Position sensor for bearingless slice motors
AssigneeMassachusetts Institute of Technology
InventorsKrishan Kant, David L. Trumper
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A position sensor with six degrees of freedom (DoF) measurement capability may be used for position sensing of the rotor in a bearingless slice motor to enable active control. The sensor is designed to fit entirely under the rotor and operates by accessing the rotor bottom surface only, enabling packaging of the pump on the top of the rotor. The sensor has two parts; both operate using eddy currents. One of these parts measures the two radial DoF of the rotor. The other part measures the axial, angular rotation and tip/tilt DoF. The sensor utilizes a conductive target fixed to the underside of the rotor. The design and fabrication of the sensor along with the signal processing methods are described.
Claims20
A position sensor configured to sense information about a position of a rotor, the position sensor comprising:
- a first part comprising a plurality of coils, the first part configured to make radial measurements related to the rotor;
- and
- a second part comprising a plurality of coils, the second part configured to make rotation, tilt, and axial measurements related to the rotor,
- wherein the position sensor is configured to fit underneath the rotor.
A system comprising:
- a rotor;
- a position sensor configured to fit underneath the rotor, the position sensor having a first plurality of coils and a second plurality of coils;
- and
- one or more controllers connected to the position sensor and configured to measure radial position of the rotor using the first plurality of coils and to measure rotation, tilt, and axial of the rotor using the second plurality of coils.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.