WO2019171763A1 - Linear position sensor - Google Patents

Abstract

A linear position sensor including a first magnetic field detection element (115), a second magnetic field detection element (116), and a signal processing unit (112). The first magnetic field detection element obtains, as a first detection signal, the size of the magnetic field in a first magnetic field detection direction, on the basis of change in magnetic field received from a first magnetic pole and a second magnetic pole as a detection body moves. The second magnetic field detection element is arranged separated from the first magnetic field detection element in the travel direction and obtains, as a second detection signal, the size of the magnetic field in the second magnetic field detection direction in the same direction as the first magnetic field detection direction, obtaining same on the basis of change in magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole as the detection body moves. The signal processing unit obtains a sine signal indicating a sine function and a cosine signal indicating a cosine function, by calculating the differential between the first detection signal and the second detection signal. The signal processing unit: generates an arc tangent signal indicating the arc tangent function and corresponding to the travel amount for the detection body, generating same on the basis of the sine signal and the cosine signal; and obtains the arc tangent signal as a position signal indicating the position of the detection body.

Description

Linear position sensor Cross-reference of related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-41170 filed on March 7, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This disclosure relates to a linear position sensor.

Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a detection device that detects the position of a detection body. The detection apparatus includes a magnetic field detection element that detects a magnetic field that changes as the detection body moves, and a bias magnet. And a detection body, a magnetic field detection element, and a bias magnet are arrange | positioned on a straight line.

The magnetic field detection element includes a first element that detects a magnetic field in the movement direction of the detection body, and a second element that detects a magnetic field in a direction opposite to the movement direction of the detection body. The first element and the second element are disposed on the same position of the detection body. That is, the signal of each element is given a phase difference by inverting the magnetic field detection direction of each element. Therefore, the signal amplitude can be maximized by taking the differential signal of each element.

JP 2005-257434 A

However, in the above-described conventional technology, when the first element and the second element are affected by the disturbance magnetic field, the first element and the second element have the magnetic field detection direction reversed, so the second element is the first element. In contrast, a disturbance magnetic field having a reverse phase is incident. For this reason, when the signal amplitude of the first element increases due to the influence of the disturbance magnetic field, the signal amplitude of the second element also increases due to the influence of the disturbance magnetic field. Further, when the signal amplitude of the first element becomes small due to the influence of the disturbance magnetic field, the signal amplitude of the second element also becomes small due to the influence of the disturbance magnetic field. Therefore, if the signal of each element is taken differentially, the noise contained in each signal cannot be canceled out, and it is difficult to reduce the noise.

This disclosure is intended to provide a linear position sensor that can reduce the influence of a disturbance magnetic field when detecting the position of a detection body.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the linear position sensor detects the position in the moving direction of the detection body in which the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole are alternately provided, and includes the following configuration.

The linear position sensor includes a first magnetic field detection element, a second magnetic field detection element, and a signal processing unit.

The first magnetic field detection element acquires the magnitude of the magnetic field in the first magnetic field detection direction as the first detection signal based on the change in the magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole as the detection body moves.

The second magnetic field detection element is disposed away from the first magnetic field detection element in the movement direction, and the first magnetic field detection direction is based on a change in the magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole as the detection body moves. The magnitude of the magnetic field in the second magnetic field detection direction in the same direction as is acquired as the second detection signal.

The signal processing unit receives the first detection signal and the second detection signal, and obtains a sine signal indicating a sine function and a cosine signal indicating a cosine function by calculating a differential between the first detection signal and the second detection signal. To do. In addition, the signal processing unit generates an arctangent signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the detected body, based on the sine signal and the cosine signal, and obtains the arctangent signal as a position signal indicating the position of the detected body. To do.

According to this, since the first magnetic field detection element and the second magnetic field detection element have the same magnetic field detection direction, an in-phase disturbance magnetic field is incident on the first magnetic field detection element and the second magnetic field detection element. In addition, since the first magnetic field detection element and the second magnetic field detection element are arranged apart from each other in the moving direction, they receive magnetic fields in different directions from the detection body. For this reason, one of the detection signals is advanced and the other is retarded by the disturbance magnetic field. As a result, the influence of the disturbance magnetic field is reduced by calculating the differential between the first detection signal and the second detection signal. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the influence of the disturbance magnetic field on the position signal obtained by the signal processing unit.

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings,
FIG. 1 is an external view of a linear position sensor according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of components constituting a magnetic detection method using a magnetoresistive element, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of the linear position sensor. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of signal processing of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a detection body, a first magnetic field detection element, and a second magnetic field detection element, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a signal generated as the detection object moves. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a position signal with respect to the amount of movement of the detection body, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a case where a disturbance magnetic field is incident on each magnetic field detection element. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing sinusoidal signals before and after the incidence of the disturbance magnetic field when the distance θ = 0 °. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing sinusoidal signals before and after the incidence of a disturbance magnetic field when the distance θ = 45 °. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing sinusoidal signals before and after the incidence of a disturbance magnetic field when the distance θ = 90 °. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a sine signal before and after the incidence of the disturbance magnetic field when the distance θ = 135 °. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the angle error of the sine signal at the A position and the B position. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the S / N of the sine signal at the A position, FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an output error with respect to a phase difference between the A position and the B position. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration in which each magnetic field detection element is arranged at the same position in the movement direction at the C position and the D position as a comparative example, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a sine signal before and after the incidence of the disturbance magnetic field in the case of the distance θ = 45 ° in the comparative example. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a sine signal before and after the incidence of a disturbance magnetic field when the distance θ = 135 ° in the comparative example, FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the angle error of the sine signal in the comparative example, FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a configuration of a comparative example and an output error of a single element, FIG. 21 is a schematic view of a shift-by-wire system according to the second embodiment, FIG. 22 is a block diagram of a shift-by-wire system, FIG. 23 is a plan view showing a detent, FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the contents for detecting the position of the detent. FIG. 25 is a perspective view of a manual valve, FIG. 26 is a diagram showing the contents for detecting the position of the manual valve.

Hereinafter, a plurality of modes for carrying out the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, portions corresponding to those described in the preceding embodiment may be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted. When only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the other embodiments described above can be applied to other parts of the configuration. Not only combinations of parts that clearly show that combinations are possible in each embodiment, but also combinations of the embodiments even if they are not explicitly stated unless there is a problem with the combination. Is also possible.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The linear position sensor according to the present embodiment is a sensor that detects a position in a moving direction of a detection body in which a first magnetic pole and a second magnetic pole are alternately provided. Hereinafter, the linear position sensor is simply referred to as a sensor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the sensor 100 detects the amount of movement of the detection body that moves in one direction. That is, the sensor 100 detects the current position of the detection body. Specifically, the sensor 100 acquires the position of the detection body by detecting a signal proportional to the amount of movement of the detection body.

The sensor 100 includes a case 101 formed by resin molding of a resin material such as PPS. The case 101 has a distal end portion 102 on the detection body side, a flange portion 103 fixed to the peripheral mechanism, and a connector portion 104 to which a harness is connected. A sensing portion is provided inside the tip portion 102.

In addition, the sensor 100 is fixed to the peripheral mechanism via the flange portion 103 so that the tip portion 102 has a predetermined gap with respect to the detection surface of the detection body. Accordingly, the detection body moves relative to the sensor 100. Note that the moving direction of the detection body is not limited to linear movement or reciprocation, but may be rotation, reciprocation within a specific angle, or the like.

The sensor 100 can employ a magnetic detection method using a magnetoresistive element or a magnetic detection method using a Hall element. In the case of a magnetic detection method using a magnetoresistive element, the sensor 100 includes a mold IC unit 105 and a cap unit 106 as shown in FIG. The mold IC unit 105 is inserted into the cap unit 106. These are accommodated in the tip portion 102 of the case 101.

The mold IC part 105 and the cap part 106 are integrated. The main part of the mold IC part 105 is located in the hollow part of the cap part 106. The cap unit 106 fixes the position of the mold IC unit 105.

The mold IC part 105 has a lead frame, a processing circuit chip, a sensor chip, and a mold resin part. The lead frame has a plurality of leads 107 to 110. The plurality of leads 107 to 110 correspond to a power supply terminal 107 to which a power supply voltage is applied, a ground terminal 108 to which a ground voltage is applied, a first output terminal 109 for outputting a signal, and a second output terminal 110. . That is, the leads 107 to 110 are four for power supply, ground, and signal. Terminals are connected to the tips of the leads 107 to 110, respectively. The terminal is located at the connector portion 104 of the case 101. A terminal is connected to the harness.

Processing circuit chip and sensor chip are mounted on the lead frame with an adhesive or the like. The processing circuit chip includes a circuit unit that processes the signal of the sensor chip. The sensor chip includes a magnetoresistive element whose resistance value changes when affected by a magnetic field from the outside. The magnetoresistive element is, for example, AMR (Anisotropic Magneto Resistance; AMR), GMR (Giant Magneto Resistance; GMR), or TMR (Tunneling Magneto Resistance; TMR).

The mold resin part seals a part of the lead frame, the processing circuit chip, and the sensor chip so that the tip portions of the leads 107 to 110 are exposed. The mold resin portion is molded into a shape that is fixed to the hollow portion of the cap portion 106.

When the magnetic detection method using the Hall element is adopted, the mold IC part 105 has a lead frame, an IC chip, and a mold resin part. The lead frame includes an island portion on which the IC chip is mounted. The island part is arranged so that the plane part is parallel to the moving direction of the detection body. The IC chip is formed with a plurality of Hall elements and a signal processing circuit unit. That is, the magnetic detection system using the Hall element has a one-chip configuration. Note that a plurality of Hall elements may be configured by a plurality of chips. What kind of chip configuration the elements and circuits have may be selected as appropriate.

Next, the circuit configuration configured in the sensor chip and the processing circuit chip or the IC chip will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the sensor 100 and the ECU 200 are electrically connected via a harness 300. As described above, since the molded IC portion 105 has the four leads 107 to 110, the harness 300 is constituted by four wires.

The ECU 200 is an electronic control device that includes a power supply unit 201, a control unit 202, and a ground unit 203. The power supply unit 201 is a circuit unit that supplies a power supply voltage to the sensor 100. The control unit 202 is a circuit unit that performs predetermined control according to the position signal input from the sensor 100. Note that the control unit 202 may be configured as a circuit unit corresponding to each of the output terminals 109 and 110. The ground unit 203 is a circuit unit that sets the ground voltage of the sensor 100.

The sensor 100 includes a detection unit 111 and a signal processing unit 112. The detection unit 111 is provided on the sensor chip. The signal processing unit 112 is provided in the processing circuit chip. The detection unit 111 and the signal processing unit 112 operate based on the power supply voltage and the ground voltage supplied from the ECU 200.

The detection unit 111 includes a first detection unit 113 and a second detection unit 114. The first detection unit 113 is configured to output a first detection signal corresponding to the position of the detection body. The second detection unit 114 is configured to output a second detection signal corresponding to the position of the detection body. Each detection part 113 and 114 is the same structure, and outputs the same detection signal.

As shown in FIG. 4, each detection unit 113, 114 has two elements, a first magnetic field detection element 115 and a second magnetic field detection element 116. FIG. 4 shows one detection unit. In the present embodiment, each of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 is a magnetoresistive element whose resistance value changes as the moving body moves.

Each of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 includes a magnetic resistance, acquires a change in resistance value when the magnetic resistance is affected by the magnetic field as a voltage value, and generates a plurality of detection signals having different phases from each voltage value. It is configured as follows.

The signal processing unit 112 in FIG. 3 is a circuit unit that processes a signal input from the detection unit 111. The signal processing unit 112 includes a first processing unit 117, a second processing unit 118, and a redundancy determining unit 119.

The first processing unit 117 receives the first detection signal from the first detection unit 113 and acquires the position of the target based on the first detection signal. The second processing unit 118 receives the second detection signal from the second detection unit 114 and acquires the position of the target based on the second detection signal.

The second processing unit 118 inverts and outputs the position signal. Therefore, if there is no abnormality in the detection unit 111 and the signal processing unit 112, the position signal of the first processing unit 117 and the position signal of the second processing unit 118 are added to a constant value.

Here, the first detection unit 113 and the first processing unit 117 constitute a first system. Moreover, the 2nd detection part 114 and the 2nd process part 118 comprise a 2nd system | strain. That is, the detection units 113 and 114 and the processing units 117 and 118 constitute a double system.

The redundancy determination unit 119 is a circuit unit that determines whether the position acquired by the first processing unit 117 matches the position acquired by the second processing unit 118. When the two signal processing results match, the signal processing unit 112 outputs each position signal as it is. If the signal processing results of the two systems do not match, there is a possibility that an abnormality has occurred in one or both of each system. In this case, the signal processing unit 112 outputs an abnormal signal indicating abnormality to the ECU 200.

The signal processing is summarized as shown in FIG. 4, for example. The analog process is a process for generating a plurality of detection signals. Note that the detection unit 111 may have a function of detecting temperature. The temperature information is used for temperature correction Temp. “Sin” and “Cos” are a sine signal and a cosine signal to be described later.

The analog signal subjected to analog processing is converted into a digital signal by an A / D converter (ADC) via a multiplexer (MUX). The digital signal is processed to produce an arctangent signal. In analog processing and arithmetic processing, adjustment values stored in the memory are used as appropriate. The position signal acquired by the arithmetic processing is output to the ECU 200 according to an output format such as DAC, SENT, or PWM.

Note that the arithmetic processing is performed by the signal processing unit 112. Therefore, an A / D converter (ADC) and a memory are provided in the signal processing unit 112. Analog processing may be performed by either the detection unit 111 or the signal processing unit 112. The above is the configuration of the sensor 100 according to the present embodiment.

Next, the operation range of the detection body and the arrangement of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, in the detection body 400, the first magnetic pole 401 and the second magnetic pole 402 are alternately provided in the moving direction. The first magnetic pole 401 is an N pole. The second magnetic pole 402 is the S pole. The relationship of the magnetic poles may be reversed. For example, the detection body 400 is obtained by magnetizing a first magnetic pole 401 and a second magnetic pole 402 on a part of a rubber magnet provided on a magnetic plate member.

Here, one cycle of the arrangement of the first magnetic pole 401 and the second magnetic pole 402 is defined as 360 °. “360 °” is an electrical angle. That is, the moving distance of the detection body 400 is indicated by an electrical angle. In the present embodiment, the position from the width center of the first magnetic pole 401 to the width center of the adjacent first magnetic pole 401 is 360 °.

On the other hand, the detection unit 111 is fixed to the detection body 400 with a gap in the gap direction. The detection body 400 moves in the movement direction with respect to the detection unit 111. Further, the first magnetic field detection element 115 and the second magnetic field detection element 116 are arranged apart from each other with a distance of an electrical angle of 180 ° in the movement direction.

Specifically, the distance θ from the width center 120 of the first magnetic field detection element 115 to the width center 121 of the second magnetic field detection element 116 in the moving direction is set to 180 °. In the moving direction, the first magnetic field detection element 115 is disposed at the A position, and the second magnetic field detection element 116 is disposed at the B position. The distance between the A position and the B position is set to 180 °.

Furthermore, the first magnetic field detection direction of the first magnetic field detection element 115 and the second magnetic field detection direction of the second magnetic field detection element 116 are set in the same direction. The magnetic field detection direction is a direction in which a magnetic field is most easily detected. The magnetic field detection direction is a direction in which the outputs of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 are maximized. It can be said that the magnetic field detection direction is the magnetic field detection axis.

The magnetic field detection direction is the same characteristic as the input magnetic field. When each of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 is a magnetoresistive element, the same characteristic, that is, the same magnetoresistance effect is exhibited with respect to the same input magnetic field vector. When the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 are Hall elements, the same characteristics, that is, the same Hall effect are exhibited with respect to the same input magnetic field intensity. The magnetic field detection directions of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 may be the same at the A position and the B position, and are not necessarily parallel to the magnetic force of the detection body 400. In this embodiment, each magnetic field detection direction is a direction parallel to the movement direction. Since each magnetic field detection element 115, 116 is constituted by a magnetoresistive element, each magnetic field detection direction corresponds to an easy magnetization axis.

As shown in FIG. 6, the first magnetic field detection element 115 has a magnetic field in the first magnetic field detection direction based on a change in the magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole 401 and the second magnetic pole 402 as the detector 400 moves. Is acquired as the first detection signal. Similarly, the second magnetic field detection element 116 acquires the magnitude of the magnetic field in the second magnetic field detection direction in the same direction as the first magnetic field detection direction as the second detection signal.

When the detection body 400 moves in the moving direction, the magnetic vectors of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 change corresponding to changes in the magnetic field received from the magnetic poles 401 and 402, respectively. That is, the magnetic vector rotates as indicated by the circular dotted arrow in FIG. Thereby, each magnetic field detection element 115, 116 acquires a sine signal indicating a sine function and a cosine signal indicating a cosine function as a plurality of detection signals having different phases.

The detection unit 111 acquires the sine signal (sin θ) and the cosine signal (cos θ) at the position A as the first detection signal by the first magnetic field detection element 115. In addition, the detection unit 111 acquires the sine signal (sin (θ + 180 °)) and the cosine signal (cos (θ + 180 °)) at the B position as the second detection signal by the second magnetic field detection element 116. The detection unit 111 outputs these detection signals to the signal processing unit 112.

The signal processing unit 112 acquires a plurality of detection signals from the detection unit 111 and acquires a position signal indicating the position of the detection body 400 based on the plurality of detection signals. Specifically, the signal processing unit 112 obtains a differential sine signal and a differential cosine signal by calculating a differential between the first detection signal and the second detection signal. The sine signal after differential is sin θ−sin (θ + 180 °). The differential cosine signal is cos θ−cos (θ + 180 °).

Further, the signal processing unit 112 calculates (signal value of the cosine signal after differential) / (signal value of the sine signal after differential). As a result, as shown in the lower part of FIG. 6, an arc tangent signal is obtained that exhibits an arc tangent function and whose signal value increases at a constant increase rate in accordance with the amount of movement of the detector 400. The signal processing unit 112 acquires an arctangent signal as a position signal.

As shown in FIG. 7, the signal processing unit 112 outputs to the ECU 200 a first position signal (O1) and a second position signal (O2) obtained by inverting the first position signal (O1).

Next, a case where a disturbance magnetic field enters the detection unit 111 will be described. The disturbance magnetic field is generated from, for example, a motor disposed around the detection unit 111 or a device that generates magnetism.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a disturbance magnetic field along the moving direction is incident on the detection unit 111, the magnetic field detection directions of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 are the same direction. An in-phase disturbance magnetic field is incident on. However, since the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 are separated by a distance of 180 °, a reverse magnetic vector is generated in each magnetic field detection element 115 and 116.

The inventors of the present disclosure investigated how the signal amplitude at the A position and the B position changes due to the influence of the disturbance magnetic field. The results are shown in FIGS.

9 to 12 show sinusoidal signals before and after the incidence of the disturbance magnetic field at the A position and the B position. The horizontal axis represents the rotation angle, and the vertical axis represents the signal amplitude of the sine signal. The rotation angle corresponds to the moving distance of the detection body 400.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the distance θ = 0 °, the signal amplitude is 0, so there is no difference in the sine signal. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, when the distance θ = 45 ° and 90 °, the signal amplitude after the disturbance incidence is decreased at the position A than before the disturbance incidence. On the other hand, at the position B, the signal amplitude after the disturbance incidence is larger than that before the disturbance incidence.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the distance θ = 135 °, the signal amplitude after the disturbance incidence is increased at the position A than before the disturbance incidence. On the other hand, at the position B, the signal amplitude after the incident of the disturbance is smaller than that before the incident of the disturbance. In this way, one signal amplitude increases and one signal amplitude decreases. This relationship is the same for the range where the distance θ is 180 ° to 360 °.

Therefore, the waveform of the sine signal after the incidence of the disturbance magnetic field has an inverse relationship with the angle error of the sine signal as shown in FIG. Specifically, with respect to the amount of movement of the detection body 400, an advance waveform is obtained at the A position. On the other hand, at the B position, the sine signal has a retarded waveform. In this way, at the A position and the B position, the advance timing and the retard timing of the sine signal are opposite to each other.

Then, as shown in FIG. 14, S of the sine signal after the differential at the A position has a peak waveform that becomes a maximum value at 180 °. N of the sine signal after differential at the A position has two peak waveforms that have a minimum value at 180 ° and a maximum value at around 80 ° and around 280 °. That is, when the phase difference between the A position and the B position is 180 °, S of S / N is maximized and N is minimized.

So far, sine signals have been explained, but the same can be said for cosine signals. The same can be said for the incident direction of the disturbance magnetic field, as in the case of the disturbance magnetic field incident along the gap direction.

Further, the inventors of the present disclosure investigated the relationship between the phase difference between the A position and the B position and the position output error. As shown in FIG. 15, the output error was minimized when the phase difference between the A position and the B position was 180 °. Also from this result, the accuracy of the position signal can be ensured by setting the phase difference between the A position and the B position to 180 °.

As a comparative example, as shown in FIG. 16, the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 may be arranged at the C position and the D position in the moving direction. The C position and the D position are the same position in the movement direction. In this case, the second magnetic field detection direction of the second magnetic field detection element 116 is rotated by 180 ° with respect to the first magnetic field detection direction of the first magnetic field detection element 115. Therefore, when a disturbance magnetic field along the moving direction is incident on the detection unit 111, a disturbance magnetic field having a reverse phase is incident on each of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the distance θ = 45 °, the signal amplitude after the disturbance incidence is decreased at the position C than before the disturbance incidence. Similarly, at the position D, the signal amplitude after the disturbance is smaller than that before the disturbance is incident.

As shown in FIG. 18, when the distance θ = 135 °, the signal amplitude after the disturbance is increased at the position C than before the disturbance is incident. Similarly, at the position D, the signal amplitude after the disturbance incidence is larger than that before the disturbance incidence. Thus, in the configuration of the comparative example, when one signal amplitude increases, the other signal amplitude also increases. This relationship is the same for the range where the distance θ is 180 ° to 360 °.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 19, the timing of the advance angle and the timing of the delay angle of the sine signal after incidence of the disturbance magnetic field are the same at the C position and the D position. Accordingly, when the signal amplitude of the sine signal at the C position is increased or decreased, the signal amplitude of the sine signal at the D position is also increased or decreased. For this reason, the signal amplitude of the differential sine signal is doubled, but the noise is also doubled. Therefore, noise cannot be reduced with the configuration of the comparative example.

As shown in FIG. 20, the same result as the configuration of FIG. 16 is obtained when the movement amount is detected by a single element configured by one magnetic field detection element. Therefore, although the configuration of the comparative example includes two elements, the S / N ratio is equivalent to the configuration of detecting the movement of the detection body 400 with a single element. That is, the accuracy of position detection is the same between the configuration of the comparative example and the configuration of the single element.

In the above comparative example, a phase difference of 180 ° is created by rotation in the magnetic field detection direction. For this reason, the disturbance magnetic field is incident on the D position with a reverse phase with respect to the C position. In this embodiment, paying attention to this point, by creating a 180 ° phase difference at the distance between the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 so that the disturbance magnetic field does not enter the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 in reverse phase, the magnetic field Without changing the direction of the detection direction, the disturbance magnetic field is incident on the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116 in the same phase.

Thereby, it is possible to construct a relationship in which the advance angle and the retard angle are opposite in the detection signals of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116. Therefore, even if the detection signal at the A position increases or decreases due to the disturbance magnetic field, the detection signal at the B position decreases or increases, so that the differential of each detection signal is calculated to reduce the noise component. Can do. Therefore, the influence of the disturbance magnetic field on the position signal obtained by the signal processing unit 112 can be reduced.

Incidentally, although it is best to set the phase difference between the A position and the B position to 180 °, as shown in FIG. 15, the phase difference between the A position and the B position is 0 ° or 360 °. Otherwise, the position output error is small. Therefore, the distance θ from the width center 120 of the first magnetic field detection element 115 to the width center 121 of the second magnetic field detection element 116 in the movement direction may be set so as to satisfy the condition of 0 <θ <360 °. .

Further, when a Hall element is adopted as each of the magnetic field detection elements 115 and 116, the magnetic field detection direction is set based on the direction of the current flowing through the Hall element. For example, the direction of the magnetic field that maximizes the electromotive force generated in the Hall element is set as the magnetic field detection direction.

(Second Embodiment)
In the present embodiment, parts different from the first embodiment will be described. The detection body 400 according to the present embodiment is a movable part that moves in conjunction with the operation of the shift position of the vehicle. Specifically, the detection body 400 is applied to the shift-by-wire system 500 of the vehicle shown in FIGS. 21 and 22.

In the shift-by-wire system 500, the ShBWECU 501 acquires information on the shifter 502 of the vehicle and controls the actuator 503. A fan-shaped detent 504 is fixed to the actuator 503. A manual valve 505 and a parking rod 506 are fixed to the detent 504. Manual valve 505 is connected to transmission 507. The parking rod 506 is connected to the parking mechanism 508. The sensor 100 is used to detect the position of the detent 504 and the position of the manual valve 505, for example.

The shift-by-wire system 500 includes a motor / encoder 509, a TCU 510, a solenoid 511, a pump 512, and the like. The ShBWECU 501 acquires range information indicating the position from the sensor 100 and controls the motor encoder 509 and the TCU 510. A TCU 510 is a transmission controller and controls the solenoid 511.

When the sensor 100 detects the position of the detent 504, the detent 504 becomes the detection body 400 as shown in FIG. Therefore, a magnet 403 in which the magnetic poles 401 and 402 are laid out is fixed to the detent 504. The detection body 400 may be fixed to the detent 504. As shown in FIG. 24, the sensor 100 is fixed to the housing 513 so as to face the magnet 403 of the detent 504. Thus, when the detent 504 is rotated by the actuator 503, the sensor 100 detects the rotational position of the detent 504.

When the sensor 100 detects the position of the manual valve 505, the detection body 400 is fixed to the manual valve 505 as shown in FIG. A magnet 404 in which magnetic poles 401 and 402 are laid out is fixed to the detection body 400. As shown in FIG. 26, the sensor 100 is fixed to the housing 513 so as to face the magnet 404 of the detection body 400. Thereby, when the manual valve 505 moves through the detent 504, the sensor 100 detects the position of the manual valve 505. It can be said that FIG. 22 shows a configuration for detecting the position of the manual valve 505.

When the shift position is operated, the position of the shift position can be detected by detecting the positions of the detent 504 and the manual valve 505 by the sensor 100.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made as follows without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.

For example, the application of the sensor 100 is not limited to a vehicle, and can be widely used for industrial robots, manufacturing facilities, and the like as detecting the position of a movable part. Further, the sensor 100 may not have a redundant function. In this case, there are three leads 107 to 110.

Although the present disclosure has been described based on the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments and structures. The present disclosure includes various modifications and modifications within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, as well as other combinations and forms including only one element, more or less, are within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure.

Claims (4)

1. A linear position sensor for detecting a position in a moving direction of a detection body (400) in which a first magnetic pole (401) and a second magnetic pole (402) are alternately provided,
   A first magnetic field detection element that acquires, as a first detection signal, the magnitude of the magnetic field in the first magnetic field detection direction based on a change in the magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole as the detection body moves. (115),
   Based on the change in the magnetic field received from the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole with the movement of the detector, the first magnetic field detection direction is A second magnetic field detection element (116) that acquires the magnitude of the magnetic field in the second magnetic field detection direction in the same direction as a second detection signal;
   The first detection signal and the second detection signal are input, and a sine signal indicating a sine function and a cosine signal indicating a cosine function are obtained by calculating a differential between the first detection signal and the second detection signal. Based on the sine signal and the cosine signal, an arc tangent function is generated and an arc tangent signal corresponding to the amount of movement of the detection body is generated, and the arc tangent signal is acquired as a position signal indicating the position of the detection body. A signal processor (112);
   Includes linear position sensor.
2. When one period of the arrangement of the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole is defined as 360 °,
   A distance θ from the width center (120) of the first magnetic field detection element to the width center (121) of the second magnetic field detection element in the moving direction is set so as to satisfy a condition of 0 <θ <360 °. The linear position sensor according to claim 1.
3. When one period of the arrangement of the first magnetic pole and the second magnetic pole is defined as 360 °,
   The linear position according to claim 1, wherein a distance θ from the width center (120) of the first magnetic field detection element to the width center (121) of the second magnetic field detection element in the moving direction is set to 180 °. Sensor.
4. The linear position sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the detection body is a movable part that moves in conjunction with an operation of a shift position of a vehicle.

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