Development of the absolute type magnetic encoder suitable for thinner structure.

Abstract

Rotary encoders are often used as position detectors in robot control systems and are of two types: optical encoder and magnetic encoder. The magnetic rotary encoder has been noticed from the viewpoint of its durability in an unclean environment, low temperature dependence, excellent shock resistance and wide variety of desings. This encoder can function in two different ways: detecting either reference or absolute position. In this paper, an absolute magnetic encoder suitable for higher resolution and of thinner structure has been suggested, and an absolute magnetic encoder (φ 100×20 mm) with 11bit, which is one-fourth as thick as a conventional magnetic encoder, has been prepared successfully.