Position detecting apparatus using a magnetic sensor and a closed magnetic circuit with non-uniform magnetic flux distribution
First Claim
1. A position detecting apparatus comprising:
- a closed magnetic circuit, including;
magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field;
yoke means, operatively connected to said magnetic field generating means and including a magnetic material and having an inside surface, for guiding at least a portion of said magnetic field therethrough and for emanating a magnetic leakage flux from said inside surface, said magnetic leakage flux having a non-uniform magnetic field intensity distribution between a first position on said yoke means and a second position on said yoke means;
magnetic sensing means, located along the inside surface of said yoke means, for sensing a magnetic field intensity of said magnetic leakage flux emanating from the inside surface of said yoke means and for outputting an output signal responsive to said sensing; and
transferring means for mounting said magnetic sensing means and for transferring said magnetic sensing means along the inside surface of said yoke means between said first and second positions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A position detector having a magnetic sensor for measuring linear or angular displacement, or detecting a position of a body without contact thereto. The detector has a closed circuit including magnets and yokes. The magnetic leakage flux which emanates from the inside surfaces of the yokes is utilized to detect the position of the body. The magnetic sensor is transferred along the inside surfaces of the yokes by a transferring circuit, which senses the magnetic field intensity of the leakage flux distributed thereon. This enables the detector to have a longer measuring range than that of a prior art detectors. An output signal is stable due to the shielding effect of the yokes. The magnetic closed circuit has many magnetic and mechanical configurations. For example, for the magnet, a permanent magnet and an electromagnet can be used. Further, improvements are proposed for enhancing the linearity of the output signal voltage with respect to the transferring distance of the sensing element and for compensating the offset drift of an amplifier or changing the coercive force of permanent magnets.
93 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A position detecting apparatus comprising:
a closed magnetic circuit, including; magnetic field generating means for generating a magnetic field; yoke means, operatively connected to said magnetic field generating means and including a magnetic material and having an inside surface, for guiding at least a portion of said magnetic field therethrough and for emanating a magnetic leakage flux from said inside surface, said magnetic leakage flux having a non-uniform magnetic field intensity distribution between a first position on said yoke means and a second position on said yoke means; magnetic sensing means, located along the inside surface of said yoke means, for sensing a magnetic field intensity of said magnetic leakage flux emanating from the inside surface of said yoke means and for outputting an output signal responsive to said sensing; and transferring means for mounting said magnetic sensing means and for transferring said magnetic sensing means along the inside surface of said yoke means between said first and second positions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
Specification