Techniques for calibrating a linear position sensor

A device for sensing a position of an object located within an enclosure over a position range, the method comprising:

• means for generating an expected output signal of each of a plurality of magnetic field sensors disposed along an outer surface of the enclosure between a first end and a second end of the enclosure;
• means for receiving a plurality of actual output signals from the plurality of magnetic field sensors, wherein each of the plurality of actual output signals indicates a relative proximity of a magnetic target coupled to the object to the corresponding one of the plurality of magnetic field sensors;
• means for superimposing the expected output signal over the plurality of actual output signals;
• means for iteratively shifting the expected output signal over position relative to the plurality of actual output signals and comparing the shifted expected output signal to the plurality of actual output signals, until the shifted expected output signal compared to the plurality of actual output signals corresponds to a substantially minimized error parameter;
• and
• means for determining the position of the object within the enclosure over the position range based at least in part on the shifted expected output signal.

An apparatus for sensing a position of an object located within an enclosure over a position range, the apparatus being configured to:

• generate an expected output signal of each of a plurality of magnetic field sensors disposed along an outer surface of the enclosure between a first end and a second end of the enclosure;
• receive a plurality of actual output signals from the plurality of magnetic field sensors, wherein each of the plurality of actual output signals indicates a relative proximity of a magnetic target coupled to the object to the corresponding one of the plurality of magnetic field sensors;
• superimpose the expected output signal over the plurality of actual output signals;
• iteratively shift the expected output signal over position relative to the plurality of actual output signals and comparing the shifted expected output signal to the plurality of actual output signals, until the shifted expected output signal compared to the plurality of actual output signals corresponds to a substantially minimized error parameter;
• and
• determine the position of the object within the enclosure over the position range based at least in part on the shifted expected output signal.