Capacitive rotary position encoder
First Claim
1. A capacitive rotary position encoder for the absolute determination of a rotary position about a rotary spindle comprising:
- a transceiver unit, comprising;
a first arrangement of a number of N electrically conductive, capacitive sensitivity areas which are embodied as angle segments over a defined angle range, which are distributed uniformly over the circumference,an electrically conductive reference area andan evaluation circuit, by means of which an electrical capacitance value between the reference area and one of the sensitivity areas is determinable,wherein the sensitivity areas and the reference area are embodied as conductor track structures on a first electronics printed circuit board, anda counterpart situated opposite the transceiver unit and rotatable relative thereto about the rotary spindle and comprising;
a reference coupling area arranged opposite the reference area, andan arrangement of a number of X≧
3 electrically conductive code areas electrically connected thereto, wherein;
the code areas are embodied as angle segments having at least approximately the same defined angle range as the sensitivity areas andthe code areas are arranged in a rotationally asymmetrical angular distribution about the rotary spindle.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Some embodiments may include a capacitive rotary position encoder for the absolute determination of a rotary position about a rotary spindle. The rotary position encoder may include a transceiver unit, comprising a first arrangement of N electrically conductive, capacitive sensitivity areas which are embodied as angle segments over a defined angle range, which are distributed uniformly over the circumference, an electrically conductive reference area and an evaluation circuit, by means of which an electrical capacitance value between the reference area and one of the sensitivity areas is determinable. In some embodiments the sensitivity areas and the reference area are embodied as conductor track structures on a first electronics printed circuit board. A counterpart may be situated opposite the transceiver unit and rotatable relative thereto about the rotary spindle and may include a reference coupling area arranged opposite the reference area, and an arrangement of electrically conductive code areas connected thereto.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A capacitive rotary position encoder for the absolute determination of a rotary position about a rotary spindle comprising:
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a transceiver unit, comprising; a first arrangement of a number of N electrically conductive, capacitive sensitivity areas which are embodied as angle segments over a defined angle range, which are distributed uniformly over the circumference, an electrically conductive reference area and an evaluation circuit, by means of which an electrical capacitance value between the reference area and one of the sensitivity areas is determinable, wherein the sensitivity areas and the reference area are embodied as conductor track structures on a first electronics printed circuit board, and a counterpart situated opposite the transceiver unit and rotatable relative thereto about the rotary spindle and comprising; a reference coupling area arranged opposite the reference area, and an arrangement of a number of X≧
3 electrically conductive code areas electrically connected thereto, wherein;the code areas are embodied as angle segments having at least approximately the same defined angle range as the sensitivity areas and the code areas are arranged in a rotationally asymmetrical angular distribution about the rotary spindle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method for capacitive rotary position detection comprising:
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capacitive coupling of a reference area to a reference coupling area and via a number of X>
3 code areas conductively coupled thereto to a subset of a number of N sensitivity areas,wherein the number of N capacitance values between the reference area and the sensitivity areas are determined by an evaluation circuit by means of application of an RF signal to the reference area, and wherein; the reference area with the sensitivity areas and with the evaluation circuit are arranged on a transceiver unit embodied as an electronics printed circuit board, and the reference coupling area with the code areas are arranged on a counterpart rotatable relative to the transceiver unit about a rotary spindle, wherein the code areas are arranged in a rotationally asymmetrical angular distribution about the rotary spindle, wherein; the rotary position detection is effected in an absolute fashion with a non-rotationally symmetrical angular distribution of the code areas on the counterpart. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19)
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20. A computer program product for performing a method of capacitive coupling of a reference area to a reference coupling area and via a number of X>
- 3 code areas conductively coupled thereto to a subset of a number of N sensitivity areas,
wherein a number of N capacitance values between the reference area and the N sensitivity areas are determined by an evaluation circuit by means of application of an RF signal to the reference area, and wherein; the reference area with the sensitivity areas and with the evaluation circuit are arranged on a transceiver unit embodied as an electronics printed circuit board, and the reference coupling area with the code areas are arranged on a counterpart rotatable relative to the transceiver unit about a rotary spindle, wherein the code areas are arranged in a rotationally asymmetrical angular distribution about the rotary spindle, wherein; the rotary position detection is effected in an absolute fashion with a non-rotationally symmetrical angular distribution of the code areas. - View Dependent Claims (21)
- 3 code areas conductively coupled thereto to a subset of a number of N sensitivity areas,
Specification