Position transducer having position-dependent amplitude encoding applying first and second modulations
First Claim
1. An inductive absolute position transducer, comprising:
- a scale member;
a read head member, the read member and the scale member movable relative to each other along a measuring axis;
at least one transmitter winding formed on the read head member, at least one set of receiver windings formed on the read head member, each set comprising at least two receiver windings, and a signal generating and processing circuit electrically connectable to at least one transmitter winding and at least one set of receiver windings; and
a plurality of flux modulating elements formed on the scale member and spatially distributed along the measuring axis, the flux modulating elements arranged into at least one track, wherein;
for each track, the flux modulating elements of that track apply a first modulation to the inductive coupling between at least a first transmitter winding corresponding to that track and at least one set of receiver windings corresponding to that track based on the spatial distribution of the flux modulating elements of that track along the measuring axis and on a relative position between the read head member and the scale member along the measuring axis, and for at least one track, the flux modulating elements of that track have at least one varying flux modulating property that varies between the flux modulating elements and along the measuring axis to apply a second modulation to the inductive coupling between the at least first transmitter winding and the at least one set of receiver windings corresponding to that track based on the at least one flux modulating property.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high-accuracy inductive absolute position transducer system has two members movable relative to each other and includes an amplitude modulating transducer including flux modulators of progressively varying properties. The amplitude modulating transducer includes a transmitter winding and at least one set of receiver windings. An amplitude modulating transducer has a plurality of flux modulator zones distributed along the measuring axis. Flux modulators are formed in at least some of the flux modulator zones. The properties of different flux modulators are varied so as to generate varied flux. A signal generating and processing circuit is connected to the transmitter winding. The flux modulators modulate the inductive coupling based on the relative position between the read head member and the scale member.
59 Citations
35 Claims
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1. An inductive absolute position transducer, comprising:
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a scale member;
a read head member, the read member and the scale member movable relative to each other along a measuring axis;
at least one transmitter winding formed on the read head member, at least one set of receiver windings formed on the read head member, each set comprising at least two receiver windings, and a signal generating and processing circuit electrically connectable to at least one transmitter winding and at least one set of receiver windings; and
a plurality of flux modulating elements formed on the scale member and spatially distributed along the measuring axis, the flux modulating elements arranged into at least one track, wherein;
for each track, the flux modulating elements of that track apply a first modulation to the inductive coupling between at least a first transmitter winding corresponding to that track and at least one set of receiver windings corresponding to that track based on the spatial distribution of the flux modulating elements of that track along the measuring axis and on a relative position between the read head member and the scale member along the measuring axis, and for at least one track, the flux modulating elements of that track have at least one varying flux modulating property that varies between the flux modulating elements and along the measuring axis to apply a second modulation to the inductive coupling between the at least first transmitter winding and the at least one set of receiver windings corresponding to that track based on the at least one flux modulating property. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method for operating an inductive absolute position transducer system, the inductive absolute position transducer system comprising:
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a first member;
a second member movable relative to the first member along a measuring axis;
at least one first winding formed on a first one of the first and second members;
at least one set of second windings formed on the first one of the first and second member, each set of second windings having a constant spatial wavelength; and
a plurality of flux modulating elements formed on a second one of the first and second members and arranged along the measuring axis;
the method comprising;
generating a changing magnetic flux using one of the at least one first windings;
configuring the changing magnetic flux sensed by at least one set of second windings according to a first spatial modulation which is a spatially periodic function of the relative position of the second member relative to the first member along a measuring axis using at least some of the plurality of flux modulating elements;
configuring the changing magnetic flux sensed by at least one set of second windings according to a second predetermined spatial modulation which is a function of the relative position of the second member relative to the first member along the measuring axis using at least some of the plurality of flux modulating elements; and
sensing the spatially modulated changing magnetic flux using the at least one set of second windings to generate at least one spatially periodic sensed signal having an amplitude range that depends on the relative position between the first and second members. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for operating an inductive absolute position transducer system, the inductive absolute position transducer system comprising:
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a first member;
a second member movable relative to the first member along a measuring axis;
at least one first winding formed on a first one of the first and second members;
at least one set of second windings formed on the first one of the first and second member, each set of second windings having a constant spatial wavelength; and
a plurality of flux modulating elements formed on a second one of the first and second members and arranged along the measuring axis;
the method comprising;
generating a changing magnetic flux using one of the at least one first windings;
positionally-dependently spatially modulating the changing magnetic flux sensed by the other of the at least one first winding and the at least one set of second windings using the plurality of flux modulating elements such that a degree of the spatial modulation is position dependent;
sensing the spatially modulated changing magnetic flux using the other of the at least one first winding and the at least one set of second windings to generate at least one spatially periodic sensed signal having an amplitude range that depends on the relative position between the first and second members.
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Specification