Texas Instruments Corporation

Masashi Matsutomo

Dale R Sogge

Keith Crowe

Yoshihiko Mikawa

A magnetic position sensor has a stator () formed of magnetic material and a pair of magnets () rotatably mounted about the stator and movable between opposite angular extremities and spaced from the stator by a primary cylindrical air gap (). A secondary air gap () is formed in a stationary member at a location at which the magnetic field varies with the angular position of the magnets. A first Hall Effect sensor () is disposed in the secondary air gap to measure the magnetic field there-across as an indication of the angular position of the magnets. A second reference sensor () is provided to detect the magnetic decay of the magnets. The second sensor can be a Hall Effect sensor disposed at a location at which the magnetic field is relatively constant, independent of the angular position of the magnets. The reference sensor output can be used as a diagnostic indicator or as a correction for the first sensor output.

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Shizuoka, Japan

Masashi Matsutomo