Contactless control pulse generator for rotary machine timing

Claim 1

A contactless control pulse generator for synchronizing electrically produced events with rotary movement in a machine, comprising, in combination: a rotor (1) having at least its peripheral region made of magnetically conducting material, a U-shaped stator (3) made of magnetically conducting material with its legs facing, adjacent to, and spaced by a gap from, the peripheral portion of said rotor (1), said stator being equipped with a magnet (4) and an electrical pick-up device (5) provided at different locations on said stator, said electrical pick-up device (5) of said stator (3) being constituted so as to produce an electrical signal in response to a change in magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit through said stator, said rotor having at least one irregularity (2) of a configuration and location suitable for producing, as the rotor rotates, a change in the magnetic resistance of the magnetic circuit through said stator and said rotor, and one of said stator legs having an end facing the rotor which is broader, in the circumferential direction, than said irregularity (2) of said rotor and the other of said stator legs presenting a peaked linear ridge to the air gap between it and the rotor, said linear ridge running substantially across the width of the periphery of the rotor.