Permanent magnet rotary accelerometer

Abstract

A rotary accelerometer having a nonrotatable cylindrical magnet return path formed out of magnetic permeable material. One or more permanent magnets, with two opposite poles, are disposed around the magnetic return path. An electrically conductive cup with an access for rotation therearound in which the cup surrounds the permanent magnets and the permanent magnets are arranged so as to produce a magnetic field through the cup into the nonrotatable cylindrical magnet return path, thereby inducing eddy currents inside the cup when rotating in the magnetic field. A stator core is formed out of magnetic permeable material surrounding the cup and nonrotatable relative thereto, the stator core having at least two pickup members. The stator is formed from at least one continuous piece of magnetic permeable material. One or more stator windings are disposed on to the pickup members of the stator core for sensing changes in a secondary magnetic field generated by the eddy currents in the cup.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.