A measuring device for a spindle or for a rotary table includes at least two first and second position sensing elements and a scale element, having a first and second graduations and being rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to the position sensing elements. The first graduation includes regular structures arranged in parallel next to one another along a first direction, having a directional component in the circumferential direction. The second graduation includes regular structures arranged in parallel next to one another along a second direction, having a directional component in the axial direction. The first position sensing elements are offset from one another in the circumferential direction, and are able to scan the first graduation so that the position of the scale element in a plane having an orthogonal orientation to the axis of rotation is determinable. In addition, at least one of the first position sensing elements is able to determine an angular position of the scale element in relation to the first position sensing elements in absolute terms within and across a rotation. The second position sensing elements are offset from one another in the circumferential direction, and are able to scan the second graduation, and the axial position of the scale element is able to be determined.

An absolute encoder includes a circuit board disposed away from a rotation shaft of a motor in a shaft direction of the rotation shaft thereof, the circuit board being fixed to top end surfaces of multiple pillars each extending from a motor side, by respective locking sections. The absolute encoder includes a sensor disposed, on the circuit board, facing a rotating body that rotates in accordance with rotation of the rotation shaft, the sensor being configured to detect a rotation amount of the rotating body. The circuit board includes first fixing portions each fixed to a top end surface of a given pillar, by a corresponding locking section. The circuit board includes a second fixing portion fixed to a top end surface of a given pillar by a corresponding locking section, the second fixing portion being connected to a ground. At each of the first fixing portions, an adjustment portion is disposed between the circuit board and a top end portion of a given pillar is provided, the adjustment portion being set to adjust a distance between the circuit board and the top end portion of the given pillar, so that a height of the circuit board at a given first fixing portion is set to be the same as a height of the circuit board at the second fixing portion.

An electromagnetic induction type encoder includes a detection head and a scale. The detection head has a first transceiver coil to generate magnetic flux with respect to a first track and a second transceiver coil to generate magnetic flux with respect to a second track. The scale has a first plurality of periodical elements with respect to the first track and a second plurality of periodical elements with respect to the second track. The detection head has a receiver coil that continuously extends from the first track to the second track, is electromagnetically coupled with the magnetic flux generated by the first plurality of periodical elements and the magnetic flux generated by the second plurality of periodical elements, and detects a phase of the magnetic flux generated by the first plurality of periodical elements and a phase of the magnetic flux generated by the second plurality of periodical elements.

An encoder wheel assembly comprising: a first encoder wheel rotationally fixed to a rotor and having a number n of teeth arranged along the circumference of the encoder wheel; a second encoder wheel rotationally fixed to the first encoder wheel, and having the same number n of teeth as the first encoder wheel along the circumference of the encoder wheel, wherein the teeth of the second encoder wheel have an asymmetrical angular offset relative to the teeth of the first encoder wheel; a first sensor designed to scan the first encoder wheel; a second sensor designed to scan the second encoder wheel; and a controller connected to the first sensor and the second sensor and designed to ascertain the absolute angular position and the rotational direction based on a binary signal derived from a first signal of the first sensor and a second signal of the second sensor.

A control system includes an encoder and a control device that controls a target object by using information transmitted from the encoder by serial communication. The encoder includes a position information generating unit that generates position information made of a predetermined amount of data and including absolute position data of an object to be detected; a configuration information generating unit that generates configuration information representing a ratio of the absolute position data in the amount of data during serial communication; and a transmission unit that transmits, to the control device, the position information and the configuration information as a series of serial data. The control device includes a reception unit that receives the position information and the configuration information transmitted from the encoder; and a control unit that processes the position information received by the reception unit on the basis of the configuration information received by the reception unit.

This invention provides a position detection apparatus that improves the position detection accuracy. A position detection apparatus includes an absolute track in which when N is an integer of not less than 2, a recording binary sequence created based on a position detection binary sequence in which identical sequences do not exist no matter which N continuous terms are extracted is recorded, and an absolute sensor unit that reads the recording binary sequence from the absolute track, wherein a plurality of terms included in the recording binary sequence consist of two binary values, and when the two binary values are assumed to be 1 and 0, the recording binary sequence is a sequence obtained by replacing one of two values included in the position detection binary sequence with 10 and the other value in the position detection binary sequence with 01.

An exemplary encoder assembly includes a substrate, a first encoder, and a second encoder. The substrate has two or more position sensors, each position sensor being configured for detecting a rotary position of a shaft or other rotating element of a machine. The first encoder includes at least one first position sensor of the two or more position sensors. The at least one first position sensor is disposed on the substrate for off-axis alignment with the shaft or other rotating element of the machine. The second encoder includes a second position sensor of the two or more position sensors, the second position sensor being disposed on the substrate for on-axis or off-axis alignment with the shaft or other rotating element of the machine. Each position sensor is configured to detect different or common signal types, and a signal type of the second position sensor excludes optical signals.

A rotary machine for the treatment of containers is described. This rotary machine comprises a stationary underframe, a rotatable container table for receiving the containers, a motor designed as an internal rotor for direct drive of the container table, a bearing for supporting the container table and/or a non-rotatably connected supporting structure on the underframe radially outside the motor, and a rotary encoder for determining the rotational position of the container table. By positioning the rotary encoder radially outside the motor, the accuracy of the rotary position determination can be improved, especially for rotary machines with comparatively large pitch diameters and the accessibility of the rotary encoder for maintenance measures.

A magnetic encoder comprising an encoder element having at least two tracks of encoder regions, each region comprising a magnetic pole, the poles along each track being arranged as an alternating pattern of North and South poles, and one or more sensors, each sensor comprising one or more sensing elements associated with a respective track and generating an output that is indicative of the magnetic field associated with that track in the vicinity of the sensor, in which at least one track has a differing number of poles to at least one of the other tracks, and in which the properties of the poles of a first one of the tracks differ along the track such that there is a periodic variation along the first track of the magnetic field emitted by the first track that is detected by the sensing elements associated with the first track which at least partially cancels out a corresponding periodic variation in field from the other tracks that is also detected by the sensing elements associated with the first track.

A magnetic encoder comprising an encoder element having at least two tracks of encoder regions, each region comprising a magnetic pole, the poles along each track being arranged as an alternating pattern of North and South poles, and one or more sensors, each sensor comprising one or more sensing elements associated with a respective track and generating an output that is indicative of the magnetic field associated with that track in the vicinity of the sensor, in which at least one track has a differing number of poles to at least one of the other tracks, and in which the properties of the poles of a first one of the tracks differ along the track such that there is a periodic variation along the first track of the magnetic field emitted by the first track that is detected by the sensing elements associated with the first track which at least partially cancels out a corresponding periodic variation in field from the other tracks that is also detected by the sensing elements associated with the first track.