US 6,234,654 B1Granted

Height sensor and vehicular headlight beam axis leveling apparatus

AssigneeDenso Corporation

InventorsHiroaki Okuchi, Takahide Kitahara, Fumio Asakura

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Abstract

A height sensor has an exciting coil for generating an alternating magnetic field and a pickup coil for detecting the magnetic field. The exciting coil is fixed to a suspension arm and the pickup coil is fixed to a body so as to face each other. Distance between these coils is determined by a voltage outputted from the pickup coil, and a height of the vehicle is calculated from the distance between these coils by taking the mounting position of the pickup coil on the suspension arm into account. The height sensor is readily fixed and a detection accuracy is improved by setting the mounting position of the pickup coil in a range of {fraction (1/10)} to ½ of a length of the suspension arm from a connecting portion between the suspension arm and the body.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A height sensor for detecting a height of a vehicle having a body and a movable member which is movably connected to the body and which is relatively movable to the body according to the height of the vehicle, said height sensor comprising:

a magnetic field generator installed in one of the body and said movable member for generating an alternating magnetic field;
and
a magnetic field detector, installed in the other of the body and said movable member such that said magnetic field generator and said magnetic field detector are disposed opposite to each other, for detecting said alternating magnetic field and for outputting a detected signal indicating a distance from said magnetic field generator, wherein;
a mounting position of said one of said magnetic field generator and said magnetic field detector to be installed in said movable member is within a range of {fraction (1/10)} to ½ of a length of said movable member from a connection between the body and said movable member.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 09/299,560Filed 27 Apr 1999
Priority: JP 10-11665327 Apr 1998
Granted: 22 May 2001
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

B60Q 1/10
Automatically: due to vehicle inclination, e.g. due to load distribution
G01B 7/003
Measuring arrangements characterised by the use of electric or magnetic techniques: for measuring position, not involving coordinate determination
G01D 5/2066
By influencing the mutual induction between two or more coils: by movement of a single coil with respect to a single other coil
B60G 2200/144
With lateral arms: with two lateral arms forming a parallelogram