Rotary position transducer having hinged circuit boards
US4922199A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 27, 1988 |
| Grant date | May 1, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 27, 2008 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/49128
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A position transducer has an input shaft coupled to a variable inductance sensor to produce an output electrical signal representing shift angle position. The transducer includes a plurality of rigid circuit boards which are hinged to one another so that the circuit boards and the electronic circuitry supported on the boards can be wrapped around the variable inductance sensor. The individual rigid circuit board segments are laminated onto a flexible sheet having conductive tracks. The track sheet provides the hinged effect. The power supply which is mounted on one or more of the boards provides DC power through an AC circuit fed by a transistor which is switched on and off as a function of the power needs of the transducer. By thus having an ON duty cycle substantially less than 100 percent, the heat generated in the power supply is minimized thereby making feasible the packing density afforded by the plurality of hinged circuit boards.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.