PATENT WITHDRAWN
Voice coil actuator with embedded capacitive sensor for motion, position and/or acceleration detection

Patent 7449894 Issued on November 11, 2008. Estimated Expiration Date:

June 21, 2025. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

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Inventors

Assignee

Custom Sensors & Technologies, Inc.

Application

No. 11159572 filed on 06/21/2005

US Classes:

324/658Using capacitive type measurement

Examiners

Primary: Nguyen, Dinh Q.
Assistant: Nguyen, Hoang

Attorney, Agent or Firm

Christie, Parker & Hale, LLP

International Classes

G01R 27/26
H04R 9/06

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to sensors and more specifically to motion, position and/or acceleration sensors capable of operating in the presence of significant magnetic fields.

BACKGROUND

A simple voice coil actuator is an ideal solution for many applications requiring precise movement, such as semiconductor equipment, defense systems and life-sustaining medical systems due to the simple, non-contacting structure of the design. The structure is typically the same as that found in a simple speaker.

The voice coil actuator is a direct drive, limited motion device that utilizes a permanent magnetic field and a coil winding (conductor) to produce a force proportional to the current applied to the coil. The permanent magnetic field is providedby a permanent magnetic housing containing one or more permanent magnets, while the coil winding is a part of a coil assembly that moves in-and-out of the permanent magnetic housing along the axis thereof.

The Lorentz principle governs the electromechanical conversion mechanism of a voice coil actuator. This law of physics states that if a current-carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic field, a force will act upon it. The magnetic fluxdensity, "B", the current, "I", and the orientation of the field and current vectors determine the magnitude of this force. Further, if a total of "N" conductors (in series) of length "L" are placed in the magnetic field, the force acting upon theconductors is given by: F=KBLIN, where K is a constant. Hence, the force applied between the coil assembly and the permanent magnetic housing is proportional to the amount of current flowing through the coil.

For voice coil actuator applications, it is desirable to measure the motion, position and/or acceleration of the coil assembly with respect to the permanent magnetic housing when a current of certain magnitude is applied. Due to the strongmagnetic field in the voice coil actuator, linear variable displacement transducers (LVDTs) are not suitable for such measurements.

Currently, potentiometers and optical sensors are used with the voice coil actuator, but they have their own shortcomings. By way of example, using potentiometers, variable resistors or other contact sensors will turn the voice coil actuatorinto a contact device, which is limited by the lifecycle due to wear and tear of the contacts. In addition, much noise is generated under vibration due to the use of contact fingers. Further, optical sensors must be mounted externally to the voice coilactuator, and is very costly.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a non-contact sensor that can be embedded within the voice coil actuator to measure a movement between the coil assembly and the permanent magnetic housing, which is substantially impervious to the strongmagnetic field in the voice coil actuator.

SUMMARY

In an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a voice coil actuator has a capacitive sensor. A magnetic housing contains at least one magnet, and has a wall that defines a first cavity. A magnetic core is coupled to themagnetic housing and extend from an interior surface of the magnetic housing in a direction of a center axis of the wall of the magnetic housing. A coil assembly has a wall defining a second cavity that at least partly envelops the magnetic core,disposed at least partly inside the first cavity, and adapted to move linearly with respect to the magnetic housing. The coil assembly forms a capacitive sensor with the magnetic core, the capacitive sensor adapted to measure at least one of position,velocity and acceleration of the coil assembly with respect to the magnetic housing.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a position control system is provided. The position control system includes a voice coil actuator including a magnetic housing containing at least one magnet, a magnetic core coupled tothe magnetic housing and extending from an interior surface of the magnetic housing, and a coil assembly adapted to move linearly with respect to the magnetic housing. The coil assembly forms a capacitive sensor with the magnetic core, the capacitivesensor adapted to measure at least one of position, velocity and acceleration of the coil assembly with respect to the magnetic housing and generates an output. The position control system also includes a signal conditioning circuit, a position/velocitycontrol circuit and a driver. The signal conditioning circuit receives the output of the capacitive sensor, and processes the output to generate a voltage output. The position/velocity control circuit provides a feedback signal using the voltage outputfrom the signal conditioning circuit. The driver drives the voice coil actuator using the feedback signal from the position/velocity control circuit.

In yet another exemplary embodiment according to the present invention, a method of measuring at least one of position, velocity and acceleration of a coil assembly with respect to a magnetic housing in a voice coil actuator, is provided. Acapacitance variance generated when the coil assembly moves with respect to the magnetic housing, is measured. A feedback signal to control a movement of the coil assembly with respect to the magnetic housing, is generated using the capacitancevariance.

These and other aspects of the invention will be more readily comprehended in view of the discussion herein and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective cut-away view of a voice coil actuator including a capacitive sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2a is a schematic cross-sectional view of the voice coil actuator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2b is an equivalent circuit diagram of the capacitive sensor illustrated in FIG. 2a;

FIG. 3a is a top view of two regions of electrically conductive material in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3b is a top view of two regions of electrically conductive material in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4a is a schematic cross-sectional view of a voice coil actuator having a capacitive sensor in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention that includes areas of electrically conductive material located on aninsulated rod attached to a coil assembly housing;

FIG. 4b is an equivalent circuit diagram of the capacitive sensor illustrated in FIG. 4a;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an insulated rod in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of a signal conditioning circuit for a capacitive sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an equivalent circuit diagram of a signal conditioning circuit implemented using Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for a capacitive sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram for a timing circuit used in a frequency oscillator technique in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram for a position control circuit in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In exemplary embodiments of the present invention, capacitive sensors are used to measure the relative movement, relative positions and/or relative acceleration between a permanent magnetic housing and a coil assembly of a voice coil actuator. Turning now to the drawings, voice coil actuators that include capacitive sensors are shown. The capacitive sensors typically include three plates that are equivalent to a pair of series capacitors, although in other embodiments a greater number ofplates can be used. In several exemplary embodiments, the position of the coil assembly with respect to the permanent magnetic housing in the voice coil actuator can be determined by measuring the capacitance of the capacitive sensor. Once the positionof the coil is determined, the output of the capacitive sensor can be processed by control circuitry to regulate the position, motion and/or acceleration of the coil.

An exemplary embodiment of a linear voice coil actuator according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. A voice coil actuator 10 includes a coil assembly housing 12 around which is wrapped a tubular coil 14 of electrically conductivematerial such as copper wire. The coil assembly housing 12 and the tubular coil 14 together may be referred to as a coil assembly.

The coil assembly housing 12 forms a generally cylindrical tube that is closed at one end. The coil assembly housing 12 is at least partly contained within (or enveloped by) a magnetic circuit housing 16, which may also be referred to as amagnetic housing or a permanent magnet housing. The magnetic circuit housing 16 has a generally cylindrical shape and is open at one end. A cylindrical core 18 (or magnetic core) extends from the closed end of the magnetic circuit housing 16 and is setalong the axial centerline of the magnetic circuit housing 16. The core 18 as shown in FIG. 1 has a solid body. In other embodiments, the core 18 may have one or more cavities formed therein.

The magnetic circuit housing 16 includes one or more magnets 20 mounted on an interior surface of a shell 22 made of ferromagnetic material such as soft iron. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the one or more magnets 20 have agenerally cylindrical shape and conforms to the contour of the interior surface of the shell 22, which also has a generally cylindrical shape. In one exemplary embodiment, a number of magnets are arranged so that they are facing radially inward and areall of the same polarity.

The shell 22 contacts the core 18, which is also constructed from a ferromagnetic material such as soft iron. The shell 22 may be fixedly attached to the core 18 or may be formed as a single integrated piece with the core 18. The magnet(s) 20,shell 22 and core 18 form a magnetic circuit that generates a magnetic field extending radially between the magnets 20 and the core 18. The coil assembly housing 12 is inserted into the magnetic circuit housing 16 so that the open end of the coilassembly housing 12 at least partly contains (or envelops) the core 18 and the open end of the magnetic circuit housing 16 at least partly contains (or envelops) the coil assembly housing 12.

In the illustrated embodiment, an area of electrically conductive material 24 is located on the end of the core that faces the interior surface of the closed end of the coil assembly housing 12. The area of the electrically conductive material24 is electrically isolated from the core 18 by a layer of material 28, which is a poor conductor of electricity, and forms a part of a capacitive sensor. In other embodiments, the area of electrically conductive material 24 may not be provided, andinstead, the end surface of the core 18 may be used to for the capacitive sensor.

The capacitive sensor also includes two or more areas of electrically conductive material 30 located inside the coil assembly housing 12 opposite the area of electrically conductive material 24. Two of these areas can be connected to electricalcontacts 25. The areas of electrically conductive material 30 are separated by the coil assembly housing 12 by a layer of material 32, which is similar to the layer of material 28 in that it is a poor conductor of electricity. Another area ofelectrically conductive material 33 is disposed between the coil assembly housing 12 and the layer of material 32 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. The areas of electrically conductive material 30, the layer of material 32 and the area ofelectrically conductive material 33 may have a simple printed circuit board structure.

The elements of a capacitive sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention can be illustrated by taking a cross-section of the inventive voice coil actuator shown in FIG. 1 along the line 26. Such a cross-section isshown in FIG. 2a. As all elements of FIG. 2a that are essential for the complete understanding of the illustrated embodiment have been described in reference to FIG. 1, they will not be discussed again in reference to FIG. 2a.

Each of the two areas of electrically conductive material 30 mounted within the coil assembly housing 12 forms a capacitor with the area of electrically conductive material 24 mounted on the end of the core 18. The two capacitors are linked inseries by the area of electrically conductive material 24. Therefore, the areas of electrically conductive material form a circuit including two capacitors in series between the contacts 25. Although the present invention is in no way intended to belimited by theory, the ideal capacitance of the two capacitors formed by the areas of electrically conductive material can be considered as follows:

× ##EQU00001##

where C₁ and C₂ represent capacitances of the capacitors C₁ and C₂, respectively. In this and other embodiments/equations, the same symbol will be used for a capacitor and its capacitance for ease of description.

As the coil assembly housing 12 (or coil assembly) moves within the magnetic circuit housing 16, the distance between the two areas of electrically conductive material 30 mounted within the coil assembly housing 12 and the area of electricallyconductive material 24 mounted on the end of the core 18 varies. This variance also varies the capacitance of C₁ and C_2. Although not linear, the value C can change significantly with small variations in the position of the coil assemblyhousing 12 relative to the magnetic circuit housing 16. The present invention is not limited by theory, however, theory predicts that changes in the capacitance C, which is the total capacitance of the capacitive sensor, will vary ideally as thereciprocal of the change in distance.

It can be seen in FIG. 2b, which is an equivalent circuit diagram of the capacitive sensor of FIG. 2a, that there actually are additional capacitors C_A and C_B that are present. The capacitors C_A and C_B are respectively formedbetween the areas 30 and the area 33. Hence, the total capacitance of the capacitive sensor is given as follows:

×× ##EQU00002##

However, since the capacitors C_A and C_B have fixed capacitances, they do not affect the distance measurements performed using variable capacitors C₁ and C_2.

In one embodiment, the areas of electrically conductive material are formed from plates of metal such as copper. In this case, the areas of electrically conductive material 24, 30 and 33 may be referred to as plates or metal plates. In otherembodiments, any other suitable material may be used to form the areas 24, 30 and 33. The layers of material that are poor conductors of electricity are constructed from any suitable dielectric material such as epoxy glass (e.g., G10), TEFLON.RTM. orany other suitable dielectric material. TEFLON.RTM. is a registered trademark of E.I. Du Pont De Nemours and Company, a Delaware corporation.

An arrangement of the two areas of electrically conductive material 30 mounted to the interior of the closed end of a coil assembly housing 12 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 3a, which showsthe pattern used in the capacitive sensor of FIG. 2a. The two areas of electrically conductive material 30 resemble half circles and are separated by a gap 36. As discussed above, these areas of electrically conductive material 30 combine with the areaof electrically conductive material 24 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2a to form capacitors.

In other embodiments, capacitors can be formed using a wide variety of patterns of electrically conductive material involving areas that are electrically isolated from each other. For example, an embodiment of the present invention where the twoareas of electrically conductive material are a circle 40 and a concentric ring 42 is shown in FIG. 3b. The circle and the concentric ring are separated by a gap 44.

Another exemplary embodiment of a voice coil actuator including a capacitive sensor in accordance with the present invention is shown in FIG. 4a. The voice coil actuator of FIG. 4a is similar to the voice coil actuator shown in FIGS. 1 and 2a inthat it includes a core assembly housing 12' having a tubular coil 14' mounted thereon, and a magnetic circuit housing 16' having one or more permanent magnets 20' mounted thereon. However, the configuration of the capacitive sensor is different.

In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4a, the core assembly housing 12' includes an insulated rod 50. The insulated rod 50 is connected to a closed end of the core assembly housing 12' so that the two structures are co-axial. Theinsulated rod 50 includes two areas of electrically conductive material 52. In order to accommodate the insulated rod 50 when the voice coil actuator is assembled, a core 18' is hollow and has a cavity 54. In the completed structure, the insulated rod50 is inserted into the cavity 54 within the core 18'.

The position of the areas of electrically conductive material are shown in the cross section taken along the line 56 in FIG. 4a, which is shown in FIG. 5. The insulated rod 50 has two areas of electrically conductive material 52 lining theexternal surface of the insulated rod that are separated by two gaps 57. The interior of the insulated rod can be filled with air or another material that is a poor conductor of electricity. The insulated rod 50 has a generally cylindrical shape, andthe two areas of electrically conductive material 52 are formed to have a generally semi-circular cross-section and conform to the contour of the insulated rod 50. Because of the gaps 57, the cross-sections of the two areas of the electricallyconductive material 52 are not complete semi-circles.

The insulated rod 50 may be constructed from any suitable dielectric material such as epoxy glass (e.g., G10), TEFLON.RTM., or the like. In one embodiment, the two areas of electrically conductive material 52 are constructed from copper plates,or any other suitable metal. The two areas of electrically conductive material 52, when they are formed in a form of plates, may also be referred to as plates or metal plates.

Each of the two areas of electrically conductive material 52 shown in FIGS. 4a and 5 forms a capacitor with the ferromagnetic material used in the construction of the core 18'. The ferromagnetic material of the core 18' also serves to connectthe two capacitors in series. A third capacitor is formed by the two areas of electrically conductive material 52. The third capacitor is in parallel with the two capacitors connected in series.

As the coil assembly housing 12' moves relative to the core 18', the proportion of the areas of electrically conductive material 52 on the insulated rod 50 that are contained within (or enveloped by) the core 18' can vary. This variation resultsin a variation in the capacitance of the two capacitors formed by the areas of electrically conductive material 52 and the core 18'. Theory predicts that a capacitor's capacitance will vary directly with respect to the area of the plates of thecapacitor. In the case of the two capacitors formed by the areas of electrically conductive material 52 and the ferromagnetic material of the core 18', the area of the plate of each capacitor that provides variable capacitance corresponds to the portionof the area of electrically conductive material 52 on the insulated rod 50 that is contained within (or enveloped by) the core 18'.

The capacitance of the third capacitor does not vary with the position of the coil assembly housing 12', because the two areas of electrically conductive material 52 on the insulated rod 50 are fixed relative to each other.

It can be seen in FIG. 4b, which is an equivalent circuit diagram of the capacitive sensor of FIG. 4a, that a capacitor C₃ is arranged in parallel with the variable capacitors C₁ and C₂ that are arranged in series. As discussedabove, the capacitors C₃ is formed between the areas of electrically conductive material 52.

As mentioned previously, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited by theory. That said, the capacitance of the sensor shown in FIG. 4a will ideally have a capacitance given by the following equation:

× ##EQU00003##

where C₁ and C₂ are the capacitances of the two capacitors formed by the areas of electrically conductive material and the ferromagnetic material of the core; and C₃ is the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the two areas ofelectrically conductive material 52.

As discussed above, the capacitances C₁ and C₂ vary linearly with the position of the coil assembly housing 12', and the capacitance C₃ is fixed. Therefore, theory predicts linear variation of the capacitance C with movement ofthe, coil.

As discussed above, capacitive sensors in exemplary embodiments according to the present invention have capacitances that vary with the position of a coil of a voice coil actuator with respect to the magnetic circuit housing of the voice coilactuator. A variety of circuits can be used to monitor the output of sensors in accordance with the present invention. There are several techniques for monitoring and signal conditioning an output of a capacitive sensor. The most common methods are adifferential amplifier technique and a frequency oscillator technique.

A signal conditioning circuit for use with a capacitive sensor in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 6, which is a simple bridge circuit. In FIG. 6, a variable capacitor C₁₁ represents thevariable capacitance C of the capacitive sensor of FIG. 2a or FIG. 4a. The variable capacitor C₁₁ is connected between an inverting input of an amplifier 100 and a voltage source 102. A capacitor C₁₃ is connected between a non-inverting inputof the amplifier 100 and the voltage source 102. Further, a capacitor C₁₄ is coupled between the non-inverting input of the amplifier 100 and ground. In addition, a capacitor C12 is connected between the inverting input of the amplifier 100 and anoutput of the amplifier 100. The output of the signal conditioning circuit of FIG. 6 has a voltage of Vout with respect to ground.

The output Vout is defined by the equation of Vout=1/2(1-C₁₂/C₁₁)Vin where C₁₁ is the sensor capacitance (i.e., the capacitance C of the capacitive sensor), C₁₂₌₁/2C_11max (i.e., one-half of the maximum capacitance of thevariable capacitance C₁₁) and C_13=C.sub.14. When C_11=C.sub.12, Vout=0.

Although the signal conditioning circuit of FIG. 6 is adequate and provides an output that would be proportional to the changes of the variable capacitance C₁₁, with the current advances in Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)technology, a typical off-the shelf capacitive sensor driver as shown in FIG. 7 is readily available and provides a more ideal signal conditioning circuit. The circuit of FIG. 7 is based on a charge compensation feedback loop, and converts thedifference of two capacitances (i.e., C₂₁ and C₂₂), relative to their sum, into an analog voltage. Here, C₂₁ is the variable capacitance C of the capacitive sensor of FIG. 2a or 4a. The output characteristic of the signal conditionalcircuit of FIG. 7 is

##EQU00004## where G is the gain of the amplifier and Vcc is the supply voltage of the ASIC chip. Any other suitable circuitry known to those skilled in the art may be used to generate the analog voltage output.

As can be seen in FIG. 8, in the frequency oscillator technique, when a variable capacitance C₃₁ is applied to an RC oscillator circuit using a timer 120 (e.g., 555 Timer), the output frequency of the timer 120 varies according to thechanges of the capacitance. It can be seen in FIG. 8 that a supply voltage Vcc is divided by a voltage divider resistors Ra and Rb, and applied to the timer 120. The variable capacitor C₃₁ is coupled between the timer 120 and ground. A capacitorC₃₂ is also coupled between the timer 120 and ground. Here, the variable capacitor C₃₁ represents the variable capacitance C of the capacitive sensor of FIG. 2a or FIG. 4a.

As discussed above, voice coil actuators can be used in a variety of applications. One typical application of the voice coil actuator in exemplary embodiments of the present invention is in position control operations. In position controloperations, the position and velocity of the coil are sensed and a feedback signal is used to control the position of the coil. The capacitive sensors in exemplary embodiments of the present invention may, for example, be used to sense the position,velocity and/or acceleration and provide the feedback.

As can be seen in FIG. 9, a voice coil actuator 200 includes a capacitive sensor 202. The voice coil actuator 200 and the capacitive sensor 202, for example, can be the voice coil actuator and the capacitive sensor, respectively, of FIG. 2a orFIG. 4a. The capacitive sensor output of the capacitive sensor 202 is provided to a charge conditioning circuit 204, which provides a voltage output to a position/velocity control circuit 206. The signal conditioning circuit 204 may, for example, beany of the signal conditioning circuits illustrated in FIGS. 6-8, or any other suitable signal conditioning circuit. The make and use of the position/velocity control circuit 206 for providing a feedback to a driver 208 to control the position, velocityand/or acceleration of the coil assembly movement in the voice coil actuator 200 is known to those skilled in the art. The driver 208 drives the voice coil actuator to adjust position, velocity and/or acceleration of the sensor assembly with respect tothe magnetic housing of the voice coil actuator 200. By way of example, the driver 208 may provide a current for driving the voice coil actuator 200.

Although the present invention has been described in reference to certain exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art would understand that additional variations, substitutions and modifications can be made to the system, as disclosed,without departing form the spirit or scope of the invention. For example, although the above description depicts circular coils, coils of any shape such as square coils can be used. In addition, the other components of a voice coil actuator inaccordance with the present invention can be of shapes compatible with the shape of the coil. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Other References

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European Search Report for European Application No. 06075173.2 mailed on Nov. 16, 2006.
BEI Technologies; Voice Coil Actuators: An Applications Guide; pp. 1-12; USA.