Balanced magnetic linear displacement sensor
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorNicholas F. Busch
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A magnetic linear displacement sensor. In accordance with one embodiment, the displacement sensor includes a Hall transducer element having a sensor plate surface and at least one magnet having a lengthwise dimension along which said Hall element detects a magnetic field component orthogonal to the sensor plate surface during displacement sensing. The magnet includes first and second pole faces disposed on opposite lengthwise sides thereof and a polarization axis aligned orthogonally with respect to the lengthwise dimension. The first pole face opposes the Hall, element and is characterized as having a non-planar surface contoured to generate a substantially linear orthogonal magnetic field component sensed by said Hall element during linear displacement sensing.
Claims12
A magnetic linear displacement sensor comprising:
- a Hall element having a sensor plate surface;
- and
- at least one magnet having a lengthwise dimension along which said Hall element detects a magnetic field component orthogonal to the sensor plate surface during displacement sensing, said magnet comprising first and second pole faces disposed on opposite lengthwise sides thereof and having a polarization axis aligned orthogonally with respect to the lengthwise dimension, said first pole face opposing said Hall element and having a non-planar surface contoured to generate a substantially linear orthogonal magnetic field component sensed by said Hall element during linear displacement sensing,
- wherein the surface contour of the first pole face is bounded at the ends of the lengthwise dimension of said magnet by lateral edges, such that the contour of the first pole face is characterized as generally sloping upward from each of the lateral edges and peaking at approximately the midpoint between the lateral edge;
- and
- wherein the contour of the first pole face slopes upward from each of the lateral edges in a convex manner.
A magnetic linear displacement sensor comprising:
- a Hall element having a sensor plate surface;
- at least one magnet having a lengthwise dimension along which said Hall element detects a magnetic field component orthogonal to the sensor plate surface during displacement sensing, said magnet comprising first and second pole faces disposed on opposite lengthwise sides thereof and having a polarization axis aligned orthogonally with respect to the lengthwise dimension, said first pole face opposing said Hall element and having a non-planar surface contoured to generate a substantially linear orthogonal magnetic field component sensed by said Hail element during linear displacement sensing;
- and
- wherein each of said at least one magnet is characterized as having a length of 23.0 mm, a width of 4.0 mm, and a varying height, H, wherein H varies in a symmetrically convex sloping from 4.23 mm at the ends to 5.60 mm at the center.
A magnetic linear displacement sensor comprising:
- a Hall element having a sensor plate surface;
- first and second permanent magnets each having a first pole face disposed on a convex contoured lengthwise side and a second pole face disposed on an opposite lengthwise side thereof, and each having a polarization axis aligned orthogonally with respect to the lengthwise dimension, said first and second permanent magnets mutually disposed such that the contoured first pole faces are aligned in mutual opposition to form a sensing corridor therebetween, said Hall element plate disposed within the sensing corridor substantially centered between the contoured first pole faces;
- and
- wherein the surface contour of each of the first pole faces is bounded at the ends of the lengthwise dimension by lateral edges, and wherein the contour of the first pole face is characterized as generally sloping upward from each of the lateral edges and peaking at approximately the midpoint between the lateral edges.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.