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:
Jul. 21, 2009
Filed:
Jun. 25, 2007
Joong K. Lee, Chatham, CA;
Joong K. Lee, Chatham, CA;
KRS Technologies Co., Ridgetown, CA;
Abstract
An apparatus for determining an angular position of a shaft, such as a steering column, comprises a coil assembly, a coil support, and a coupler element having a coupler angular position correlated with the angular position of the shaft. The coil assembly includes a transmitter coil and at least one receiver coil, the coupler element modifying an inductive coupling between the transmitter coil and at least one receiver coil. A signal processing circuit receives coil signals from the coil assembly and determines the angular position using a receiver signal, and a reference signal that is correlated with an axial displacement but otherwise substantially independent of angular position. The reference signal can be used for ratiometric sensing, to substantially eliminate common mode factors, and also to determine the number of revolutions of the shaft. A combined angle and torque sensor further determines a twist angle across a torsion bar.