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:
Apr. 04, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 15, 2003
Dale R. Sogge, Wrentham, MA (US);
Yoshihiko Mikawa, Shizuoka, JP;
Masashi Matsutomo, Shizuoka, JP;
Keith E. Crowe, Littleton, MA (US);
Dale R. Sogge, Wrentham, MA (US);
Yoshihiko Mikawa, Shizuoka, JP;
Masashi Matsutomo, Shizuoka, JP;
Keith E. Crowe, Littleton, MA (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
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.