Magnetic Gearshift Coding With Shared Regions for Compact Sizing

The patent merges coding regions for different gears by allowing them to share common columns on the magnetic plate. Specifically, multiple coding regions overlap in their column usage, so that columns are reused across different gear codes rather than being exclusively allocated to single gears. This combining approach reduces the total number of columns needed while maintaining the ability to distinguish between different gears through unique code patterns.

The patent makes the columns on the magnetic plate multi-functional by having them serve multiple coding regions simultaneously. The same physical columns are used to encode information for multiple different gears, allowing the magnetic plate structure to perform multiple coding functions with a reduced number of elements. This universality enables compact design without sacrificing gear identification capability.

The patent transitions from a spatial arrangement where each gear requires separate physical regions to a combinatorial coding scheme where gear information is encoded through patterns across shared columns. By moving to this dimensional approach, the system achieves gear differentiation not through physical separation but through logical code combinations, enabling compact magnetic plate design that maintains full gear coding capability.

The patent changes the fundamental parameter of how gear information is stored - from dedicated spatial regions to overlapping column patterns with unique binary codes. By altering the coding parameter from spatial exclusivity to pattern-based identification, the system achieves both miniaturization and preserved gear coding versatility through efficient use of shared magnetic plate resources.