Assembly for measuring movement of and a torque applied to a shaft

An assembly for measuring a magnetic flux, said assembly comprising:

• a shaft having first and second ends and being hollow;
• a magnetostrictive material disposed annularly about and directly on said shaft and extending between first and second edges;
• a flux collector having a first half and a second half defining a gap therebetween and extending beyond said first and said second edges of said magnetostrictive material;
• a sensor disposed within said gap for measuring an axial component of the magnetic flux flowing from said edges of said magnetostrictive material;
• a positional ring extending annularly around and spaced from said shaft;
• a positional sensor disposed between said positional ring and said shaft for measuring a radial component of the magnetic flux;
• and
• a magnetic source disposed within said shaft for producing magnetic flux about said shaft.

A method of measuring a magnetic flux flowing through and around a shaft having first and second ends and being hollow, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing the shaft with a magnetostrictive material disposed annularly about and directly on the shaft and extending between first and second edges;
• positioning a flux collector having a first half and a second half defining a gap therebetween and extending beyond the first and the second edges of the magnetostrictive material adjacent the magnetostrictive material;
• disposing a sensor within the gap for measuring an axial component of the magnetic flux flowing from the edges of the magnetostrictive material positioning a positional ring annularly around and spaced from the shaft;
• disposing a positional sensor between the positional ring and the shaft for measuring a radial component of the magnetic flux;
• and
• disposing a magnetic source within the shaft for producing the magnetic flux for detection about the shaft.

A method for measuring movement of a shaft having first and second ends and being hollow, said method comprising the steps of:

• positioning a sensor mechanism adjacent the shaft to detect a magnetic flux;
• disposing a magnetic source having two poles within the shaft for producing a parallel magnetic field emanating radially from said shaft;
• and
• maintaining the magnetic source within the shaft to continuously induce a bi-directional magnetic flux through the shaft.