Hall effect contactless position sensor providing a direct proportion between a hall effect voltage and a distance to a magnetic target

A Hall effect position sensor, comprising:

• two spaced apart parallel pole pieces each having a first length;
• a Hall effect cell positioned between said pole pieces and spaced apart from said pole pieces along a first portion of said first length;
• a magnet positioned between said pole pieces along a second portion of said first length;
• and
• a magnetic material target positioned at a distance from one end of said first length of said two pole pieces, said one end being proximal to said magnet, whereby a magnetic flux created by said magnet is distributed by said pole pieces to said target material across said distance and across said Hall effect cell to produce in said Hall effect cell an output signal directly proportional to said distance,
• wherein the pole pieces have two facing, parallel, planar faces, in contact with two opposite, planar, parallel faces of the magnet and spaced by the same spacing L with respect to the two opposite, planar, parallel faces of the Hall effect cell, in which the relation:
• Sa+Sec/L<<Sent/2e
• is satisfied, Sa, Sec and Sent designating the respective cross-sections of the magnet, the Hall effect cell and an air gap separating active surfaces of said pole pieces from the magnetic material target, and e designating a distance between the active surfaces of the pole pieces and the magnetic material target.