Thyssen Industrie Ag

Juergen Meins

Luitpold Miller

Gerhard Holzinger

Helmut Grosser

Helmut Knoll

A method and an apparatus are provided for determining the distance of a probe, particularly a magnetic bearing or a magnetic levitation device, from a conductive reaction rail. The probe comprises at least one sensor having at least two magnetically-coupled coils disposed opposite the reaction rail. The coils generate an alternating magnetic field whose influences (eddy currents) are detected by the sensor and employed for identification of the distance. In order to achieve a high, useful voltage level, insensitivity to external electrical fields and potential fluctuations, as well as a small influence of system-conditioned magnetic fields, the influences of eddy currents induced in the reaction rail by the alternating magnetic field are acquired and utilized for the identification of the distance.

Method and apparatus for determining the distance between an

An excitation arrangement for a long stator drive, particularly a synchronous long stator drive for rapid transit systems having combined generation of propelling and carrying forces comprises at least one heteropolar magnet which has a plurality of channels extending at right angles to the long stator direction and which are open at their pole plane lying opposite the long stator and in which magnetic coils assigned to the conductors are disposed. In order to improve the dynamic properties of the magnet, a subdivision of the magnetic coils generating the magnetic field is provided. Differing electrical behavior for slow and fast changes in the voltage driving the coil current is achieved by a tight coupling of one of the sub-coils to a short-circuit coil. Given slow changes in the drive voltage, a magnetic force resulting from the entire coil flux occurs. Given fast changes in the drive voltage, a dynamic reduction of the effective coil inductance leads to a fast current and magnetic force changes.

Heteropolar magnet

The incremental detection of the vehicle position of a magnetic levitation vehicle, particularly having an elongate stator motor, can occur with at least one coded measuring strip which extends in the direction of travel with a fixed positional assignment to the stator winding and can occur with a sensor system disposed on the vehicle. The sensor system comprises a plurality of sensors disposed at a distance in the direction of travel for detecting the coding. For reliably identifying the relative and the absolute vehicle position given high resolution of the measured signals, the measuring strip, in addition to a pole position coding, also exhibits a slot coding for determining the vehicle location and the sensors arranged independently of the drive system comprise measuring windings for the pole position decoding and measuring windings for the slot decoding. The measuring windings for the pole position decoding are disposed at a different angle relative to the measuring strip than are the measuring windings for the slot decoding.

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Baldham, Germany

Juergen Meins