Vehicle steering sensor device
US5880367A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 1996 |
| Grant date | Mar 9, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 11, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01P3/487
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A sensing device conveniently and accurately produces electrical signal representative of the direction in which he steerable wheels (10 and 11) of a vehicle are pointing and the rate of change of the direction of the steerable wheels. The device includes a circular or donut-shaped magnet (26) that is attached to the pinion (12) of a rack and pinion steering gear (6). The magnet has a plurality of magnetic poles (28) spaced around its circumference and preferably extending axially through the magnet. As the magnetic poles rotate past a plurality of sensors (36 and 38) that are located in quadrature positioning relative to the magnetic poles and to each other, the sensors generate electrical signals that are processed to determine the rotation direction of the pinion and the rate of such rotation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.