A lighting control operating unit generating digital adjusting commands which are transmitted to a processing unit via a data link includes several control elements, including key buttons, slide controls and/or rotary controls, which are disposed at the upper side of a housing. At least one dual encoder is provided in a control panel of the lighting control operating unit allowing users to enter input values. The dual encoder presents a first shaft rotatably mounted in a housing, and a second shaft mounted in the housing so as to be coaxially rotatable, and corresponding first and second rotation signal generators Both shafts include actuating elements transmitting adjusting movements. The actuating elements are a rotary disk and/or a rotary swivel configured to be coaxially turned in opposite directions.

A magnetic field sensor for sensing an absolute position of a target object can include one or more magnetic field sensing elements disposed proximate to a mechanical intersection of first and second portions of a target object, wherein the one or more magnetic field sensing elements are operable to generate a first magnetic field signal responsive to the movement of both the first and second portions. The magnetic field sensor can also include a position detection module operable to use the first magnetic field signal to generate a position value indicative of the absolute position. The magnetic field sensor can also include an output format module coupled to receive the position value and to generate an output signal from the magnetic field sensor indicative of the absolute position.

An accurate position sensor that operates over a long range is provided. The position sensor can include a first sensor coil having a first number of periods over a range of motion of a target; and a second sensor coil having a second number of periods over the range, wherein the first number of periods is different from the second number of periods, and wherein the first sensor coil and the second sensor coil are arranged with respect to one another such that the target engages both of them simultaneously. In some embodiments, the first number of periods is one and the second number of periods is greater than one. In some embodiments, the first number of periods is greater than one and the second number of periods is greater than the first number of periods.

A magnetic field sensor for sensing an absolute position of a target object can include one or more magnetic field sensing elements disposed proximate to a mechanical intersection of first and second portions of a target object, wherein the one or more magnetic field sensing elements are operable to generate a first magnetic field signal responsive to the movement of both the first and second portions. The magnetic field sensor can also include a position detection module operable to use the first magnetic field signal to generate a position value indicative of the absolute position. The magnetic field sensor can also include an output format module coupled to receive the position value and to generate an output signal from the magnetic field sensor indicative of the absolute position.

A magnetic field sensor for sensing an absolute position of a target object can include a first one or more magnetic field sensing elements disposed proximate to a first portion of the target object, the first one or more magnetic field sensing elements operable to generate a first magnetic field signal responsive to the movement of the first portion; a second one or more magnetic field sensing elements disposed proximate to a second portion of the target object, the second one or more magnetic field sensing elements operable to generate a second magnetic field signal responsive to the movement of the second portion; a position detection module coupled to use the first and second magnetic field signals to generate a position value indicative of the absolute position; and an output format module coupled to receive the position value and to generate a position signal from the magnetic field sensor indicative of the absolute position.

A rotation angle detection device includes: a rotating body having magnetic tracks on which magnetic pole pairs are arranged at even intervals in concentric ring shapes; magnetic sensors each configured to detect a magnetic field of a corresponding one of the magnetic tracks and output a sine signal and a cosine signal; storage configured to store magnetic sensor correction information; a correction calculator configured to correct the sine signal and the cosine signal based on the magnetic sensor correction information; a phase detector configured to calculate a phase of the corrected sine signal and the corrected cosine signal; a phase difference detector configured to calculate a phase difference between a plurality of the phases; and an angle calculator configured to convert the phase difference into an absolute angle.

A differential angle sensor for measuring a differential angle between an input shaft and an output shaft includes a target assembly fixed to rotate with one of the shafts and a ring magnet with equidistantly spaced magnet segments fixed to rotate with the other one of the shafts. The target assembly includes four identical targets extending about the common axis parallel and axially spaced apart from one another, and each having a plurality of wedge-shaped teeth extending radially toward the ring magnet. A first magnetic field sensor is disposed between first and second targets for measuring a first magnetic field strength therebetween. A second magnetic field sensor is disposed between third and fourth targets for measuring a second magnetic field strength. The targets are all circumferentially offset relative to one another such that the magnetic field strengths each vary with the differential angle between the shafts and differently from one-another.

An encoder comprises first and second sensors which reads first and second tracks, the first and second sensors being arranged in a radial direction to face each other, and a processor which generates a first position signal based on first and second periodic signals based on a signal obtained by reading the first and second tracks by the first sensor, and generates a second position signal based on third and fourth periodic signals based on a signal obtained by reading the first and second tracks by the second sensor, wherein the processor generates an absolute position signal indicating an absolute position of at least one of the scale, the first sensor, or the second sensor based on the first and second position signals and the first and third periodic signals.

A magnetic encoder has an annular main body, a magnetic encoding unit and a position encoding unit. The main body is made of material with magnetic permeability, surrounds a central axis, and includes a first surface and a second surface opposite to said first surface. The magnetic encoding unit is disposed on the first surface of the main body, and includes a plurality of first and second magnetic poles, each of which is annular and is centered at the central axis. The annular position encoding unit is centered at the central axis, that is adjacent to the magnetic encoding unit, and that is disposed on the one of the first surface on which the magnetic encoding unit is disposed. The first and second magnetic poles are arranged in an alternating sequence.

A robot system includes: a robot having a main shaft gear attached to a rotary shaft of a drive unit, a first countershaft gear meshing with the main shaft gear, a second countershaft gear meshing with the main shaft gear, and a third countershaft gear meshing with the main shaft gear; and a main shaft phase output unit outputting a phase of the main shaft gear as a first main shaft phase. A phase of the main shaft gear is derived as a second main shaft phase, based on a phase of the first countershaft gear, a phase of the second countershaft gear, and a phase of the third countershaft gear. Processing to stop the drive unit is performed when the first main shaft phase and the second main shaft phase do not coincide with each other.