Noncontact shaft synchronizer

Claim 2

A synchronization system for determining the instantaneous position of a rotating shaft comprising in combination. a. A magnetic permeable rotor affixed to a rotating shaft; b. A magnetic permeable stator with a plurality of pole pieces concentrically positioned about said rotor; c. Energization coils wound on said stator producing a magnetic flux upon energization thereof; d. Electrical energy source providing energization of said coils; e. A magnetosensitive element attached to a pole piece of said stator and disposed in said magnetic flux; said element having control input leads and output signal leads, generating an output signal of the same frequency as the control input signal, phase and amplitude modulated in accordance with the amplitude and direction of the instantaneous value of said magnetic flux; f. A power source producing a high frequency voltage; g. AC coupling means from said power source to said control input leads; h. Rectifier and filter means connected to said power source, converting said high frequency voltage to DC energy; i. A storage capacitor for storing said DC energy; j. AC coupling means of said magnetosensitive output signal to the first input of a phase detector; k. AC coupling means from said power source to the second input of said phase detector; l. A phase detector responsive to the difference in phase between the first and second input signals, producing a constant predetermined voltage output for an inphase relationship and a different constant predetermined voltage for an out-of-phase relationship; m. Circuit means for differentiating and clamping the phase detector output signal to produce a positive trigger pulse coincident with a change in phase in said phase detector; n. A controlled rectifier actuated by said positive trigger; 0. A load connected between said controlled rectifier and said energy storage capacitor.

Claim 3

A synchronization system according to claim 1 wherein said magnetic permeable rotor includes a plurality of uniformly, angularly spaced lobe pairs the number of which bears a direct relation to the number of synchronization pulses generated per revolution of the shaft to which said rotor is affixed thereto.

Claim 4

A synchronization system according to claim 2 wherein said magnetic permeable stator comprising a noncontiguous circular member with a pair of poles at each end of the discontinuity, said poles symmetrically aligned about the center line of said stator, a third pole opposite said pole pairs symmetrically aligned about said center line.

Claim 5

A synchronization system according to claim 3 wherein said energization coils are independently energized By an AC voltage source.

Claim 6

A synchronization system according to claim 4 wherein said energization coils are independently energized by an AC voltage superimposed on a DC bias voltage.

Claim 7

A synchronization system according to claim 5 wherein said energization coils are serially energized by a voltage source.

Claim 8

A synchronization system according to claim 6 wherein said magnetosensitive element is a Hall effect device and the equivalent thereof comprised of a circuit combination of asymmetrical magnetoresistors and magnetodiodes.

Claim 9

A synchronization system according to claim 7 wherein said phase detector is nonresponsive to variations in amplitude of the input signals.

Claim 10

A synchronization system according to claim 8 wherein said load is an inductive device which in combination with said capacitor comprises a resonant circuit, said circuit causing a reversal of the initial current flow through said controlled rectifier thereby causing said controlled rectifier to return to a nonconductive state after a half cycle of current flow.

Claim 11

A synchronization system according to claim 9 wherein said high frequency power source comprises a pair of transistors and a multitap step up transformer connected in DC converter configuration.

Claim 12

A synchronization system for determining the instantaneous position of a rotating shaft comprising in combination: a. magnetic permeable stator and rotor, said rotor affixed to the rotating shaft and said stator affixed to a nonrotating member in coaxial relationship to said rotor, b. magnetic means for producing at least two magnetic circuits in the stator rotor combination, the common flux flowing through said rotor-stator combination being a function of the instantaneous rotor position and independent of said rotor rotational speed said common flux reversing direction during rotation through each rotor-stator symmetry point; c. magnetosensitive element disposed in said common flux responsive to the instantaneous amplitude and direction of said flux and producing a voltage level output dependent on said flux amplitude and a voltage polarity dependent on said flux direction d. detector circuit means generating an instantaneous voltage step whenever said magnetosensitive element output signal traverses from a maximum positive voltage level to a maximum negative voltage level.

Claim 13

A synchronization system according to claim 11 wherein said rotor comprised of at least two poles and said stator comprised of at least three poles.