Cam phaser position detection
AssigneeGeneral Motors Corporation
InventorJames Michael Haller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Internal combustion engine camshaft phaser position detection with a single position sensor fixed in position relative to a rotatably driven member rotating in constant phase with the engine camshaft and a rotatably driving member rotating in constant phase with the engine crankshaft. Teeth or slots are provided on the driven and driving members and pass in proximity to the sensor for varying a sensor output signal which is processed to determine the relative time of passage of the driving and driven members to determine relative phase therebetween.
Claims13
A phase detection apparatus for detecting a difference in phase angle between a first and a second rotating member, comprising:
- a pair of edges disposed on the first rotating member;
- a pair of edges disposed on the second rotating member;
- a sensor in fixed position relative to the first and second rotating members for transducing the time of passage of the pair of edges disposed on the first rotating member and for transducing the time of passage of the pair of edges disposed on the second rotating member into variations of a sensor output signal;
- and
- circuitry for receiving the output signal and for detecting, from the sensor output signal variations, the difference in phase angle between the first and second rotating members as a predetermined function of the transduced time of passage of the pair of edges disposed on the first rotating member and of the transduced time of passage of the pair of edges disposed on the second rotating member.
A phaser position detector for detecting a difference in phase angle between a crankshaft and a camshaft of an internal combustion engine, comprising:
- a first rotating member rotating in substantial constant phase with the crankshaft and having a position marker disposed thereon having first and second sides;
- a second rotating member rotating in substantial constant phase with the camshaft and having a position marker disposed thereon having first and second sides, the position marker of the second rotating member positioned to rotate in proximity to the position marker of the first rotating member;
- a sensor in a fixed location relative to the first and second rotating members in position to transduce passage of the position markers of the first and second rotating members into sensor output signal transitions;
- and
- circuitry for receiving the sensor output signal and for determining relative timing between sensor output signal transitions and for detecting the difference in phase angle as a function of the determined relative timing.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.