Patent · US Expired

Sensing apparatus and method

US7514919B2 · kind B2 · utility

8Cited by
34References
29Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 15, 2003
Grant dateApr 7, 2009
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 11, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01D5/2073
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A sensor for sensing a parameter such as position, comprises: (i) an excitation winding for example coils (7, 9) in quadrature; (ii) a signal generator (41, 42, 43) operable to generate an excitation signals and arranged to apply the generated excitation signal to the excitation winding; (iii) a sense coil (11) that can be electromagnetically coupled to the excitation winding such that, in response to the excitation signal being applied to the excitation winding by the signal generator, a periodic electric signal is generated in the sense coil that is indicative of the value of the parameter to be measured by the sensor; and (iv) a signal processor (108) operable to process the periodic electric signal generated in the sensor winding to determine a value representative of the parameter being measured. The signal processor may be arranged to generate a second signal (f1) at a frequency slightly different from that of the excitation signal, and to mix the second signal with the signal received from the sense coil to generate a third signal having a frequency component (f0−f1) equal to the difference between the frequency of the excitation signal and that of the second signal. The pro…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.