Method and Apparatus for Detecting Rotational Movement of a Piston Rod
A piston rod position sensing system includes a cylinder and a piston rod arranged in the cylinder for movement with respect thereto. A magnetically hard layer is formed on the piston rod to provide a recording medium. A magnetic pattern is recorded in the magnetically hard layer. The magnetic pattern includes tracks recorded in the magnetically hard layer lengthwise of the piston rod. Each track comprises magnetically written regions used to identify a current position of the piston rod. The sensing system also includes a plurality of magnetic field sensors in greater number than the plurality of tracks. Each magnetic field sensor senses the magnetically written regions of one or more of the tracks while the piston rod is moving with respect to the cylinder and generates signals used for detecting rotation of the piston rod in response to the sensed magnetically written regions.
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This application is a continuation application claiming the benefit of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/953,070, filed Dec. 9, 2007, titled “Compositions for a Magnetically Hard Layer of a Piston Rod”, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/409,576, filed on Apr. 24, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,307,418, issued Dec. 11, 2007, titled “Systems for Recording Position Information in a Magnetic Layer on a Piston Rod,” which is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/258,308, filed Oct. 25, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,034,527, titled “Systems of Recording Piston Rod Position Information in a Magnetic Layer on a Piston Rod,” which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,781, filed May 6, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,669, titled “Systems of Recording Piston Rod Position Information in a Magnetic Layer on a Piston Rod,” which claims the benefit of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/468,507, filed May 6, 2003, titled “A System for Magnetic Encoding of Cylinder Rod Position and Movement and Methods of Use,” the entireties of which U.S. patent application, patents, and provisional application are incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe invention relates generally to methods and systems for measuring the absolute position of a piston rod moving relative to a cylinder. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods of determining position, speed, and direction of motion of a piston rod from position information encoded in a magnetic film formed on the piston rod.
BACKGROUNDVarious industrial and mobile applications use hydraulic cylinders to control the movement and position of machinery. In general, these cylinders include a cylinder barrel within which a piston is arranged for reciprocating motion along an axis. A piston rod is secured at one end to the piston. The piston rod extends out of one end of the cylinder barrel along the axis of motion. The end of the piston rod that is external to the cylinder barrel is coupled directly or indirectly to a machine component. The piston divides the cylinder barrel into separate chambers. Fluid entering one of the chambers causes the piston and, thus, the piston rod to move relative to the housing. This movement of the piston rod drives the movement of the machine component.
Precise control of the position of the piston is generally fundamental to controlling the operation of the machinery. Measuring the absolute position or velocity of the piston relative to the cylinder is often needed to achieve such control using conventional feedback control techniques. Accordingly, industry has produced various mechanical, magnetic, acoustic, and optical techniques for detecting the instantaneous position of the moving piston or piston rod.
Many position detection systems are expensive, cumbersome, or difficult to mount on the cylinder. Further, position detection systems for hydraulic cylinders often operate in harsh environments caused by internal conditions, such as pressurized fluid that drives the motion of the piston, and external conditions, such as dust and debris. Some types of position detection systems, such as Linear Variable Differential Transformers (LVDTs) and linear scales, can be unreliable or easily damaged in a harsh environment.
Some techniques entail encoding piston rod positions on the position rod itself, and reading the encoded positions as the piston rod moves past a reference point, using a reading technique, e.g., optical, magnetic, mechanical, suited to the particular type of encoding. Some known techniques cut grooves, etch recesses, or marks in the rod. Such modifications, however, can adversely affect the rod's strength. Another known technique, described in the UK Patent Application No. GB 2 096 421, is to encode the position information magnetically in the rod material of the piston rod. Here, the piston rod is constructed of steel and can be magnetized. However, this rod material is magnetically “soft.” Magnetically soft material has low coercivity, which is a measure of difficulty for magnetically encoding and erasing information in that material. Thus, the position information encoded in rod material with low coercivity is subject to accidental erasure or alteration.
SUMMARYIn one aspect, the invention features a piston rod position sensing system including a cylinder and a piston rod arranged in the cylinder for movement with respect thereto. A magnetically hard layer is formed on the piston rod to provide a recording medium. A magnetic pattern is recorded in the magnetically hard layer, wherein the magnetic pattern comprises a plurality of tracks recorded in the magnetically hard layer lengthwise of the piston rod. Each track comprises magnetically written regions that are used to identify a current position of the piston rod. The sensing system also includes a plurality of magnetic field sensors in greater number than the plurality of tracks. Each magnetic field sensor senses the magnetically written regions of one or more of the tracks while the piston rod is moving with respect to the cylinder and generates signals used for detecting rotation of the piston rod in response to the sensed magnetically written regions.
The above and further advantages of this invention may be better understood by referring to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals indicate like structural elements and features in various figures. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention.
The present invention features methods and systems for detecting an absolute position, velocity, and direction of motion of a piston rod (or cylinder rod) while the piston rod moves relative to an actuating cylinder. In accordance with the principles of the invention, a physically and magnetically hard material coats the piston rod. Using standard magnetic recording techniques, a magnetic pattern or code is recorded in this coating layer or film of magnetically hard material. As used herein, magnetically “hard” material is material with high coercivity. Magnetic material of high coercivity requires considerable energy to magnetize, i.e., record information, but also to demagnetize recorded information. One or more flux-sensitive magnetic read heads mounted on an end cap of the cylinder read the magnetic pattern. Circuitry in communication with the read heads can process the information obtained from the magnetic pattern to determine the instantaneous incremental position of the piston rod, its velocity, and direction of motion relative to the cylinder.
Various techniques can be used to encode absolute positions of the piston rod in the magnetically hard layer that coats the piston rod. Some techniques record binary codes. Each binary code is uniquely associated with a particular piston rod position. Another technique measures the lateral, spatial distance between two diverging magnetized lines extending along a length of the piston rod. Yet another technique magnetizes an area bounded on two sides by two such diverging lines, extends a sensor (or sensor array) across this bounded area, and correlates the extent of the magnetized area detected by the sensor to a piston rod position. These techniques are illustrative of the many, diverse ways in which position information can be recorded on the piston rod. Other magnetic patterns or encodings can be recorded without departing from the principles of the invention.
One end of a piston rod 12 is secured to the piston 8 and extends along the axis of motion. The other end of piston rod 12 extends out of the housing 6 through the end cap 4, and may be coupled directly or indirectly to a machine component. Typically, the piston 8 and piston rod 12 are constructed of steel (i.e., a ferromagnetic material). In the embodiment shown, the piston rod 12 is cylindrical; other piston rod shapes can be employed without departing from the principles of the invention. In accordance with the invention, a magnetically hard film or layer 14 coats the piston rod 12 to provide a recording medium. This coating can be continuous or discontinuous on the piston rod 12 and cover a portion or all of the piston rod 12. For example, typically the magnetically hard layer 14 is not formed on the end of the piston rod 12. A pattern or code is magnetically recorded in the magnetically hard layer 14 along a length of the piston rod 12, as described in more detail below.
The end cap 4 has a channel 16 for the passage of fluid (e.g., oil, water, steam, gas) into and out of the chamber 10b, for moving the piston 8. A fluid passageway to the other chamber 10a is not shown. Seals 18 within the end cap 4 are arranged to lie flush with a surface of the piston rod 12 and thus prevent fluid from leaving the chamber 10b.
The housing 6 encloses a plurality of flux-sensitive magnetic read heads 20 and read-head electronics 22. Only one read head is shown in
In brief overview, fluid within the chambers 10a, 10b at time-varying, differential pressures causes the piston 8 and thus the piston rod 12 to move in and out relative to the read heads 20. The read heads 20 read the recorded magnetic pattern on the piston rod 12 and produce a corresponding analog or digital signal. From the combined instantaneous readings of the read heads 20, the read-head electronics 22 can determine the actual piston rod position, velocity, and direction, or any combination thereof.
In longitudinal media, the magnetization lies in the plane of the magnetically hard layer 14, which is shown in
Longitudinal and perpendicular recording media can both be produced by electrochemical methods (e.g., electroless, electroplating, chemical vapor deposition, and electrochemical deposition (sputtering)). For longitudinal and perpendicular recording media, the materials used are often cobalt-based alloys. Pure cobalt (Co) can be used to produce a magnetic film of high coercivity, but alloying elements are typically used to tailor the magnetic properties of the recording media and to increase its coercivity. Examples of alloying elements include group VA (P, As, Sb, Bi) and VIB (Cr, Mo, W) elements and the noble elements Pt and Pd. For longitudinal media, example alloys include Co—P, Co—Ni—P, Co—W, and Co—Mo. For perpendicular media, example alloys include Co—P based, Co—W, and Co—Cr. Approximate high coercivity values obtained from using such Co-based alloys range from 1-2 kOe.
Embodiments of the magnetically hard layer 14 can be synthesized with such materials to produce a magnetic layer with high coercivity. Magnetic layers or films of high coercivity, such as the magnetically hard layer 14, can maintain recorded information under external stray fields and under the demagnetization fields deriving from the imposed magnetic transitions. This magnetically hard layer 14 may also provide good mechanical and corrosion resistance. However, considering the harsh operational environment of the cylinder 2, the magnetically hard layer 14 can be coated to insure sufficient resistance to mechanical wear and corrosion. One example of such a protective layer can be hard chrome, i.e., a Cr layer.
The composition of the intermediate layer 52 depends upon the type of the recording media and of the substrate material. For longitudinal media, for instance, a ferromagnetic substrate can pose a problem for information retention. Being magnetically permeable, the ferromagnetic substrate provides a low reluctance path for the flux, which, in effect, shunts and reduces the flux available to be sensed. For embodiments in which the magnetically hard layer 14 is produced as longitudinal media, the intermediate layer 52 can be a non-magnetic amorphous layer, such as Ni—P, to obstruct the low reluctance path. Because non-magnetic substrates lack the permeability of ferromagnetic substrates, use of such an intermediate layer 52 is optional for non-magnetic substrates.
For perpendicular media, the permeability of a ferromagnetic substrate serves an advantage. The return path in a ferromagnetic substrate between adjacent oppositely magnetized regions does not affect the stray flux in the region above the magnetically hard layer 14, and assists in the write process and in the retention of the written information. Lacking such permeability, non-magnetic substrates lack such beneficial properties for information retention. To improve the information retention of perpendicular media on non-magnetic substrates, the intermediate layer 52 can be as a magnetically soft layer (e.g., permalloy or Ni—Fe). The permeability of a ferromagnetic substrate 50, however, makes use of the magnetically soft intermediate layer 52 optional; although use of the magnetically soft intermediate layer 52 can mask unreliable or non-uniform permeability of the ferromagnetic substrate 50, and therefore its presence can be beneficial.
Piston rod position information can be recorded in the magnetically hard layer 14 of the piston rod 12 in a multitude of ways. Some techniques explicitly record the identities of the absolute piston rod positions on the piston rod 12 (e.g., using binary code), other techniques magnetize shapes in or regions of the magnetically hard layer 14 from which piston rod positions can be computed. Herein, a magnetic pattern means generally any type of magnetically recorded that directly or indirectly identifies a piston rod position.
Binary code representing the particular absolute positions can appear on the piston rod 12 in at least two general directions: 1) around the circumference of the piston rod 12 (or laterally); and 2) along a length of the piston rod 12. In the first instance, the binary code representing a particular piston rod position is read concurrently by multiple read heads. The combined concurrent readings of the read heads produce that particular position. In the second instance, a single read head reads the binary code representing a particular piston rod position.
Returning to
The desired spatial resolution between identifiable magnetically recorded bits and the length of the piston rod 12 are factors in determining the number of unique binary codes needed to identify each piston rod position uniquely. For example, consider a 55-inch piston rod for which 0.04 inch resolution is desired. Such a position detection system requires 1375 unique binary codes to identify uniquely each of the 1375 positions on the piston rod 12 (55/0.04). Accordingly, at least eleven bits are needed to represent each piston rod position. Eleven tracks 80 and eleven read heads 20 are used to read the eleven bits. Additional bits, tracks and read heads may be used in this example for purposes other than uniquely identifying piston rod position, such as for detecting piston rod rotation and for performing error code correction.
In
A position sensing system of the invention determines the absolute position of the piston rod 12 whenever the read heads 20 read the present encoding. The read head electronics 22 can compute the velocity of the piston rod 12 from multiple readings of the instantaneous absolute position. From the multiple absolute position readings, the electronics 22 can compute the distance traveled by the piston rod 12 and divide that distance by the time between readings. A comparison of absolute positions also enables a determination of the direction in which the piston rod 12 is moving.
Magnetically written onto each of these tracks 80′ are words 82′. Each word 82′ includes a magnetic pattern of binary information that uniquely identifies a particular piston rod position. For example, 12 bits of information can uniquely identify, with 0.04-inch resolution, the 1375 piston rod positions in the exemplary 55-inch piston rod 12 described above. In an embodiment in which the magnetically hard layer 14 is protected by a hard chrome or Cr-layer having 0.001-inch thickness, a 12-bit word can be magnetically recorded in a linear space of approximately 0.012 inches.
In one of the tracks 80a′, the words 82′ identifying the absolute piston rod positions are incrementally recorded along the length of the piston rod 12. This track 80a′ includes a word 82′ for each desired absolute position (e.g., 1375 words in 0.04-in increments for the exemplary 55-inch piston rod described above).
The other two tracks 80b′ and 80c′ are partitioned into regions 90. The regions 90 within the track 80c′ are staggered with respect to the regions 90 in the track 80b′. The identities of positions represented by the words 82′ are also staggered: even-numbered positions are coded in track 80b′ and odd-numbered positions are coded in track 80c′. Staggering the words 82′ in this fashion uses less length of the piston rod 12 to represent 1375 unique positions than the incremental technique employed in track 80a′.
One implication of lengthwise words is that in the event of a loss of power, the piston rod 12 needs to move a certain distance before the position sensing system can know its current position. In this respect, this embodiment of a position-sensing system is pseudo-absolute. This distance corresponds to the absolute resolution of a word (i.e., the physical word length). In the example described above having 12-bit words, this distance is 0.012 inches. To eliminate any need for initial movement before being able to detect a piston rod position, a battery backup can be included in the system to maintain the last known piston position and movement direction when the power was lost.
The embodiment shown in
An array of sensors 20′ (diagonal-shaded box) mounted in the housing 6 (
Signals generated by the array of sensors 20′ enable the read head electronics 22 (
Consider, for example, a piston rod having a 3.5-inch diameter and a 55-inch length and a specified resolution of 0.04 inches: a 0.04-inch lengthwise movement of the piston rod 12 corresponds to a 0.08-in increase in the distance between the two lines 120, 122. This lengthwise movement of 0.08 inch, when spread over the circumference of the piston rod 12, corresponds to 1375 unique piston rod positions. An array of 1375 sensors can be used to sense the two lines 120, 122. The use of shorter piston rods (than 55 inches) enables the use of fewer sensors. Alternatively, another magnetized line in parallel with one of the other lines 120, 122, enables doubling the length of the piston rod without increasing the number of sensors. Also, if the length of the piston rod 12 is such that a single helical revolution of the line 122 does not provide sufficient positional sensitivity, a second helical revolution about the piston rod 12 can be made. In another embodiment, the magnetized lines 120, 122 both extend helically around the circumference of the piston rod 12, but in opposite rotational directions of each other.
From multiple readings of the absolute position of the piston rod 12, the read head electronics 22 can compute the velocity of the piston rod 12. For example, the read head electronics 22 can compute the distance traveled by the piston rod 12 from a first absolute position to a second absolute position, and divide that distance by the time between position readings. A comparison of absolute positions also enables a determination of the direction in which the piston rod 12 is moving. For example, an increase or decrease in the measured distance from one position reading to a subsequent position reading can be used to identify the movement direction.
A sensor 20″ (diagonal-shaded box) is mounted in the housing 6 (
Although the invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, although the embodiments described above relate primarily to sensing piston rod position for linear movement, the principles of the invention can be used to determine position, velocity, and movement direction for objects that rotate with respect to each other.
Claims
1. A piston rod position sensing system, comprising:
- a cylinder;
- a piston rod arranged in the cylinder for movement with respect thereto;
- a magnetically hard layer formed on the piston rod to provide a recording medium, a magnetic pattern being recorded in the magnetically hard layer, wherein the magnetic pattern comprises a plurality of tracks recorded in the magnetically hard layer lengthwise of the piston rod, each track comprising magnetically written regions that are used to identify a current position of the piston rod; and
- a plurality of magnetic field sensors in greater number than the plurality of tracks, each magnetic field sensor sensing the magnetically written regions of one or more of the tracks while the piston rod is moving with respect to the cylinder and generating signals used for detecting rotation of the piston rod in response to the sensed magnetically written regions.
Type: Application
Filed: May 5, 2010
Publication Date: Aug 26, 2010
Applicant: SRI INTERNATIONAL (Menlo Park, CA)
Inventors: Thomas P. Low (Belmont, CA), C. Bruce Clark (Los Altos, CA), Ronald E. Pelrine (Longmont, CO), Joseph S. Eckerle (Redwood City, CA), Chris Smith (San Carlos, CA), Glovanni Zangarl (Charlottersville, VA)
Application Number: 12/774,503