A torque sensor including a shaft that receives an applied torque is disclosed. The shaft includes a magnetoelastic region that generates a non-negligible magnetic field responsive to the applied torque and one or more null regions that each generates a negligible magnetic field. The torque sensor includes a plurality of null region sensors proximal a null region that generate a null region magnetic field measure corresponding to a magnitude of an ambient magnetic field. The torque sensor includes a magnetoelastic region sensor proximal the magnetoelastic region that generates a magnetoelastic region magnetic field measure corresponding to the magnitude of the ambient magnetic field and a magnitude of the non-negligible magnetic field. The torque sensor includes a controller coupled to the null region sensors and the magnetoelastic region sensor that calculates a magnitude of the applied torque based on the null region magnetic field measures and the magnetoelastic region magnetic field measure.

A magnetostrictive member is formed of a crystal of an iron-based alloy having magnetostrictive characteristics and is a plate-like body having a long-side direction and a short-side direction. At least one of a front face and a back face of the plate-like body has a plurality of grooves extending in the long-side direction.

In at least one illustrative embodiment, a method for contaminant detection includes distributing multiple magnetostrictive sensors on a nonmagnetic index plate. The index plate includes multiple wells formed in a top surface that are each sized to receive a magnetostrictive sensor. The method further includes placing a magnetic backing plate below the index plate, inverting the index plate and the magnetic backing plate, and then placing the inverted index plate on a sample surface. The sample surface may be two-dimensional food such as fresh vegetable leaves. The method may further include placing the index plate and the magnetic backing plate on a nonmagnetic cover plate that is positioned above a sensor coil. The method further includes removing the magnetic backing plate, removing the index plate, and applying a varying magnetic field with the sensor coil to a magnetostrictive sensor positioned on the cover plate. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

An energy harvester includes a housing including an inner space holed in a lengthwise direction, a first magnet portion disposed at a center portion of the inner space of the housing, a second magnet portion spaced apart from the first magnet portion in the inner space, the second magnet portion including a first surface having a magnetic repulsive force with the first magnet portion, and a power generating device part disposed on a second surface of the second magnet portion and configured to generate electrical energy based on deformation thereof.

There are included: an oscillating member that includes a tough layer and a magnetostrictive layer stacked above the tough layer and formed of a magnetostrictive material, the tough layer formed of a tough material having a tensile strength higher than that of the magnetostrictive material; a supporting member to which the oscillating member is attached to be able to oscillate in the thickness direction; a magnetic field applying member that applies a magnetic field to the magnetostrictive layer; and a coil that is disposed around the magnetostrictive layer.

A load sensor includes a core having a hollow part provided therein and containing magnetic material and a coil attached to the core. A magnetic path along which a magnetic flux generated by a current flowing in the coil is formed along a circumference direction of the hollow part. The core has a load-receiving portion that receives a load at a surface of the core located in a crossing direction crossing a plane along which the magnetic path is formed.

A collision sensor device for a medical apparatus includes a sensor structure having a first sensor and a second sensor that are separated by a spacer layer, at least one crumple layer that adjoins one of the first sensor and the second sensor and is configured to provide a run-on path, and an outer surface layer provided on a side facing away from the medical apparatus in an installed state of the collision sensor device.

A torque sensor including a shaft that receives an applied torque is disclosed. The shaft includes a magnetoelastic region that generates a non-negligible magnetic field responsive to the applied torque and null regions that generate a negligible magnetic field. The torque sensor includes null region sensors that generate a null region magnetic field measure corresponding to an ambient magnetic field. The torque sensor includes a magnetoelastic region sensor that generates a magnetoelastic region magnetic field measure corresponding to the ambient magnetic field and the non-negligible magnetic field. The torque sensor includes a controller that determines whether a null region sensor has entered an intense ambient magnetic field condition and whether a magnetoelastic region sensor has entered a magnetoelastic region sensor saturation condition. The controller also calculates a magnitude of the applied torque based on the null region magnetic field measures and the magnetoelastic region magnetic field measure.

A piezoelectric fiber composite and a magnetoelectric laminate composite including the same are disclosed. The piezoelectric fiber composite includes a first protective layer having a first electrode, a second protective layer having a second electrode, and a piezoelectric fiber layer formed between the first and the second electrode and having piezoelectric fibers arranged in the longitudinal direction of the composite, wherein the piezoelectric fibers include a single-crystal piezoelectric material and are configured such that a <011> direction of the single crystal is identical to a thickness direction of the composite and a <001> direction of the single crystal is identical to a longitudinal direction of the composite, thus exhibiting superior piezoelectric strain properties and sensing properties. Also, the magnetoelectric laminate composite includes the piezoelectric fiber composite and a magnetostrictive layer including a magnetostrictive material such as nickel (Ni) or Metglas (FeBSi alloy), thus ensuring significantly improved magnetoelectric properties.

A system includes sensing modules positioned along a length of a drill string. Each sensing module includes a structure arrangement composed of an outer structure body having a cavity and an inner structure body rotatably supported within the cavity. The structure arrangement is coupled to the drill string such that rotation of the drill string produces a relative rotation between the structure bodies. Ball elements are disposed in a gap between the structure bodies and move along a predetermined path defined in the gap in response to relative rotation between the structure bodies. Movable elements are positioned to physically interact with the ball elements as the ball elements move along the predetermined path. Energy harvesters in the sensor modules generate electrical energy from the mechanical energy produced by physical interaction between the ball elements and movable elements. The sensing modules include sensors to measure parameters in the drill string environment.