Permanent magnet inclinometer for an industrial machine

An industrial machine comprising:

• a component movable in a linear manner or a rotary manner with respect to the industrial machine, the component including a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet;
• a circular magnetic sensor array configured to sense a first magnetic flux associated with the first permanent magnet and a second magnetic flux associated with the second permanent magnet, the circular magnetic sensor array including a first magnetic sensor configured to sense the first magnetic flux associated with the first permanent magnet and a second magnetic sensor configured to sense the second magnetic flux associated with the second permanent magnet;
• and
• a controller configured to
• receive a first flux signal related to the first magnetic flux and a second flux signal related to the second magnetic flux,
• analyze the first flux signal to identify a first peak magnetic flux,
• analyze the second flux signal to identify a second peak magnetic flux, and
• determine the inclination of the component of the industrial machine based on the first peak magnetic flux and the second peak magnetic flux.

A method of determining inclination, the method comprising:

• sensing a first magnetic flux associated with a first permanent magnetic;
• sensing a second magnetic flux associated with a second permanent magnetic;
• generating a first flux signal related to the first magnetic flux;
• generating a second flux signal related to the second magnetic flux;
• identifying a first peak magnetic flux associated with the first flux signal;
• identifying a second peak magnetic flux associated with the second flux signal;
• and
• determining inclination based on the first peak magnetic flux and the second peak magnetic flux.