A redundant angular position sensor comprising a first angular position sensor including a first excitation coil, a first sensing coil and a second sensing coil and a second angular position sensor. The second angular position sensor including a second excitation coil, a third sensing coil and a fourth sensing coil. Each of the first, second, third and fourth sensing coils comprising a respective clockwise winding portion and a respective counter-clockwise winding portion. The redundant angular position sensor further comprises a rotatable inductive coupling element positioned in overlying relation to the sensing coils and separated from the sensing coils by a gap, wherein the rotatable inductive coupling element comprises four, substantially evenly radially spaced, sector apertures.

The invention relates to a novel type of electric inductance arrangement for a series of applications in the field of distance measurement, sensor-based detection of objects, and construction of induction machines. The novelty consists in the type of inductance arrangement of the receiver or transmitter coil, said arrangement being designed in the form of a ladder rung arrangement, wherein the ladder spars short-circuit the rungs. The sum of all the short-circuit currents is an indicator of what is occurring in the surroundings of the arrangement. This could be changing magnetic fields caused by transmitter objects or additional ladder-rung systems acting as transmitters. Multiple such sensors and transmitters can be designed in the ladder-rung form, said sensors and transmitters being connected in parallel or in series according to the application under certain circumstances and if necessary assuming the excitation function by moving a conductor through which a direct current is flowing or by applying alternating currents. The aforementioned inductance arrangement results positively in that the coils can all have a completely crossover-free design and are therefore substantially simpler to technically implement for very different applications in electrical engineering. The applicability ranges from short-range distance measuring devices and long-range object location to light detection and efficient induction machines with large or also very small constructions.

An electromagnetic induction type encoder, wherein at least one of widths of a first transceiver coil, a first plurality of conductors and a first receiver coil of a first track in a direction vertical to facing direction between a detection head and a scale and a measurement direction is different from corresponding width of a second transceiver coil, a second plurality of conductors and a second receiver coil in the direction vertical to the facing direction and the measurement direction.

A method for calibrating a linearization function for correcting the output of a position sensor providing a continuous output position signal, wherein the method optimizes the linearization function by defining optimal positions of the linearization points of the linearization function.

A method for calibrating a linearization function for correcting an output of a position sensor providing a continuous output position signal is described. The method adds a new linearization point to the linearization function by detecting the maximum error at the output of the position sensor and applying the new linearization function to the output of the position sensor and repeat the adding new linearization points until all available linearization points have been defined.

A position detection device for detecting a position of a shaft moving forward and backward in an axial direction is provided with a detection object attached to the shaft, an excitation coil for generating an alternating magnetic field, and a detection coil arranged along an axial direction of the shaft. A magnitude of a voltage induced in the detection coil varies in accordance with a position of the detection object.

A system and method for monitoring analog front-end (AFE) circuitry of an inductive position sensor. A redundant AFE channel is provided and alternatively utilized with a sine AFE channel or a cosine AFE channel of the AFE circuitry to obtain a voltage difference that may result in a detection angle error at the electronic control unit (ECU) of the inductive position sensor.

A torque sensor unit measures torque introduced into an upper steering shaft of a motor vehicle. The upper steering shaft can be connected to a lower steering shaft via a torsion bar. The torque sensor unit may have two inductive sensors, where a first inductive sensor can be connected to the upper steering shaft to measure the rotary position of the upper steering shaft and a second inductive sensor can be connected to the lower steering shaft to measure the rotary position of the lower steering shaft. An evaluation unit may be designed to process the signals of the two inductive sensors and to calculate the torque therefrom by means of the angle difference between the rotary positions of the two steering shafts.

A position sensor according to some embodiments includes a first position sensor board having first sensor coils and a first transmit coil; a second position sensor board having second sensor coils stacked with, and separated from by a distance Z, the first position sensor; and at least one target positioned relative to the stacked first position sensor and second position sensor. A redundant position sensor according to some embodiments includes a plurality of stacked sensor boards, each of the plurality of sensor boards including sensor coils, wherein one of the plurality of stacked sensor boards includes an active transmit coil; and a target positioned over the plurality of stacked sensor boards.

An inductive angle sensor includes an inductive target arrangement with -fold symmetry and a first pickup coil arrangement with -fold symmetry and a second pickup coil arrangement with -fold symmetry. A combination apparatus is designed to combine signals of the first pickup coil arrangement with signals of the second pickup coil arrangement and, on the basis thereof, to ascertain an angle-error-compensated rotation angle. The single pickup coils of the first and second pickup coil arrangements are each rotationally offset about the axis of rotation R by a geometric offset angle α relative to one another. Additionally, the entire first pickup coil arrangement is rotationally offset relative to the entire second pickup coil arrangement about the axis of rotation R by a geometric offset angle ρ.