Abstract: An optical position measuring arrangement for the generation of n>1 phase-shifted incremental signals characterizing relative positions of two objects which are movable with respect to each other along a measuring direction. The optical position measuring arrangement includes a light source that emits bundles of beams, a measurement grating, a plurality of optional gratings and a scanning unit. The scanning unit includes a scanning grating arranged in a scanning plane, wherein the scanning grating includes a plurality of blocks arranged periodically along the measuring direction with a scanning grating periodicity TPAG equaling a fringe pattern periodicity TPS, and each block includes n grating sections (n=1, 2, 3, . . .

Abstract: A position measuring arrangement for detecting a relative position. The position measuring arrangement includes a reflection scale graduation and a scanning unit having a plurality of optical elements. The plurality of optical elements include a combining grating, a retro-reflector element, a scanning grating and detector elements. The optical elements are arranged so that: 1) light beams and/or partial light beams of a scanning beam path act on the reflection scale graduation at least twice, 2) a directional reversal of the incident partial light beams impinging on the reflection scale graduation perpendicularly with respect to the measuring direction takes place by the retro-reflector element; and 3) a pair of partial light beams impinges in a non-parallel manner on the combining grating, and the combining grating brings the partial light beams impinging on the combining grating to interference, so that phase-shifted signals are detected by the plurality of detector elements.

Abstract: An interferential position measuring arrangement including a light source connected to a first object, which emits a beam of rays in a direction of an optical axis and an optical element arranged downstream of the light source, which converts the beam of rays emitted by the light source into an incoming beam of rays. A scale grating connected to a second object that moves relative to the first object, which splits the incoming beam of rays into a first partial beam of rays, which is propagated into a first spatial direction and a second partial beam of rays, which is propagated into a second spatial direction.