Methods and apparatuses to obtain increased performance and differentiation for an inductive position sensor through improvements to the sense element and target design are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a sense element includes a transmit coil, a first receive coil that includes a first plurality of arrayed loops, wherein two or more of the first plurality of arrayed loops are at least one of phase blended and amplitude arrayed, and a second receive coil that includes a second plurality of arrayed loops, wherein two or more of the second plurality of arrayed loops are at least one of phase blended and amplitude arrayed, and wherein the first receive coil and the second receive coil are phase shifted. The sense element coils are arrayed in several geometries and layouts, and the coil and target geometry are manipulated to compensate for inherent errors in the fundamental design of an inductive position sensor.

An inductive position measuring device includes a scanning element and a scale element. The position measuring device is able to determine positions of the scanning element relative to the scale element in a first direction and in a second direction. The scale element includes graduation structures arranged next to one another along the first direction, and the graduation structures have a periodic characteristic with a second period length along the second direction. The scanning element has a first receiver track, a second receiver track, a third receiver track, and an excitation lead. Each of the three receiver tracks has two receiver circuit traces. The receiver circuit traces have a periodic characteristic with a first period length along the first direction, and the receiver tracks are arranged at an offset from one another in the second direction.

An inductive rotor position sensor device for detecting a rotor angular position of a rotor of an electric machine. The inductive rotor position sensor device includes a transmitter coil for generating electromagnetic waves and a receiver coil for detecting the electromagnetic waves generated by the transmitter coil and influenced by the rotor, and includes a processing unit, which is designed to activate the transmitter coil and to evaluate the electromagnetic waves detected by the receiver coil for determining the rotor angular position. The coils and the processing unit are situated on a shared circuit board. The coils are situated on a front side, and the processing unit is situated on a rear side of the circuit board which faces away from the front side.

A sensor arrangement, including a detection unit and a carrier element for attaching the detection unit at a motor cover, The detection unit, on a side facing the motor cover, including electronic components which are accommodated in a receptacle of the carrier element. A motor including a motor cover and a corresponding sensor arrangement are also described.

Inductive position sensors for sensing relative position (e.g., relative rotary position) between members are provided. In one example implementation, the inductive position sensor includes a transmit aerial having at least one transmit winding. The inductive position sensor can include a receive aerial having one or more receive windings. The inductive position sensor can include a coupling element operable to be disposed on the second member. The inductive position sensor can include processing circuitry configured to provide one or more signals indicative of the position of the first member relative to the second member based on current induced in the one or more receive windings resulting from an oscillating signal provided to the transmit winding. The inductive position sensor includes at least one electrostatic shield. The electrostatic shield can include a plurality of conductive traces arranged so that no current loops are formed in the electrostatic shield.

An inductive angle sensor for determining a rotational position of a rotor relative to a stator includes an exciter coil, at least one pickup coil arrangement having an m-fold symmetry and at least one conductive target having an m-fold symmetry. The exciter coil may excite the conductive target which, in turn, may induce an induced signal in the pickup coil arrangement. A signal analysis device may determine the rotational position of the rotor based on the induced signal. The inductive angle sensor may comprise a second pickup coil arrangement having an n-fold symmetry and a second conductive target having an n-fold symmetry. The exciter coil may excite the second conductive target which, in turn, may induce a second induced signal in the second pickup coil arrangement. The signal analysis device may determine the rotational position of the rotor based on the two induced signals according to a Vernier principle.

A detecting unit outputs a first output value varying with a rotation angle of a rotary body in a first cycle and outputs a second output value varying with the rotation angle in a second cycle. The variation in the second output value is different from the variation in the first output value in a positive/negative sign. A magnitude relationship between the first output value and the second output value changes with variation in the rotation angle at rotation angles during the first cycle. A selector unit selects, from the first output value and the second output value, a value of at least a minimum value and a maximum value of the first output values corresponding to the rotation angles. A computing unit computes, on the basis of the selected value, a value related to the rotation angle.

An apparatus includes a sampling circuit to sample input from a sensor circuit. The input includes a cosine coil waveform and a sine coil waveform. The sampling circuit is to generate a cosine coil sampled data stream and a sine coil sampled data stream. The apparatus includes an adjustment circuit to, based upon a characterization of the sensor circuit, delay the cosine coil sampled data stream or the sine coil sampled data stream.

An inductive position sensor device includes at least a first terminal to couple the position sensor device with a first receiving antenna coil for providing a first reception signal, and at least a second terminal to couple the position sensor device with a second receiving antenna coil for providing a second reception signal. The device further includes a unique receiver channel to evaluate the first and second reception signal, and a multiplexer. The multiplexer is configured to selectively couple the at least one first terminal or the at least one second terminal with the unique receiver channel in dependence on operating the multiplexer in a first or second operation state.

An inductive position sensor may be configured to detect relative position between a first member and a second member. The inductive position sensor may include an inductive sensor element configured to be coupled to the first member and a screening layer formed over a screened portion of a member surface of the second member such that an exposed portion of the member surface is free of the screening layer. The screening layer may be configured to reduce an effect on induced signals in the inductive sensor element caused by the screened portion of the second member.