Magnetostrictive Torque Sensor with Flexible Substrate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional magnetostrictive torque sensors face challenges in reducing their size to accommodate limited installation spaces around rotating shafts.
Innovation Solution
A magnetostrictive torque sensor design featuring a resin holder with a hollow cavity for the rotating shaft and a flexible substrate with detection coils and signal lines formed by a wiring pattern, where the substrate is wrapped around the holder and the signal lines are led out, allowing for a compact configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a conventional resin housing with internal cable connection is used, then the sensor structure is stable and reliable, but the sensor size becomes large and cannot fit in narrow installation spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The signal lines are extracted from the holder structure and led directly out from the flexible substrate without passing through the holder interior. This removes the need for internal cable routing channels and connection structures within the holder, thereby reducing the holder's volume and simplifying the overall structure while maintaining electrical connectivity.
Solution Approach 2:
A flexible substrate with integrated wiring patterns is used to replace traditional rigid circuit boards and internal cable assemblies. The flexible substrate can be wrapped around the holder in a compact manner, eliminating the need for bulky internal cable management structures and reducing the overall sensor volume while maintaining structural integrity and electrical connections.
2Volume of moving object
If the sensor is miniaturized to fit narrow installation spaces, then installation flexibility improves, but the structural stability and reliability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible substrate with integrated wiring patterns provides both miniaturization and structural stability. The flexibility allows compact wrapping around the holder to reduce sensor volume, while the integrated wiring structure maintains reliable electrical connections without requiring bulky internal cable assemblies, thus preserving structural integrity in a compact form.
Solution Approach 2:
The signal lines are merged directly with the flexible substrate through integrated wiring patterns, eliminating separate cable components and connection structures. This integration reduces the overall sensor volume while improving structural stability by reducing the number of separate components and potential failure points in the miniaturized sensor design.
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
This design enables a reduction in sensor size, facilitating installation in narrow spaces while maintaining effective torque detection capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
detect torque applied to a rotating shaft based on changes in the inductances of the plural detection coils using the magnetostrictive effect in which the magnetic permeability of the rotating shaft changes due to stress
Data Source
AI summary
A magnetostrictive torque sensor that is configured to be attached around a rotating shaft exhibiting a magnetostrictive effect and detects torque transmitted by the rotating shaft. The magnetostrictive torque sensor is provided with a holder being composed of a resin and including a cylinder portion with a hollow cavity in the center through which the rotating shaft is inserted, and a flexible substrate that includes a detection portion on which a coil group including a combination of a plurality of detection coils aligned in a predetermined direction is formed by a wiring pattern, and a signal line portion on which a plurality of signal lines electrically connecting the coil group to an external device are formed by a wiring pattern. The flexible substrate is arranged in such a manner that the detection portion is wrapped around an outer circumference of the cylinder portion of the holder and held by the holder, and a portion of the signal line portion is led out of the holder.