A magnetic encoder

Abstract

The application relates to the field of magnetic encoders, in particular to a magnetic encoder. The overall structure of the magnetic encoder comprises a base, a shell and a rotating shaft rotatably arranged in the shell; the base and the shell jointly form a mounting cavity for supporting and accommodating internal functional components; the rotating shaft is supported on the base and / or the shell through a bearing; the internal functional components comprise a magnetic induction component, a magnet and a magnetoresistance disc. The magnet is fixedly installed in a sealed cavity and used for generating a static magnetic field. The magnetic induction component is also fixedly installed in the mounting cavity and keeps a space relative to the magnet, and is used for sensing magnetic field changes and outputting corresponding electric signals; the magnetoresistance disc is coaxially fixedly connected with the rotating shaft and located in a magnetic circuit gap between the magnetic induction component and the magnet. The magnetic encoder converts the rotary mechanical quantity into an electric signal easy to process by simplifying the magnetic circuit structure and signal processing requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of magnetic encoders, and in particular to a magnetic encoder. Background Technology

[0002] Magnetic encoders, as a common rotation detection device, are widely used in electronic devices that require precise identification of rotation direction and angle, such as computer mouse scroll wheels and rotary buttons. In existing technology, magnetic encoders typically employ a multi-magnet or ring-magnet structure, where multiple magnets are arranged in a specific pattern to work in conjunction with a magnetic sensing component (such as a Hall sensor). When rotation occurs, the magnetic sensing component detects the change in the magnetic field and outputs a corresponding signal. These signals are then processed by complex algorithms to determine the direction, angle, or speed of rotation. This traditional method relies on high-precision magnet layout and signal processing to achieve reliable encoded output.

[0003] However, the aforementioned existing technologies have some significant shortcomings. First, due to the need for multiple magnets or complex ring magnet structures, the large number of magnets used not only increases material costs but also raises the difficulty of production and assembly, especially in miniaturized devices where the precise installation of multiple magnets presents technological challenges. Second, to accurately identify rotation direction and high-resolution angular changes, traditional magnetic encoders must rely on complex algorithms to decode the magnetic field signal, such as inferring the rotation state by processing phase differences or amplitude changes. This places high demands on algorithm design and optimization, and requires the data processing chip to have strong computing power, thus increasing the system's complexity and overall cost. Furthermore, in multi-magnet schemes, magnetic field interference between magnets may affect signal stability, leading to misjudgments or decreased accuracy, especially under high temperature or vibration environments, where performance may further deteriorate. The root cause of these shortcomings is that traditional designs rely too heavily on backend signal processing to compensate for the limitations of the front-end sensing structure, failing to fundamentally simplify the sensing mechanism.

[0004] To address these shortcomings, developing a new type of magnetic encoder technology is of great significance. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this application is to at least solve the problems of high cost and complex processing caused by the reliance on multi-magnet structure and complex algorithm of traditional magnetic encoders, and to provide a magnetic encoder that converts rotational mechanical quantities into easily processed electrical signals by simplifying the magnetic circuit structure and signal processing requirements. It is especially suitable for electronic devices such as mouse scroll wheels and rotary buttons that need to accurately detect rotational motion and provide tactile feedback.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application discloses a magnetic encoder whose overall structure includes a base, a housing, and a rotating shaft rotatably disposed therein. The base and the housing together form a mounting cavity for supporting and accommodating internal functional components.

[0007] The rotating shaft is supported on the base and / or housing by bearings, ensuring that it can rotate smoothly around its own axis.

[0008] The internal functional components include a magnetic induction component, a magnet, and a magnetic resistance disk.

[0009] The magnet is fixedly installed inside the sealed cavity to generate a static magnetic field.

[0010] The magnetic induction component is also fixedly installed in the mounting cavity and spatially opposite to the magnet. It is used to sense changes in the magnetic field and output corresponding electrical signals.

[0011] The magnetic reluctance disk is coaxially and fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, and is located in the magnetic circuit gap between the magnetic induction component and the magnet.

[0012] Furthermore, the magnetoresistive disk has a rotating structure and can rotate around its central axis with the rotating shaft. The disk has alternating high magnetoresistive regions and low magnetoresistive regions along its circumference. The high magnetoresistive regions are made of a low permeability material and are used to provide a high magnetoresistive path. The low magnetoresistive regions are through slots penetrating the disk or areas filled with a high permeability magnetic material and are used to provide a low magnetoresistive path. The high magnetoresistive regions and the low magnetoresistive regions together form a periodically alternating magnetoresistive grid, which constitutes a magnetic coding structure.

[0013] As the magnetoresistive disk rotates, its magnetoresistive grid modulates the magnetic circuit. When the high magnetoresistive region moves into the sensing area of ​​the magnetic induction component, a high magnetoresistive path is formed, causing a decrease in the magnetic flux passing through the magnetic induction component and resulting in a low-level output signal. When the low magnetoresistive region moves into the sensing area, it increases the magnetic flux passing through the magnetic induction component, resulting in a high-level output signal.

[0014] To further enhance the user experience, the rotating shaft has rotational damping, or the mounting cavity is provided with a segmented structure for providing tactile feedback. The segmented structure includes several recesses on the end face of the magnetic reluctance disk or the base, and an elastic element made of elastic material and fixed to the base or the magnetic reluctance disk. The elastic element periodically engages with the recesses when the magnetic reluctance disk rotates, thereby producing a segmented rotational feel.

[0015] The magnetic induction component is used to detect the periodic changes in the magnetic field strength.

[0016] In one embodiment, the magnetic induction component includes two horizontally arranged Hall sensors that determine the direction of rotation by detecting the phase difference of changes in the magnetic field.

[0017] In another embodiment, the magnetic sensing component also employs a magnetic sensing chip that integrates at least two magnetic sensing units to provide orientation recognition logic, thereby simplifying external circuit design.

[0018] Compared with existing technologies, this application achieves periodic modulation of the magnetic circuit through alternating changes in the magnetoresistive region, converting rotation information into a clear pulse sequence. The signal processing unit does not require complex algorithm processing; it only needs to identify the order of the pulses to determine the direction, and the rotation angle can be determined by counting the number of pulses. This effectively simplifies the magnetic circuit structure and signal processing, thereby achieving the beneficial effects of cost reduction, improved reliability, and enhanced user experience.

[0019] The beneficial effects listed above are not exhaustive of all advantages. Other potential beneficial effects and detailed technical implementation methods will be further disclosed in the embodiments or other descriptive sections of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0020] A better understanding of various aspects of this disclosure will be achieved by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The positions, dimensions, and extents of the structures shown in the drawings, etc., do not always represent actual positions, dimensions, and extents. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of one embodiment disclosed in this application.

[0021] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of one embodiment disclosed in this application.

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after removing the base and shell in one embodiment of this application.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the magnetoresistive disk in one embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be presented in many different ways and is not limited to the embodiments described below; in fact, the embodiments described below are intended to make the disclosure more complete and to fully illustrate the scope of protection of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

[0025] It should be understood that the same reference numerals denote the same elements in all the accompanying drawings. For clarity, the dimensions of certain features may be modified in the drawings.

[0026] It should be understood that the terminology used in this specification is for describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. All terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. For the sake of brevity and / or clarity, techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail; however, where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and apparatus should be considered part of this specification.

[0027] Unless otherwise specified, the singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this specification include the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “containing” used in this specification indicate the presence of the claimed feature but do not exclude the presence of one or more other features. The term “and / or” used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the relevant listed items.

[0028] See attached document Figures 1 to 4 The magnetic encoder of this embodiment includes a base 1, a housing 2, and a rotating shaft 3 rotatably disposed inside it. The base 1 and the housing 2 are connected by fasteners 4 and together form a sealed mounting cavity to support and accommodate internal functional components. The rotating shaft 3 is supported on the housing 2 and the base 1 respectively with a preset shaft hole to ensure smooth rotation around its own axis. This bearing and support structure is existing technology.

[0029] The internal functional components include a magnetic induction component 5, a magnet 6, and a magnetic reluctance disk 7. The magnet 6 is a block-shaped permanent magnet and is fixedly installed in the mounting cavity to generate an axially distributed static magnetic field. Specifically, it is fixed in a preset mounting slot in the housing 2. The magnetic induction component 5 is fixedly installed on the base 1 via a circuit board and maintains an axially relative spatial position with the magnet to sense changes in the magnetic field and output corresponding electrical signals. The magnetic reluctance disk 7 is coaxially fixedly connected to the rotating shaft via a keyway or interference fit and is located in the magnetic circuit gap between the magnetic induction component 5 and the magnet 6. The rotation of the magnetic reluctance disk 7 modulates the magnetic circuit, thereby converting the rotation information of the rotating shaft 3 into an electrical signal.

[0030] Furthermore, the rotating shaft 3 is supported on the housing 2 and the base 1 respectively. This support structure is existing technology and ensures that the rotating shaft 3 can rotate smoothly around its own axis and withstand axial and radial loads.

[0031] Based on this, the disk body of the magnetoresistive disk 7 has a disk-shaped rotating structure, which can rotate synchronously with the rotating shaft 3 around the central axis. The disk body is uniformly and alternately arranged with high magnetoresistive region 701 and low magnetoresistive region 702 along its circumference. The high magnetoresistive region 701 is a radially extending strip-shaped through-slot forming a low permeability region to provide a high magnetoresistive path. The low magnetoresistive region 702 is a retained disk body part or an area filled with a high permeability magnetic conductive material to provide a low magnetoresistive path. The width of the high magnetoresistive region 701 and the low magnetoresistive region 702 is equal and together they form a periodically alternating magnetoresistive grid. The design of this magnetoresistive grid modulates the magnetic field distribution by changing the magnetic circuit magnetoresistive to convert rotational motion into magnetic field changes.

[0032] Subsequently, as the magnetoresistive disk 7 rotates with the shaft, its magnetoresistive grid periodically modulates the static magnetic field generated by the magnet 6. When the high magnetoresistive region 701 moves to the position directly opposite the magnetic induction component 5, a low magnetoresistive path is formed in the magnetic circuit, causing a significant increase in the magnetic flux passing through the magnetic induction component 5, thus putting the output electrical signal at a high level. When the low magnetoresistive region 702 moves to the position directly opposite the magnetic induction component 5, a low magnetoresistive path is formed in the magnetic circuit, causing a significant decrease in the magnetic flux passing through the magnetic induction component 5, thus putting the output electrical signal at a low level. This cycle generates pulse electrical signals corresponding to the magnetoresistive grid period. Understandably, the magnetic induction component 5 is used to detect the periodic changes in the aforementioned magnetic field strength. In an exemplary scenario, the magnetic induction component 5 can use two horizontally arranged Hall sensors, spatially spaced apart, to output two orthogonal signals with a phase difference to achieve rotation direction discrimination.

[0033] In another preferred embodiment not shown in the appendix, the magnetic induction component 5 is a magnetic induction chip that integrates signal processing circuitry. This magnetic induction chip, also known as a magnetic induction IC, integrates at least two magnetic field detection units, which can directly sense the direction of magnetic field changes and thus directly output processed digital signals.

[0034] To further enhance the user experience, the hinge 3 has a certain degree of damping in its cooperation with the housing 2 and the base 1.

[0035] In another structure not shown in the accompanying drawings, the mounting cavity is further provided with a segment structure for providing tactile feedback. This segment structure includes several recesses on the end face of the magnetic resistance disk 7. These recesses are evenly distributed around the circumference of the end face of the magnetic resistance disk 7 and are hemispherical in shape. Their number is equal to the number of low magnetic resistance zones and their positions correspond one-to-one, so that each low magnetic resistance path corresponds to a tactile feedback point. There is also an elastic contact made of spring steel. The elastic contact is mounted on the base 1 by a fixing seat and keeps in contact with the end face of the magnetic resistance disk 7 under the action of pre-compression force. When the magnetic resistance disk 7 rotates, the elastic contact periodically engages and disengages from the recesses, thereby producing a distinct segmented rotational feel.

[0036] Preferably, the gap between the magnetic reluctance disk 7 and the magnetic induction component 5 and the magnet 6 should be set to ensure that the magnetic reluctance disk 7 has no mechanical interference during rotation, while ensuring that the magnetic induction component 5 can detect a sufficiently large magnetic flux change signal. These design considerations are conventional technical means for those skilled in the art.

[0037] Based on this, the built-in or external signal processing circuit receives the pulse signal or quadrature signal output by the magnetic induction component 5, and performs direction discrimination and pulse counting to determine the rotation angle and direction. The signal processing circuit is implemented using existing digital logic circuits or microprocessors, and its processing logic is a conventional technical means in this field.

[0038] In the application of a mouse scroll wheel, the magnetic encoder works as follows: When the user rotates the knob connected to the rotating shaft 3, the magnetoresistive disk 7 rotates synchronously. The magnetoresistive grid on its surface periodically changes the magnetic resistance of the magnetic circuit generated by the magnet 6, causing the electrical signal output by the magnetic induction component 5 to present a pulse waveform with alternating high and low levels. Due to the difference in spatial position, the two Hall sensors output two orthogonal signals with a phase difference. The signal processing circuit can accurately determine the rotation direction by identifying the phase relationship between the two signals. At the same time, it can accurately calculate the rotation angle by counting the number of pulses, thereby achieving reliable angle detection and a high-quality user experience in application scenarios that require precise position control and user-friendly interaction.

[0039] Through the above structure, this magnetic encoder achieves periodic modulation of the magnetic circuit by alternating changes in the magnetic resistance zone, converting rotation information into a clear pulse sequence. The signal processing unit does not need complex algorithm processing; it only needs to identify the order of the pulses to determine the direction, and the rotation angle can be determined by counting the number of pulses. This effectively simplifies the magnetic circuit structure and signal processing, thereby achieving the beneficial effects of cost reduction, reliability improvement, and user experience enhancement.

[0040] In the specific embodiments of this application, the conventional mechanical structures, electronic components and their installation methods, basic circuit designs, and standard signal processing algorithms involved in this application can be implemented by those skilled in the art based on their professional knowledge and publicly available technical information, and therefore are not described in detail. It is understood that, such as, but not limited to, the selection and installation of bearings, the specific form of fastener 4, the wiring rules of the circuit board, the design of the basic filter circuit, and the conventional programming methods of the microprocessor, all fall within the scope of known technologies and existing technologies in this field. Those skilled in the art can make conventional selections and designs according to actual application needs, and the lack of detailed description of these conventional technical means should not be regarded as a damage to the integrity of the technical solution of this invention.

[0041] It should be noted that this specific embodiment is merely a detailed description of the technical solution of this application through preferred embodiments, and its purpose is to help those skilled in the art understand the essence of this application and be able to reproduce the invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this invention. After reading this application specification, those skilled in the art can make various modifications, substitutions and variations to this invention under the above teachings, and these equivalent transformations and improvements based on the core concept of this application should all be covered within the scope of protection of the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A magnetic encoder, characterized in that, The overall structure of the magnetic encoder includes a base, a housing, and a rotating shaft rotatably disposed therein; the base and the housing together form a mounting cavity for supporting and accommodating internal functional components. The rotating shaft is supported on the base and / or housing by bearings; The internal functional components include a magnetic induction component, a magnet, and a magnetoresistive disk; The magnet is fixedly installed in the sealed cavity to generate a static magnetic field. The magnetic induction component is also fixedly installed in the mounting cavity and spatially opposite to the magnet. It is used to sense changes in the magnetic field and output corresponding electrical signals. The magnetic reluctance disk is coaxially and fixedly connected to the rotating shaft, and is located in the magnetic circuit gap between the magnetic induction component and the magnet; The magnetoresistive disk has a rotating structure and can rotate around the central axis with the rotating shaft. The disk has alternating high magnetoresistive and low magnetoresistive regions along its circumference. The high magnetoresistive and low magnetoresistive regions together form a periodically alternating magnetoresistive grid, which constitutes a magnetic coding structure. The magnetic induction component is used to detect the periodic changes in the above-mentioned magnetic field strength.

2. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The high magnetoresistance region is made of a material with low magnetic permeability and is used to provide a high magnetoresistance path.

3. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The low magnetic resistance region is a through-slot that runs through the disk or a region filled with a magnetic material with high magnetic permeability, used to provide a low magnetic resistance path.

4. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating shaft has rotational damping.

5. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting cavity is also equipped with segmented structures for providing tactile feedback.

6. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The segment structure includes several recesses on the end face of the magnetic reluctance disk or the base, and an elastic element made of elastic material and fixed to the base or the magnetic reluctance disk. The elastic element periodically engages with the recesses when the magnetic reluctance disk rotates, thereby producing a segmented rotational feel.

7. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The magnetic induction component uses two Hall sensors arranged horizontally side by side.

8. A magnetic encoder as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The magnetic sensing component also employs a magnetic sensing chip that integrates at least two magnetic sensing units to enable orientation recognition logic.

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