Three-axis digital compass
US9797721B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 28, 2014 |
| Grant date | Oct 24, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 22, 2034 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R33/09
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A three-axis digital compass comprising two X-axis magnetic sensors, two Y-axis magnetic sensors, a flux concentrator, a signal sampling unit, a signal processing unit, and a signal output unit is disclosed. The X-axis and Y-axis magnetic sensors are arranged along a periphery of the flux concentrator. An external magnetic field is distorted when passing through the flux concentrator. An Z axis component of the external magnetic field is converted into X-axis or Y-axis magnetic field components when passing through the flux concentrator, and the so converted components of the external magnetic field act on the X-axis and Y-axis magnetic sensitive sensors. An output signal of the X-axis and Y-axis magnetic sensitive sensors is sent to the signal processing unit through the signal sampling unit, and it is used to calculate the three orthogonal components of the external magnetic field. These calculated external magnetic field components are output in a digital format through the signal output unit. The three-axis digital compass has a novel structure and an elegant computation algorithm. The design is compatible with AMR, GMR, TMR or other magnetoresistive sensor technology.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.