Device and method for detecting the relative position of a rotatable body

US6507188B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Robert Bosch GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Elmar Dilger · Echterdingen, DE
• Bernd Mueller · Leonberg, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 24, 2001
• Grant date: Jan 14, 2003
• Expiry date: May 24, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01D5/04
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An apparatus for detecting the angular position of a first rotatable body (10, L) has a number n of uniform angle markings or teeth (11), with at least two rotatable gear wheels (12, 13, 14, 15), which respectively have n1, n2, n3, n4 uniform angle markings or teeth. The angle markings of the at least two rotatable gear wheels (12, 13, 14, 15) cooperate with the angle markings (11) of the first rotatable body (10) in such a way that by detecting the angular positions &thgr;, &psgr; of the at least two rotatable gear wheels (12, 13, 14, 15), the angular position a of the first rotatable body can be determined. When there are two of the at least two rotatable gear wheels (12, 13; 12, 14; 12, 15; 13, 14; 13, 15; 14, 15), &brvbar;ni-nj&brvbar;>1 and (ni, nj)=1 or ni, nj are relatively prime and when there are more than two of the at least two rotatable gear wheels, (ni, nj)=1, where 1=i<N, with N being the total number of the at least two rotatable gear wheels (12, 13, 14, 15).