Compact Magnetostrictive Sensor Assembly for Small Housings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional magnetostrictive displacement sensors face size constraints due to optimization for maximizing signal-to-noise ratio, limiting their applications in smaller housings.
Innovation Solution
A compact sensor assembly design with a reduced sensing element, including a smaller coil and rigid member, and a less secure waveguide attachment, which allows for installation in smaller spaces while tolerating a reduced signal-to-noise ratio.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the sensing element is optimized to maximize signal-to-noise ratio, then measurement precision is improved, but device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the sensing element by using a rigid member with reduced dimensions and a coil with reduced turns. Specifically, the rigid member length is reduced from conventional optimized sizes to approximately 1-5mm, and the coil turns are reduced to 10-100 turns, thereby reducing the sensing element volume while accepting a reduced signal-to-noise ratio that can be compensated by signal processing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by using a reduced sensing element that does not fully optimize for signal strength but rather provides sufficient signal for the application. The coil generates a magnetic field that is sufficient to detect magnetostrictive responses without requiring the maximum possible coil turns, allowing for a compact design that meets operational requirements rather than theoretical optimality
2Volume of moving object
If the sensing element size is reduced for compact installation, then device complexity is reduced, but signal strength decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes mechanical optimization of the sensing element with electronic signal processing. Instead of relying solely on a large mechanical sensing element to generate strong signals, the system uses a compact rigid member and coil combination where the signal is amplified and processed electronically, allowing for compact physical dimensions while maintaining adequate signal strength through electronic enhancement
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the coil by reducing the number of turns from conventional optimized values to 10-100 turns. This parameter change reduces the coil's magnetic field strength and the resulting sensor signal amplitude, but the compact size enables installation in applications where the reduced signal can be adequately processed, such as within pipes and hydraulic actuators
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables the use of magnetostrictive displacement sensors in smaller housings and applications previously inaccessible to conventional sensors, such as within pipes and hydraulic actuators.
Implementation Method 1
The excitation signal creates a magnetic field around the waveguide that interacts with the magnetic field of the target magnet to create a magnetostrictive response in the waveguide at the location of the target magnet
Implementation Method 2
The pickup is located at an end of the waveguide and includes a transducer or sensing element that is used to detect the longitudinal wave or torsional wave by converting the wave into an electrical sensor signal
Data Source
AI summary
A magnetostrictive displacement sensor includes a sensor assembly having a printed circuit board (PCB), an anchor attached to the PCB, a waveguide having a first end attached to the anchor, and a sensing element. The sensing element includes a rigid member and a coil. The rigid member is attached to the waveguide and extends through an opening in the PCB and is configured to experience a strain in response to a magnetostrictive response in in the waveguide. The coil is attached to the PCB and surrounds the rigid member and the opening. The coil is configured to output a sensor signal that includes an indicator, which is produced in response to the strain in the rigid member.