Delphi Technologies, Inc.

Bruno Patrice Bernard Lequesne

Thaddeus Schroeder

Avoki M Omekanda

Thomas W Nehl

Raymond O Butler, Jr

Donald T Morelli

Thomas Allen Baudendistel

Shaotang Chen

Steven Douglas Thomson

Nady Boules

A magnetostrictive force sensor universally usable in any environment with similar signals unaffected by the surrounding material. To this end, a sensor comprising a shaft of magnetostrictive material with an inductance coil wound around the shaft is provided with a magnetic shell enclosing the coil only or both the coil and the shaft. Upon application of the magnetic field, the resultant flow of magnetic flux is confined to a path through the shaft and the magnetic shell. By confining the magnetic flux path, the dependency of the sensor signal on the surrounding material and environment is essentially eliminated.

Universal magnetostrictive force sensor

An analog angle encoder having a simply constructed magnet assembly, wherein rotation of a magnetic field relative to a magnetosensitive device provides a varying output of the magnetosensitive device that varies sinusoidally with the angle of relative rotation. The simply constructed magnet assembly is of a closed-path geometry composed of a single piece of magnetic material wherein only a first portion thereof is magnetized for providing the aforesaid magnetic field for the sensor. The remaining portion of the magnet material (the second portion) remains unmagnetized and does not substantially influence the magnetic field produced by the first portion any more than, for example, air would cause.

Analog angle encoder having a single piece magnet assembly surrounding an air gap

A linear position sensor assembly includes a moving target and a stationary magnet. A magnetic sensor is placed adjacent to the magnet and senses changes in the magnetic flux density caused by the target moving within a magnetic field generated by the stationary magnet. The magnetic sensor outputs a signal that is linear over nearly the entire length of the target.

Linear position sensor assembly

In an angle-based binary encoded crankshaft position sensing system, a target wheel is coupled to a crankshaft and a single VR sensor is juxtaposed with the target wheel for sensing the angular position of the wheel and, hence, the angular position of the crankshaft. To permit the use of a single VR sensor in conjunction with an angle-based binary encoded system, the periphery of the target wheel is formed with teeth and slots defining a binary pattern. The slots are wider than the teeth, and the depth of the slots relative to the portion of the periphery defining a nominal radius is greater than the height of the teeth relative to the nominal periphery. With this structure, the signal generated by the sensor in response to a slot advantageously is symmetric to the signal generated by the sensor in response to a tooth.

Binary encoded crankshaft target wheel with single VR sensor

A method and an apparatus using the method that generates an index pulse which includes firstly the generation of a first electronic signal which includes a first level and a second level based upon a multiphase sinusoidal motor control circuit. Secondly, the generation of at least a second electronic signal that includes a first level and a second level based upon a multiphase sinusoidal motor control circuit wherein the first electronic signal and the second electronic signal are levelly spaced apart based upon the phase number of the multiphase sinusoidal motor control circuit wherein a set difference in level exists for a first specified period between the first and said the signal. Thirdly, the determination of the index pulse based upon a transition from the first level to the second level of the first electronic signal.

Method and apparatus for robust generation of an index pulse for an electric power steering system

In an angle-based crankshaft position sensing system, an electrical circuit is provided for also sensing the direction of rotation of the crankshaft. A slotted target wheel is coupled to the crankshaft and a single dual-element MR sensor is juxtaposed with the target wheel. The elements generate respective detection signals when a slot passes by the elements, with the position of the slot being indicated as being directly under the sensor at the point in time when the detection signals intersect each other. Also, square waves are generated for each detection signal, and when the magnitude of the second square wave is non-zero when the falling edge of the first square wave occurs, a clockwise rotation is indicated. On the other hand, if the magnitude of the second square wave is zero when the falling edge of the first square wave occurs, a counterclockwise rotation is indicated.

Angular position and angular direction sensor

A detector of position of rotation of a target wheel via the outputs of a differential sensor employing two matched MRs to extract position of rotation information from the target wheel. The target wheel is provided with wide and narrow slots or teeth circumferentially arranged such that, for example, 24 zones are created wherein each zone ranges from the center of a wide slot to the center of a narrow slot, and wherein each zone occupies 15 degrees circumferentially. The two matched MRs of the sensor are powered by matched current sources and matched magnetic biasing and are aligned in the circumferential direction of the target wheel. The MRs generate two angularly offset signals from the passage of a single slot (or tooth) of the target wheel which are input to a signal conditioning circuit. Within the signal conditioning circuit, the two sensor signals are differentially amplified to produce a differential signal whereby the width of the slot is used to encode a binary position pulse. The spacing between the two matched MRs is such that their output resistances and, thus, their output signals become equal (crossover) in the middle of a slot whereby a wide slot causes the crossover to occur at a lower value of resistance (or output signal) than that of a narrow slot. The low level signal from a wide slot is assigned the binary value of &ldquo;0&rdquo; while the high level signal is assigned the binary value of &ldquo;1&rdquo; although the reverse assignments of binary values could also be used. Alternatively, the present invention is implementable by width encoded teeth instead of slots.

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Troy, MI, United States of America

Bruno Patrice Bernard Lequesne