Bourns Incorporated

Perry Wehlman

Eugen Bogos

Thanh Vinh Nguyen

Christopher Couch

Disclosed are systems and methods for measuring multi-turn position of a shaft with high resolution and in a non-contact manner. In some embodiments, a multi-turn sensing apparatus can include a rotation counter configured to determine a number of turns made by a shaft, and an angular position sensor configured to measure an angular position of the shaft within a given turn. The number of turns can be determined with an M-bit resolution, and the angular position per turn can be measured with an N-bit resolution. Selected appropriately, the rotation counter can be configured to operate as a relatively low resolution; and yet the multi-turn sensing apparatus can maintain the N-bit per-turn angular resolution throughout the full range. Accordingly, the multi-turn sensing apparatus can have an effective resolution of M+N bits.

High-resolution non-contacting multi-turn sensing systems and methods

Disclosed are systems and methods for effectively sensing rotational position of an object. In certain embodiments, a rotational position sensor can include a shaft configured to couple with the rotating object. The shaft can be configured to couple with a magnet carrier such that rotation of the shaft yields translational motion of the carrier. A magnet mounted to the carrier also moves longitudinally with respect to the axis of the shaft, and relative to a magnetic field sensor configured to detect the magnet's longitudinal position. The detected longitudinal position can be in a range corresponding to a rotational range of the shaft, where the rotational range can be greater than one turn. In certain embodiments, the rotational position sensor can include a programmable capability to facilitate ease and flexibility in calibration and use in a wide range of applications.

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Corona, CA, United States of America

Perry Wehlman