Capacitive throttle position sensor
First Claim
1. A throttle position sensor comprising:
- a driver electrode board including a plurality of electrodes;
a rotating member with a coupler for rotational movement with the throttle shaft;
an intermediate dielectric having a spatially non-uniform, conductive dimension between said driver board and said rotating member;
an output electrode associated with said rotating member for delivering output passed through said intermediate dielectric from said driver board electrodes;
a logical driver for inputting an electrical charge to a selected set of said plurality of electrodes;
a signal processor for generating a phase responsive signal; and
a logical decoder for comparing the phase difference between said input charge and said phase responsive signal and generating a sensor output representing throttle angular position independent of absolute capacitance between said electrodes,wherein said driver board and said output electrodes are on a single body.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A capacitive throttle position sensor includes an electrode board having at least three electrodes, a driver for selectively driving the electrodes, and a rotary member including a dielectric that provides capacitive path to an output electrode. Preferably, a logical driver provides incrementally sequenced charges to the driver electrodes. The output electrode is coupled to a signal processor that prepares the signal for comparison in a logical decoder with respect to an initiating driver electrode signal. Preferably, the phase difference between the output and input of the capacitive sensor provides an output signal which is not dependent upon the absolute capacitance of the element, and thus provides an output signal which can be adapted to a number of formats for motor vehicle control. Both two piece and three piece versions of the stationary and rotary parts are disclosed, and the capacitive gap may be axially or radially aligned between the stationary and rotary components.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A throttle position sensor comprising:
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a driver electrode board including a plurality of electrodes; a rotating member with a coupler for rotational movement with the throttle shaft; an intermediate dielectric having a spatially non-uniform, conductive dimension between said driver board and said rotating member; an output electrode associated with said rotating member for delivering output passed through said intermediate dielectric from said driver board electrodes; a logical driver for inputting an electrical charge to a selected set of said plurality of electrodes; a signal processor for generating a phase responsive signal; and a logical decoder for comparing the phase difference between said input charge and said phase responsive signal and generating a sensor output representing throttle angular position independent of absolute capacitance between said electrodes, wherein said driver board and said output electrodes are on a single body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A capacitive throttle position sensor for attachment to a throttle shaft comprising:
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a driver electrode board including a plurality of radially aligned electrodes concentrically arranged about said throttle shaft on said driver electrode board; a tubular electrode adapted to concentrically receive the throttle shaft; and an intermediate dielectric having a radially non-uniform, dielectric strength concentrically carried about said tubular electrode. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A capacitive throttle position sensor comprising:
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a driver electrode board disc including a plurality of electrodes radially aligned on the disc from a point and a conductor ring concentric to said radially aligned electrodes with respect to said point; a rotating member with a coupler for rotational movement with a throttle shaft, said rotational member having a plurality of conductive areas separated by a plurality of nonconductive areas; and an output electrode coupled to said concentric conductor ring. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification