Modular potentiometer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10304599-B2
Application number	US-201715629814-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 22, 2017
Priority date	Jun 22, 2017
Publication date	May 28, 2019
Grant date	May 28, 2019

Abstract

A modular potentiometer includes a magnetic block slide unit including a slide and a magnetic block disposed on the slide; a magnetic field sensing unit parallel to the magnetic block slide unit and including at least one Hall device and a circuit board electrically connected to the at least one Hall device, wherein the circuit board is modularized so that portions thereof are connected in series; a signal processing unit electrically connected to the magnetic field sensing unit to receive a sensing signal from the magnetic field sensing unit and thereby calculate a distance traveled by the magnetic block. Hence, due to the aforesaid segmental design, the non-contact potentiometer is easy to manufacture, mount, demount, and carry, and its manufacturing cost is reduced by modularizaton.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A modular potentiometer, comprising:
a magnetic block slide unit comprising a slide and a magnetic block disposed on the slide;
a magnetic field sensing unit parallel to the magnetic block slide unit and comprising at least one Hall device and a circuit board electrically connected to the at least one Hall device, wherein the circuit board is modularized so that portions thereof are connected in series; and
a signal processing unit electrically connected to the magnetic field sensing unit to receive a sensing signal from the magnetic field sensing unit and thereby calculate a distance traveled by the magnetic block;
wherein the slide comprises covers that are demountable for increasing or decreasing a length of the slide.

2. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein the magnetic field sensing unit is modularized so that portions thereof are connected in series.

3. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein the Hall device senses a position of the magnetic block electromagnetically.

4. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein the Hall device is disposed on the circuit board.

5. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein the sensing signal is a voltage level.

6. The modular potentiometer of claim 5 , wherein the signal processing unit contains a built-in voltage position information.

7. The modular potentiometer of claim 6 , wherein the signal processing unit compares the voltage level with the voltage position information and thereby determines the magnetic block position.

8. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein a distance between the Hall device and the magnetic block depends on a Hall voltage level sensed electromagnetically by the Hall device.

9. The modular potentiometer of claim 1 , wherein each portion of the circuit board has an independently accessible signal line and is connected to VDD and GND from front and rear, respectively, in a one-male-one-female-single-need manner, wherein the VDD and the GND are connected to a Pin and a Pin sleeve, respectively.

Assignees

• Nat Chung Shan Inst Science & Tech

Inventors

• Wu Ruh-Hua
• Su Ting-Hung

Classifications

• H01L43/06

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G01D5/147

  influenced by the movement of a third element, the position of Hall device and the source of magnetic field being fixed in respect to each other · CPC title

• G01R33/072

  Constructional adaptation of the sensor to specific applications · CPC title

• G01D5/145

  influenced by the relative movement between the Hall device and magnetic fields (see G01R33/06) · CPC title

• H01C10/103 Primary

  by using means responding to magnetic or electric fields, e.g. by addition of magnetisable or piezoelectric particles to the resistive material, or by an electromagnetic actuator · CPC title