Robert Boschgmbh

Hartmut Kittel

Klaus Marx

Franz Jost

Peter Schmollngruber

Ingo Herrmann

Henrik Siegle

Paul Farber

Ulrich May

Marcel Mayer

Klaus Baur

Johannes Meyer

Thomas Schmidt

Martin Freitag

Maik Hansen

Andreas M Pietsch

Mehran Pourmousavi

A sensor device for a motor vehicle, including a first transmitting antenna, which is situated on a surface of a substrate, has a narrow lobe-type directional characteristic and includes a defined number of planar antenna elements; a second transmitting antenna situated on the surface of the substrate has a wide lobe-type directional characteristic, including a defined number of planar antenna elements, the directional characteristics of the two transmitting antennas being oriented opposite one another by a defined angle, with respect to a boresight; and at least one receiving antenna situated on the surface of the substrate including a defined number of planar antenna elements.

Sensor device for a motor vehicle

A GMR sensor element is proposed, having a rotationally symmetrical positioning of especially eight GMR resistor elements which are connected to each other to form two Wheatstone's full bridges. This GMR sensor element is especially suitable for use in an angle sensor for the detection of the absolute position of the camshaft or the crankshaft in a motor vehicle, particularly in the case of a camshaft-free engine having electrical or electrohydraulic valve timing, of a motor position of an electrically commutated motor, or of detection of a windshield wiper position, or in the steering angle sensor system in motor vehicles.

GMR sensor element and its use

A magnetoresistive sensor element is provided, having a magnetoresistive layer system which, in top view, is at least regionally striated. The sensor element operates on the basis of the GMR effect and is constructed according to the spin valve principle, the striated layer system featuring a reference layer having a direction of magnetization substantially uninfluenced by a direction of an outer magnetic field acting on it. During operation, the sensor element provides a measuring signal which changes as a function of a measurement angle between the component of the field strength of the outer magnetic field lying in the plane of the layer system, and the direction of magnetization, and from which this measurement angle is able to be ascertained. In addition, observed in a top view of the striated layer system, the angle between the direction of magnetization in the absence of the outer magnetic field and the longitudinal direction of the striated layer system is set in such a way that in response to an influence of the outer magnetic field having a defined field strength, which is selected from a predefined work interval, the angle error of the layer system, as a function of this angle and the field strength, is minimal.

Magnetoresistive sensor element and method for reducing the angular error of a magnetoresistive sensor element

A device and a method for determining a magnetic field with respect to its intensity and direction at at least one detection location, and uses a first arrangement for superimposing an auxiliary magnetic field, known at least in intensity, on the magnetic field, and a second arrangement for measuring at least the direction of the magnetic field resulting from the superimposition of the magnetic field to be determined and of the auxiliary magnetic field at the detection location. The magnetic field is determined at the detection location in that the resultant magnetic field produced by the magnetic field to be determined and the auxiliary magnetic field is determined with respect to its direction for at least two different auxiliary magnetic fields; and the magnetic field to be determined is calculated therefrom. The method is especially suited for determining the intensity and direction of a magnetic field in the immediate vicinity of the surface of a magnet.

Device and method for determining a magnetic field as to its intensity and direction

An arrangement for detecting the angle of rotation of a rotatable element, in which, with evaluation of magnetically variable properties of a sensor arrangement, a first magnetic field, generated or varied by a rotatable element, is detectable in an evaluation circuit and usable for ascertaining the angle of rotation, wherein the sensor arrangement, utilizing the magnetoresistive effect, furnishes signals that can be associated unambiguously with one direction of the magnetic field B over a first angular range, in particular an angular range of 360&deg;, having means to for is selective application of a magnetic auxiliary field B the sensor arrangement, by means of which signals a modification of the signals that can be associated with the direction of the first magnetic field B , attainable for the sake of unambiguous association of an angle over a second angular range, in particular 360&deg;.

Arrangement for and method of detecting the angle of rotation of a rotatable element

A magnetoresistive sensor element, in particular an angle sensor element, has a first, magnetic layer ( ) whose direction of magnetization represents a reference direction, a second, nonmagnetic layer ( ) formed on the first layer ( ), a third magnetic layer ( ), formed on the second layer ( ), whose direction of magnetization can be varied by an external magnetic field, and an additional layer consisting of a current conductor ( ) for selective orientation of the direction of magnetization of the first layer ( ). A current flow direction of an electric current that passes through the current conductor ( ) can be switched to change the magnetization direction of the first magnetic layer ( ) to create different reference directions. An insulation layer ( ) for galvanic separation of the first magnetic layer ( ) from the additional layer ( ) is also provided between them.

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Weissach-Flacht, Germany

Hartmut Kittel