Multiturn rotational sensor
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- rotating a body with at least a portion of a first sensing device fixed to the body to turn therewith in unison to provide one or more first device signals representative of body rotation;
turning at least a portion of a second sensing device with a mechanical turn ratio relative to the body to provide one or more second device signals representative of the body rotation;
representing rotation of the portion of the first sensing device relative to the body with a virtual turn ratio greater than unity; and
processing the one or more first device signals and the one or more second device signals as a function of the virtual turn ratio to provide an output signal representative of rotational position of the body over a desired angular range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rotational sensing system is disclosed that includes a first sensing device including a first portion fixed to a body to rotate therewith in unison and provide a plurality of first device signals, a second sensing device including a second portion mechanically coupled to the body to rotate with a mechanical turn ratio relative to the body and provide a plurality of second device signals, and signal processing circuitry responsive to the first device signals to represent rotation of the first portion relative to the body with a virtual turn ratio different than unity and the mechanical turn ratio. This signal processing circuitry also includes logic operable to provide an output representative of rotational position of the body over an angular range spanning more than 360° as a function of the first device signals and the second device signals based on the virtual turn ratio.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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rotating a body with at least a portion of a first sensing device fixed to the body to turn therewith in unison to provide one or more first device signals representative of body rotation; turning at least a portion of a second sensing device with a mechanical turn ratio relative to the body to provide one or more second device signals representative of the body rotation; representing rotation of the portion of the first sensing device relative to the body with a virtual turn ratio greater than unity; and processing the one or more first device signals and the one or more second device signals as a function of the virtual turn ratio to provide an output signal representative of rotational position of the body over a desired angular range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method, comprising:
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rotating a body with at least a portion of a first sensing device coupled to the body to rotate in relation thereto with a first mechanical turn ratio and provide one or more first device signals representative of body rotation; turning at least a portion of a second sensing device with a second mechanical turn ratio relative to the body to provide one or more second device signals representative of the body rotation; and providing an angular output signal representative of rotational position of the body over a range of more than 360 degrees, which includes processing the first device signals and the second device signals in accordance with a virtual turn ratio of the portion of the first sensing device relative to the body, the virtual turn ratio being different than the first mechanical turn ratio and the second mechanical turn ratio. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus, comprising:
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a rotatable body; a first sensing device including a first portion fixed to the body to rotate therewith in unison and provide a plurality of first device signals; a second sensing device including a second portion mechanically coupled to the body to rotate with a mechanical turn ratio relative to the body and provide a plurality of second device signals; and signal processing circuitry responsive to the first device signals to represent rotation of the first portion relative to the body with a virtual turn ratio different than unity and the mechanical turn ratio, the signal processing circuitry including logic operable to provide an output representative of rotational position of the body over an angular range spanning more than 360 degrees as a function of the first device signals and the second device signals based on the virtual turn ratio. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method, comprising:
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rotating a first portion of a first sensing device relative to a second portion of the first sensing device, one of the first portion and the second portion defining three or more sensing tracks; determining a first plurality of bits from the tracks, each one of the first bits corresponding to a respective signal from a different one of the tracks, each different value defined by the first bits being representative of a different rotational position; selecting one of the tracks from two or more of the tracks as a function of the first bits; for the one of the tracks, quantifying magnitude of the respective signal with a second plurality of bits; and providing a first device rotational position value including the first bits and the second bits with the first bits being more numerically significant than the second bits. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method, comprising:
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rotating a body with at least a portion of a first sensing device fixed to the body to turn in unison therewith; turning at least a portion of a second sensing device in relation to the rotating of the body; processing a plurality of signals from the first sensing device and the second sensing device to determine rotational position of the body over an angular range greater than 360 degrees, which includes; detecting one of a plurality of different discrete patterns of signals with at least one of the first sensing device and the second sensing device, the patterns each corresponding to a different rotational position of the body and each being represented by a different value of a first set of bits; and quantifying magnitude of one of the signals corresponding to one of the first bits to provide a second set of bits numerically less significant than the first bits. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus, comprising:
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a first sensing device including a first portion and a second portion structured to rotate in relation to each other, at least one of the first portion and the second portion including three or more first device sensing tracks; and processing circuitry coupled to the first sensing device to determine a first sequence of bits, each one of the first bits corresponding to a respective signal from a different one of the tracks, each different value of the first bits being representative of a different rotational position, the processing circuitry including logic to select one track from among two or more of the tracks and quantify magnitude of the respective signal from the one track to provide a second sequence of bits and provide a rotational position output including the first bits and the second bits with the first bits being more numerically significant than the second bits. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification