The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 03, 2021
Filed:
Dec. 23, 2019
Christopher James Hahn, Longmont, CO (US);
Christopher James Hahn, Longmont, CO (US);
Other;
Abstract
A device is provided. The device includes one or more of a radially-wound coil, a hall-effect sensor, a power source, and a control circuit. The radially-wound coil is configured to produce a first magnetic field in response to a periodic current applied to the coil. The hall-effect sensor includes a sensor output that indicates proximity of a magnet to the hall-effect sensor. The magnet provides a second magnetic field and the sensor output indicates proximity in response to a combination of a strength of the first magnetic field and a strength of the second magnetic field exceeds a trip level. The coil is in fixed proximity to the hall-effect sensor, and the current is configured to control a polarity of the first magnetic field to detect the magnet. The power source is coupled to the hall-effect sensor, and is configured to provide power that alternates between on and off voltages to the hall-effect sensor. The control circuit is coupled to the hall-effect sensor, and is configured to determine a time stamp that corresponds to a sample time the sensor output indicates the magnet is detected, sample a value that corresponds to the current at the sample time, and determine a sensed distance to the magnet from the sampled value.