CN218414207U - Receiving coil of position sensor and position sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a receiving coil of a position sensor and a position sensor. A receiving coil of a position sensor, the receiving coil being constituted by a plurality of coils connected in series, wherein each coil has a substantially sine or substantially cosine shape, and each two adjacent coils are arranged to have a predetermined phase difference, and the receiving coil is wound from one continuous wire arranged on a circuit board including a plurality of layers, wherein the wire includes a segment connected from each coil except for a last coil to a subsequent coil, and a segment connected from the last coil to a previous coil in turn and back to the first coil.

Description

Receiving coil of position sensor and position sensor

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to inductive position sensors.

And more particularly, to a receive coil for an inductive position sensor, and an inductive position sensor using the receive coil.

Background

Various solutions of inductive sensors using eddy current coupling have been proposed in the prior art for measuring the position of a moving body along a linear path or an angular path.

For example, to determine the linear or angular position of a moving body along a restricted linear or angular path, an inductive position sensor may be constructed comprising: a transmit coil disposed about the linear or angular path; two receive coils, each having a sine and cosine shape, disposed within the transmit coil; a current generator for generating a varying current in the transmit coil to generate a magnetic field within the linear or angular path; a target member that moves along the linear path or the angular path in correspondence with the moving body, and a magnetic field within the linear path or the angular path changes as the target member moves; and a detector that measures a voltage induced at a terminal of the receiving coil to determine a linear position or an angular position of the moving body along the linear path or the angular path.

Wherein the target is made of an electrically conductive material to allow eddy current flow. The target member moves linearly relative to the transmitter coil and the receiver coil. The inductive coupling between the transmitter coil and the two sets of receiver coils varies in a substantially sine or cosine curve in relation to the position of the target piece, so that a detector connected to the receiver coils can determine the position of the target piece from the induced signals obtained from the receiver coils.

The receiving coil may be arranged on the circuit board, and may be constituted by a plurality of coils connected in series. However, in some prior arts, when a plurality of coils connected in series are wound to constitute a receiving coil, a plurality of via holes need to be arranged in a narrow middle area of a circuit board, which requires a large span or diameter of the receiving coil, thereby limiting the application of the small receiving coil. Furthermore, in some prior art, the wound receive coil does not achieve a complete sine or cosine profile, which results in a significant reduction in the measurement accuracy of the position sensor.

Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved receive coil for a position sensor.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an improved receive coil for a position sensor.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a receiving coil of a position sensor, the receiving coil being constituted by a plurality of coils connected in series, wherein each coil has a substantially sine or substantially cosine shape, and each two adjacent coils are arranged to have a predetermined phase difference, and the receiving coil is wound from one continuous wire arranged on a circuit board including a plurality of layers, wherein the wire includes a segment connected from each coil except a last coil to a subsequent coil, and a segment connected from the last coil to the previous coil in sequence and back to the first coil.

In one embodiment, portions of the wire corresponding to the rising and falling segments of each coil are disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board, respectively, except for a segment of the wire that is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil.

In one embodiment, the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil includes a rising section portion and a falling section portion, which are disposed on the first layer and the second layer of the circuit board, respectively.

In one embodiment, the falling portion corresponds to a portion of a falling portion of a previous coil of the two connected coils, and the rising portion corresponds to a portion of a rising portion of a subsequent coil, or the falling portion corresponds to a portion of a falling portion of a subsequent coil of the two connected coils, and the rising portion corresponds to a portion of a rising portion of a previous coil.

In one embodiment, the section of the conductor which is connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil is arranged on the third layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, except for the segment of the wire that is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, the portion of the wire corresponding to the rising section of the odd-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the first layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the rising section of the even-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the second layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the falling section of the odd-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the third layer of the circuit board, and the portion corresponding to the falling section of the even-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the next coil includes a first portion and a second portion respectively disposed on different layers of the circuit board, wherein the first portion corresponds to a part of the falling section of the previous coil of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a part of the rising section of the next coil and another part of the falling section of the previous coil.

In one embodiment, in the section of the wire connected from each of the coils other than the last coil to the latter coil, the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on a third layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on a second layer of the circuit board, and the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is arranged on a fourth layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on the first layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the segments of the wire that are connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are arranged on the third and fourth layers of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, in a section of the wire which is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, a portion of the wire corresponding to the even number coil is disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board, and a portion corresponding to the odd number coil other than the first coil is disposed on the third layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the next coil includes a first portion and a second portion respectively disposed on different layers of the circuit board, wherein the first portion corresponds to a portion of the rising section of the previous coil of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a portion of the falling section of the next coil and another portion of the rising section of the previous coil.

In one embodiment, in the section of the wire connected from each of the coils other than the last coil to the latter coil, the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on a first layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on a fourth layer of the circuit board, and the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is arranged on a second layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on a third layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, the segments of the wire that are connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are arranged on a first layer and a second layer of the circuit board.

In one embodiment, in a section of the wire which is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, a portion of the wire corresponding to the even number of coils is disposed on the second layer of the circuit board, and a portion corresponding to the odd number of coils other than the first coil is disposed on the first layer of the circuit board.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a position sensor for determining a position of a moving body along a restricted linear path or angular path, comprising: a transmit coil disposed about the linear or angular path; and two receive coils, each having a substantially sine and a substantially cosine shape, disposed within the transmit coil; a current generator for generating a varying current in the transmit coil to generate a magnetic field within the linear or angular path; a target member that moves along the linear path or the angular path corresponding to the moving body and a magnetic field in the linear path or the angular path changes as the target member moves; and a detector measuring a voltage induced at terminals of the receiving coils to determine a linear or angular position of the moving body along the linear or angular path, wherein both the receiving coils are according to the above.

Other features of the present disclosure and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments thereof, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

The present disclosure may be more clearly understood from the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a receiving coil comprising a plurality of coils.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a receive coil wound from a continuous piece of wire in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of one arrangement of receive coils on a circuit board according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4A shows a schematic diagram of another arrangement of receive coils on a circuit board according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4B shows a schematic diagram of yet another arrangement of receive coils on a circuit board according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Note that in the embodiments described below, the same reference numerals are used in common between different drawings to denote the same portions or portions having the same functions, and a repetitive description thereof will be omitted. In some cases, similar reference numbers and letters are used to denote similar items, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be discussed further in subsequent figures.

For convenience of understanding, the positions, sizes, ranges, and the like of the respective structures shown in the drawings and the like do not sometimes indicate actual positions, sizes, ranges, and the like. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the positions, dimensions, ranges, and the like disclosed in the drawings and the like.

Detailed Description

Various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that: the relative arrangement of the components and steps, the numerical expressions, and numerical values set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present disclosure unless specifically stated otherwise.

The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. That is, the structures and methods herein are shown by way of example to illustrate different embodiments of the structures and methods of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand, however, that they are merely illustrative of exemplary ways in which the disclosure may be practiced and not exhaustive. Furthermore, the figures are not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated to show details of particular components.

Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail but are intended to be part of the specification where appropriate.

In all examples shown and discussed herein, any particular value should be construed as merely illustrative, and not limiting. Thus, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a receiving coil 100. In fig. 1, the receiving coil 100 is shown as a linearly extending position sensor suitable for measuring the position of a moving body along a linear path. In other embodiments, the receiver coils may extend along an arc (or circumference), suitable for use as position sensors for measuring the position of the mobile body along an angular path.

The receiving coil 100 may be constituted by a plurality of coils, shown in the example of fig. 1 as being constituted by 4 coils 101, 102, 103, 104. Wherein coil 101 is shown in solid lines, coil 102 is shown in dashed lines, coil 103 is shown in dotted lines, and coil 104 is shown in dotted lines. In other embodiments, the receive coil 100 may be comprised of any suitable number of coils.

The coils 101, 102, 103, 104 are connected in series. When the position sensor operates, the electromotive force induced by the receiving coil 100 is equal to the sum of the electromotive forces induced by the coils 101, 102, 103, 104.

Each two adjacent coils of the coils 101, 102, 103, 104 are arranged to have a predetermined phase difference. The phase difference may be appropriately determined according to the number of coils constituting the receiving coil 100. For example, in the example of fig. 1, the receiving coil 100 is constituted by 4 coils, and the phase difference between each two adjacent coils may be set to 45 degrees.

Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a receive coil 200 in accordance with at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The receiver coil 200 is wound from a continuous wire. The conductor may be disposed on a circuit board comprising a plurality of layers. For the sake of clarity, the runs of the wires are indicated in fig. 2 by different line types, wherein the runs of the wires are indicated in succession by the same line type at the intersections of the lines.

Wherein the wire includes a segment connected from each coil except the last coil to the next coil (segment O-P-Q connected from the 1 st coil to the 2 nd coil; segment K-L-M connected from the 2 nd coil to the 3 rd coil; segment G-H-I connected from the 3 rd coil to the 4 th coil), and a segment connected from the last coil to the previous coil in order and back to the first coil (segment A-B-C-D).

Specifically, in the example of fig. 2, the wire may start from point S on the 1 st coil (shown as a solid line), go up to point a, and then go through points B, C, and D to the 4 th coil. After that, the wire passes through E, F, G and H points in sequence from the point D to complete the winding of the 4 th coil (the line type representing the wire trend is changed from a solid line to a long broken line at the point F). And then, the wire is connected from the 4 th coil to the 3 rd coil at the point H, and the 3 rd coil is wound through the points I, J, K and L in sequence (the line type representing the wire trend is changed from a long dotted line to a dot-dash line at the point J). And then, the wire is connected from the 3 rd coil to the 2 nd coil at the point L, and the 3 rd coil is wound through M, N, O and P points in sequence (the line type representing the wire trend is changed from a dot-dash line to a short dashed line at the point N). Then, the wire is connected from the 2 nd coil to the 1 st coil at the point P, and the 1 st coil is wound through the points Q, R and S in sequence (the line type representing the wire trend is changed from a short dashed line to a dotted line at the point R).

In the example shown in fig. 2, the coils are always connected from one coil to another in the upper part of the coils. In other embodiments, the coils may be connected from one coil to another at least one location below the coils.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the particular winding of the wire shown in fig. 2 is merely exemplary. The scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and not by the example embodiments shown in fig. 2 and described in the specification.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of one arrangement of a receive coil 300 on a circuit board according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The receiver coil 300 is wound from a continuous wire in the same manner as the receiver coil 200 shown in fig. 2. The conductor is disposed on a circuit board comprising a plurality of layers. For clarity, the arrangement of the wires on the circuit board is shown in fig. 3 as different lines, wherein the same line indicates that the length of wire is arranged on the same layer of the PCB. Furthermore, the circles represent vias on the circuit board that are used to connect wires on different layers.

As shown in fig. 3, portions of the wire corresponding to the rising and falling sections of each coil are disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board, respectively, and connected through vias, except for the segments (segments a-B in fig. 3) of the wire that are sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil. In this way, the conductor segments arranged on the first and second layers of the circuit board do not intersect.

In fig. 3, the portion disposed on the first layer of the circuit board is indicated by a solid line, and the portion disposed on the second layer of the circuit board is indicated by a dotted line.

As shown in FIG. 3, the segments (segments C-D-E, F-G-H, I-J-K) of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil include rising segment portions (C-D, F-G, I-J) and falling segment portions (D-E, G-H, J-K) which are disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board, respectively. As shown in fig. 3, the rising portion and the falling portion are connected by a via.

Wherein in the example shown in fig. 3, the connection from one coil to the other is always made in the upper part of the coil, so that the falling section part corresponds to a part of the falling section of the preceding one of the two connected coils, and the rising section part corresponds to a part of the rising section of the succeeding one of the coils. For example, the falling portion C-D of segment C-D-E in FIG. 3 corresponds to a portion of the falling portion of the 1 st coil and the rising portion D-E corresponds to a portion of the rising portion of the 2 nd coil. In other embodiments, it is possible to connect one coil to another coil all the way in the lower part of the coil, so that the falling section part corresponds to a part of the falling section of the latter of the two connected coils, and the rising section part corresponds to a part of the rising section of the former coil.

As shown in fig. 3, the segments (segments a-B in fig. 3) of the wire that are connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are arranged on the third layer of the circuit board. In this way, the segment does not intersect with the conductor segments disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board.

In fig. 3, a portion disposed on the third layer of the circuit board is indicated by a chain line.

Fig. 4A shows a schematic diagram of another arrangement of receive coils 400 on a circuit board according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in fig. 4A, the portion of the wire corresponding to the rising section of the odd-numbered coil (i.e., 1 st, 3 rd coil) is disposed on the first layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the rising section of the even-numbered coil (i.e., 2 nd, 4 th coil) is disposed on the second layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the falling section of the odd-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the third layer of the circuit board, and the portion corresponding to the falling section of the even-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board, except for the segment (segment a-B-C-D in fig. 4A) of the wire which is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil. In this way, the distance between adjacent conductor portions arranged on the same layer is large, which is suitable for application scenarios where the span or diameter of the receiving coil is small.

In fig. 4A, a portion arranged on the first layer of the circuit board is indicated by a solid line, a portion arranged on the second layer of the circuit board is indicated by a broken line, a portion arranged on the third layer of the circuit board is indicated by a dotted line, and a portion arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board is indicated by a dot-dash line.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the segments of the wire (segments E-F-G-H, I-J-K-L, M-N-O-P) connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil include first portions (G-H, K-L, O-P) and second portions (E-F-G, I-J-K, M-N-O) respectively arranged on different layers of the circuit board. As shown in fig. 4A, the first portion and the second portion are connected by a via.

In the example shown in fig. 4A, the coil is always connected from one coil to another coil at the upper portion thereof, so that the first portion corresponds to a part of the falling section of the former one of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a part of the rising section of the latter one and another part of the falling section of the former one. For example, a first portion G-H of the segment E-F-G-H in FIG. 4A corresponds to a portion of the falling segment of the 1 st coil, and a second portion E-F-G corresponds to a portion of the rising segment of the 2 nd coil and another portion of the falling segment of the 1 st coil.

As shown in fig. 4A, in the section of the wire connected from each of the coils except the last coil to the latter coil (sections E-F-G-H, I-J-K-L, M-N-O-P), the first part of the section of the wire connected from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on the third layer of the circuit board, the second part is arranged on the second layer of the circuit board, and the first part of the section of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board, the second part is arranged on the first layer of the circuit board.

For example, a first portion G-H of a segment E-F-G-H from the 1 st coil to the 2 nd coil in FIG. 4A is disposed on a third layer of the circuit board (indicated by dotted lines) and a second portion E-F-G is disposed on a second layer of the circuit board (indicated by dashed lines). The first portion K-L of the segment I-J-K-L from the 2 nd coil to the 3 rd coil in fig. 4A is disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board (indicated by the dotted line), and the second portion I-J-K is disposed on the first layer of the circuit board (indicated by the solid line).

As shown in fig. 4A, the segments (segments a-B-C-D) of the wire that are connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are arranged on the third and fourth layers of the circuit board. As shown in fig. 4A, the portions disposed on different layers of the circuit board are connected by vias.

Further, in the segments (segments a-B-C-D) of the wire which are sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, the portions of the wire corresponding to the even number of coils are arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board, and the portions corresponding to the odd number of coils other than the first coil are arranged on the third layer of the circuit board. For example, in the section a-B-C-D in fig. 4A, the portions corresponding to the 2 nd and 4 th coils are arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board (indicated by dotted lines), and the portion corresponding to the 3 rd coil is arranged on the third layer of the circuit board (indicated by dotted lines).

Fig. 4B shows a schematic diagram of yet another arrangement of receive coils 500 on a circuit board, according to at least one embodiment of the present disclosure.

The arrangement shown in fig. 4B is similar to that shown in fig. 4A, except that in fig. 4B, the coils are always connected from one coil to another in the lower portion thereof.

In fig. 4B, a portion arranged on the first layer of the circuit board is indicated by a solid line, a portion arranged on the second layer of the circuit board is indicated by a broken line, a portion arranged on the third layer of the circuit board is indicated by a dotted line, and a portion arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board is indicated by a dot-dash line.

As shown in fig. 4B, except for the segment of the wire that is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, the portion of the wire corresponding to the rising section of the odd-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the first layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the rising section of the even-numbered coil is substantially disposed on the second layer of the circuit board, the portion corresponding to the falling section of the odd-numbered coil is disposed on the third layer of the circuit board, and the portion corresponding to the falling section of the even-numbered coil is disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board, and connected by the via hole.

As shown in fig. 4B, the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil includes a first portion and a second portion respectively disposed on different layers of the circuit board, the first portion and the second portion being connected therebetween by a via. Unlike the example shown in fig. 4A, the first portion corresponds to a part of the rising section of the previous coil of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a part of the falling section of the subsequent coil and another part of the rising section of the previous coil, as shown in fig. 4B.

As shown in fig. 4B, in the section of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil, the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on the first layer of the circuit board (indicated by a solid line), the second portion is arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board (indicated by a dotted line), and the first portion of the section of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is arranged on the second layer of the circuit board (indicated by a dotted line), the second portion is arranged on the third layer of the circuit board (indicated by a dotted line).

As shown in fig. 4B, the segments of the wire sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are arranged on the first and second layers of the circuit board. As shown, the portions disposed on different layers of the circuit board are connected by vias.

Further, in a section of the wire which is connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, a portion of the wire corresponding to the even number of coils is disposed on the second layer of the circuit board (indicated by a dotted line), and a portion corresponding to the odd number of coils other than the first coil is disposed on the first layer of the circuit board (indicated by a solid line).

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that other suitable arrangements of the receive coils of the present disclosure may also be employed.

The present disclosure also relates to a position sensor for determining a position of a moving body along a restricted linear or angular path, comprising: a transmit coil disposed about the linear or angular path; and two receive coils, each having a substantially sine and a substantially cosine shape, disposed within the transmit coil; a current generator for generating a varying current in the transmit coil to generate a magnetic field within the linear or angular path; a target member that moves along the linear path or the angular path in correspondence with the moving body, and a magnetic field within the linear path or the angular path changes as the target member moves; and a detector that measures a voltage induced at terminals of the receiving coils to determine a linear position or an angular position of the moving body along the linear path or the angular path, wherein both the receiving coils are the above-described receiving coils.

The terms "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the disclosure described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.

As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance, or illustration," and not as a "model" that is to be reproduced exactly. Any implementation exemplarily described herein is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. Furthermore, the disclosure is not limited by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, utility model content, or detailed description.

As used herein, the term "substantially" is intended to encompass any minor variations due to design or manufacturing imperfections, tolerances of the devices or components, environmental influences and/or other factors. The word "substantially" also allows for differences from a perfect or ideal situation due to parasitics, noise, and other practical considerations that may exist in a practical implementation.

In addition, the foregoing description may refer to elements or nodes or features being "connected" or "coupled" together. As used herein, unless expressly stated otherwise, "connected" means that one element/node/feature is directly connected to (or directly communicates with) another element/node/feature, either electrically, mechanically, logically, or otherwise. Similarly, unless expressly stated otherwise, "coupled" means that one element/node/feature may be mechanically, electrically, logically or otherwise joined to another element/node/feature in a direct or indirect manner to allow interaction, even though the two features may not be directly connected. That is, to "couple" is intended to include both direct and indirect joining of elements or other features, including connection with one or more intermediate elements.

In addition, "first," "second," and like terms may also be used herein for reference purposes only, and thus are not intended to be limiting. For example, the terms "first," "second," and other such numerical terms referring to structures or elements do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context.

It will be further understood that the terms "comprises/comprising," "includes" and/or "including," when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In the present disclosure, the term "providing" is used broadly to encompass all ways of obtaining an object, and thus "providing an object" includes, but is not limited to, "purchasing," "preparing/manufacturing," "arranging/setting," "installing/assembling," and/or "ordering" the object, and the like.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the boundaries between the above described operations merely illustrative. Multiple operations may be combined into a single operation, single operations may be distributed in additional operations, and operations may be performed at least partially overlapping in time. Moreover, alternative embodiments may include multiple instances of a particular operation, and the order of operations may be altered in various other embodiments. However, other modifications, variations, and alternatives are also possible. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

Although some specific embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail by way of example, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing examples are for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The various embodiments disclosed herein may be combined in any combination without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. A receiving coil of a position sensor is characterized in that,

the receiving coil is constituted by a plurality of coils connected in series, wherein each coil has a substantially sine or substantially cosine shape, and each two adjacent coils are arranged to have a predetermined phase difference, and

the receiving coil is wound from a continuous wire disposed on a circuit board including a plurality of layers, wherein the wire includes a segment connected from each coil except for a last coil to a subsequent coil, and a segment connected from the last coil to the previous coil in turn and back to the first coil.

2. The receive coil of claim 1,

portions of the wire corresponding to the rising and falling sections of each coil are disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board, respectively, except for a segment of the wire that is sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil.

3. The receive coil of claim 2,

the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil includes a rising section portion and a falling section portion which are disposed on the first layer and the second layer of the circuit board, respectively.

4. The receive coil of claim 3,

the falling section part corresponds to a part of a falling section of a previous coil of the two connected coils, and the rising section part corresponds to a part of a rising section of a subsequent coil, or

The falling section portion corresponds to a portion of a falling section of a subsequent coil of the two connected coils, and the rising section portion corresponds to a portion of a rising section of a previous coil.

5. The receive coil of claim 4,

the section of the wire which is connected from the last coil to the previous coil in turn and back to the first coil is arranged on the third layer of the circuit board.

6. The receive coil of claim 1,

except for the sections of the wires which are sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil, the parts of the wires corresponding to the rising sections of the odd coils are basically arranged on the first layer of the circuit board, the parts corresponding to the rising sections of the even coils are basically arranged on the second layer of the circuit board, the parts corresponding to the falling sections of the odd coils are basically arranged on the third layer of the circuit board, and the parts corresponding to the falling sections of the even coils are basically arranged on the fourth layer of the circuit board.

7. The receive coil of claim 6,

the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil includes a first portion and a second portion respectively arranged on different layers of the circuit board, wherein

The first portion corresponds to a part of a falling section of a previous coil of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a part of a rising section of a subsequent coil and another part of a falling section of the previous coil.

8. The receiving coil according to claim 7, wherein in a section of the wire connected from each coil except for a last coil to a subsequent coil,

the first portion of the wire in the section from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on a third layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on a second layer of the circuit board, and

the first portion of the segment of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board, and the second portion is disposed on the first layer of the circuit board.

9. The receive coil of claim 8,

segments of the wire sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are disposed on the third and fourth layers of the circuit board.

10. The receiving coil as set forth in claim 9, wherein in a segment of the wire connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil in sequence,

portions of the conductive wires corresponding to the even-numbered coils are disposed on the fourth layer of the circuit board, and portions corresponding to the odd-numbered coils other than the first coil are disposed on the third layer of the circuit board.

11. The receive coil of claim 6,

the segment of the wire connected from each coil except the last coil to the latter coil includes a first portion and a second portion respectively arranged on different layers of the circuit board, wherein

The first portion corresponds to a portion of the rising section of a preceding coil of the two connected coils, and the second portion corresponds to a portion of the falling section of a succeeding coil and another portion of the rising section of the preceding coil.

12. The receiving coil according to claim 11, wherein in a section of the wire connected from each coil except for a last coil to a subsequent coil,

the first portion of the wire in the section from the odd coil to the even coil is arranged on a first layer of the circuit board, the second portion is arranged on a fourth layer of the circuit board, and

the first portion of the segment of the wire connected from the even coil to the odd coil is disposed on a second layer of the circuit board, and the second portion is disposed on a third layer of the circuit board.

13. The receive coil of claim 12,

segments of the wire that are connected in sequence from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil are disposed on the first and second layers of the circuit board.

14. The receiver coil of claim 13, wherein in a segment of the wire sequentially connected from the last coil to the previous coil and back to the first coil,

portions of the conductive wires corresponding to the even-numbered coils are disposed on the second layer of the circuit board, and portions corresponding to the odd-numbered coils other than the first coil are disposed on the first layer of the circuit board.

15. A position sensor for determining the position of a moving body along a restricted linear or angular path, comprising:

a transmit coil disposed about the linear or angular path; and

two receive coils, each having a substantially sine and a substantially cosine shape, disposed within the transmit coil;

a current generator for generating a varying current in the transmit coil to generate a magnetic field within the linear or angular path;

a target member that moves along the linear path or the angular path in correspondence with the moving body, and a magnetic field within the linear path or the angular path changes as the target member moves; and

a detector that measures a voltage induced at terminals of the receiving coil to determine a linear position or an angular position of the moving body along the linear path or the angular path,

characterized in that both receiving coils are according to any of the claims 1-14.

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