elongated member to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia identifying predetermined designated segments along said length; generating a field adjacent to a selected portion of said length of the elongated member, said selected portion of the length being functionally related to the angular position of the rotor; detecting at least one of said indicia associated with said selected portion of said length of the elongated member in response to generation of said field adjacent to said selected portion; identifying at least one of said designated segments from said detected at least one of said indicia; and determining the angular position of the rotor based upon the identified at least one of said designated segments.
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36. A method for determining an angular position of a rotor, said method comprising the steps of:
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attaching an elongated member to the rotor for lengthwise movement in response to rotation of the rotor, the elongated member having a length and including indicia representing digital bits to identify predetermined designated segments along said length, each designated segment being identified by a code word comprising a plurality of digital bits; detecting the digital bits from a selected portion of the length of the elongated member, said selected portion of the length being functionally related to the angular position of the rotor; determining values of the detected digital bits; monitoring the determined values to recognize at least one code word; and determining the angular position of the rotor based upon the at least one recognized code word.
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Specification