Rotary Variable Differential Transformer

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to variable transformers and more particularly to transformers variable as a function of the rotation angle of a magnetic susceptible core.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Differential transformers of the prior art are generally produced with a single primary winding and two secondaries, linearly disposed along a common axis. The windings possess a common magnetic circuit comprising a longitudinally displacable iron core. The split secondary may be wound additively or differentially to provide a peak or null at the output terminals when the iron core is positioned to establish equal coupling between the two sections of the secondary and appropriate variations at the output terminals when the iron core is longitudinally displaced from this position.

This arrangement is useful for measuring linear displacements. The measurement of rotational displacements, however, requires elements to convert rotational motions to linear motions and may adversely effect the accuracy and sensitivity of the measurements. Thus for many applications a direct rotational differential transformer is desired.

A differential transformer constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention includes a primary coil wound at an angle about a longitudinal axis and electrically coupled secondary coils wound on either side of the primary winding at projected angles with respect to the longitudinal axis that may be different for each secondary coil winding and from the angle of the primary coil winding. In one embodiment of the invention the primary and each of the two sections are wound at equal angles to the longitudinal axis. A rotatable cylindrical core of magnetic susceptible material, having one end face at an angle to the longitudinal axis that is substantially equal to the coil winding angle and the other end face at an angle to the longitudinal axis that is substantially equal to the supplement of the coil winding angle, thus providing two end faces for the cylindrical core at substantially equal and opposite angles to the longitudinal axis is positined in the cylindrical regions formed by the coil windings. Rotation of the core varies the coupling between the primary and the sections of the secondary, thereby establishing a variable output signal.

In a second embodiment of the invention the primary coil is wound at an angle to the longitudinal axis that is substantially 90.degree. while the two sections of the secondary coil are slanted with respect to the longitudinal axis to form substantially equal and opposite projected angles with respect thereto. A rotatable cylindrical core of magnetically susceptible material, having a length substantially equal the length of the transformer along the longitudinal axis and end faces that form an angle therewith substantially equal to on of the coil winding angles, is inserted in the cylindrical space formed by the coil windings. In one position of the core the primary is coupled to one section of the secondary while a rotation of 180.degree. therefrom the coupling is to the second section of the secondary.

Another embodiment of the invention has the primary and both sections of the secondary wound perpendicularly about the longitudinal axis to form a cylindrical hollow region about the longitudinal axis. A cylindrical ring of magnetic susceptible material is inserted in the cylindrical region formed by the coil windings adjacent to the first and second sections of the secondary coils. The end of each ring facing the central primary winding is cut at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis, the angle of one end face being substantially equal to the angle of the other, to establish a cylindrical ring with the shortest length parallel to the longitudinal axis substantially equal to the length of the secondary coil section along the longitudinal axis and the longest length, 180.degree. removed from the shortest length, spanning a portion of the separation distance between the section of the secondary and the central primary winding, thereby establishing parallel end faces for the two circular rings. A rotatable ring of magnetic susceptible material with one end face at an angle to the longitudinal axis substantally equal to the angle of the inner end faces of the fixed rings of magnetic susceptible material and a second end face at an angle to the longitudinal axis that is substantially equal to the supplementary angle thereof, the end faces having equal and opposite angles relative to the longitudinal axis, is positioned to extend through the cylindrical region formed by the primary winding to have one end face adjacent and parallel to an end face of one of the fixed rings so that there is no overlapping of the magnetic susceptible material of the fixed and rotatable rings. The second end face of the rotatable ring is at the supplementary angle to the second stationary ring of magnetic susceptible material, such that an overlapping of magnetically susceptible material occurs, thereby coupling the second section of the secondary to the primary windings. When the rotatable ring undergoes a 180.degree. rotation the overlapping occurs with the stationary ring of the first section of the secondary windings while the end face of the second stationary ring and that of the rotatable ring are substantially parallel with no overlapping.

In another embodiment the end face angles of the rotatable magnetic susceptible material are substantially parallel while the inner end faces of the fixed rings within the sections of the secondary form supplementary angles.

Another embodiment of the invention utilizes a primary coil positioned between first and second sections of a split secondary all wound perpendicularly to a longitudinal axes. Cylindrical cores of magnetic susceptible material are fixedly positioned in the cylindrical regions formed by the first and second sections of the secondary windings. Each core extends a predetermined distance from the secondary section towards the primary winding and has a V notch cut therein. A third core of magnetic susceptible material, rotatable within each fixed core of the two sections of the secondary windings, V matched at either end with 90.degree. displacement therebetween at angles substantially equal to the V notch angles of the two fixed cores, extends through the cylindrical region within the primary windings and overlaps the magnetic susceptible material of one of the fixed cores in one position and overlaps the magnetic susceptible material of the other core when rotated 90.degree.. Thus coupling is varied from the primary to one section of the secondary for a first position of the rotatable core and from the primary to the second section of the secondary at a position 90.degree. from the first angular position.

In still another embodiment primary and secondary coils are perpendicularly wound about a longitudinal axis and adjacently positioned. A ring of magnetic susceptible material extends through the cylindrical region formed by the primary and secondary windings. A cylindrical magnetic susceptible material, having an axis substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis and rotatable whereabout and having end faces at substantially equal angles to the longitudinal axis, couples the primary and secondary coils to establish a predetermined polarity for the transformer when the rotatable magnetic susceptible material is in one position and an opposite polarity thereto when the rotatable magnetic susceptible material is rotated 180.degree. from the first position. The rotation of the rotatable core therefore establishes a coupling that continuously varies between the two polarity peaks.

FIGS. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams of an embodiment of the invention having the primary and the first and second sections of the secondary all wound at equal angles to the longitudinal axis.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams of an embodiment of the invention having the primary wound perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis with the first and second sections of the secondary wound at equal and opposite angles to the longitudinal axis.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are schematic diagrams of embodiments of the invention having the primary and both sections of the secondary wound perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are schematics of an embodiment of the invention having a primary and a single section secondary both wound perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis.

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C depict an embodiment of the invention having the primary and first and second sections of the secondary wound perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis and a cylindrical core rotatable about the longitudinal axis and having V notches at either end with 90.degree. angular spacing therebetween.

FIG. 5D depicts a rotatable core with a multiplicity of notches at each end .

Referring now to FIGS. 1A and 1B there is illustrated an embodiment of the invention in which a primary coil 11 and secondary coil having electrically coupled sectios 12, 13, respectively represented by lines 11a, 12a, and 13a form equal projected angles 14 with a longitudinal axis 15. A cylindrical core 16 made of a material having high magnetic susceptibility is positioned with its axis substantially in alignment with the longitudinal axis 15 and rotatable thereabout by means of a shaft 17. End faces 18, 19 of the core 16 form equal and opposite angles with the axis 15 that are substantially equal to the angular value of the angle 14. In one position of the core, such as that shown in FIG. 1A, the end loops of the secondary section 12 and the end face 19 of the rotatable core 16 lie in a plane that is at the angle 14 with respect to the longitudinal axis 15, while the end face 18 of the rotatable core 16 slants away from the secondary section 13. In this position the coupling between the primary coil 11 and the secondary section 12 is at a maximum, while the coupling between the primary coil 11 and the secondary section 13 is at a minimum. When the core 16 is rotated 180.degree. to the position shown in FIG. 1B the end face 18 and the end loops of secondary section 13 are in a common plane that forms an angle 14 with the longitudinal axis 15 while the end face 19 slants away from the secondary section 12. In this position the coupling between the primary coil 11 and the secondary section 13 is at a maximum while the coupling between the primary coil 11 and the secondary section 12 is at a minimum. Thus, the 180.degree. rotation has caused a polarity change for the secondary winding, providing equal and opposite couplings for the core positions in FIGS. 1A and 1B and couplings therebetween that vary as a function of the rotation angle.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an embodiment of the invention 20 having a primary coil 22 with windings, represented by the line 22a forming a projected angle of substantially 90.degree. with longitudinal axis 24 and a secondary with electrically coupled coils 26, 27, respectively represented by lines 26a, 27a, forming equal projected internal angles 28a, 28b. A cylindrical core 31 of high magnetic susceptible material, having end faces 32, 33 forming corresponding angles 34a, 34b with longitudinal axis 24 that are substantially equal to the projected internal angles formed by the coils 26a, 27a with the longitudinal axis, is positioned with its axes substantially coincident with the longitudinal axis 24. In one position of the core 31 the end face 32 and the outer loops of the secondary section 26 lie in a common plane, the core 31 extending therefrom through the secondary section coil 26 and the primary windings 22, thereby providing maximum coupling between the primary 22 and secondary section 26. For this position of the core the end face 34b slants away from the secondary section 27 providing minimum coupling between the primary windings 22 and the secondary section windings 27. When the core 31 is rotated 180.degree. from the position in FIG. 2A, as shown in FIG. 2B, the end face 33 of the core 31 lies in a common plane with the end loop of the secondary section winding 27, the core 31 extending therefrom through the primary winding 22 to establish maximum coupling between the primary winding 22 and the secondary section winding 27 while the coupling between the primary winding 22 and the secondary section winding 26 is at a minimum. Thus a transformer polarity change is accomplished with 180.degree. rotation of the core 31 and a coupling variation as a function of core 31 rotation angle is realized.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C illustrate embodiments of the invention in which electrically coupled sections of the secondary are wound about fixed sections of a core made of magnetic susceptible material. In FIG. 3A and 3B the variable transformer 40 comprises electrically coupled sections 41, 42 of the secondary wound about fixed rings 43a and 43b of magnetic susceptible material at an angle of 90.degree. to the longitudinal axis (represented by lines 41a and 42a respectively), the primary 45 wound at an angle of 90.degree. to the longitudinal axes (represented by line 45a), and a core of magnetic susceptible material 46 positioned on a shaft 47 for rotation about the longitudinal axis 44. The fixed sections 43a and 43b have end faces 51a and 51b respectively that are substantially parallel and form an acute projected angle 52 with the longitudinal axis 44. The rotatable core 46 has end faces 53, 54 that form projected acute angles with the longitudinal axes 44 that are equal and opposite to the angle 52. When the rotatable core is in one position, such as that in FIG. 3A, the core 46 extends alaong the shaft 47 such that the end face 53 of the rotatable core 46 is parallel to and in close proximity with the end face 51a of the stationary core section 43a and end face 54 of the rotatable core 46 intersects end face 51b of the stationary core section 43b to establish an overlapping between the magnetic susceptible material of the rotatable core 46 and the magnetic susceptible material of the stationary core section 43b. When the rotatable core 46 is rotated 180.degree. from this position, as shown in FIG. 3B, the end face 53 intersects end face 51a establishing an overlapping between a magnetic susceptible material of the core 46 with the magnetic susceptible material of the stationery cross-section 43a thus establishing maximum coupling between the primary coil 45 and secondary coil section 41. Between these two maximum coupling positions the coupling between the primary and secondary coils varies as a function of rotation angle, thereby providing a rotary differential transformer.

A variant of the embodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B is shown in FIG. 3C. The stationary core sections 61a, 61b have end faces 62a, 62b respectively that form equal and opposite acute angles 63a, 63b with the longitudinal axis 64, while the end faces 65a, 65b of the rotatable core of magnetic susceptible material 65 form equal projected acute angles with the longitudinal axis 64 that are substantially equal to the angular value ofacute angles 63a, 63b. A rotation of the core 65 provides a coupling variation similar to that described for FIGS. 3A, 3B.

Referring now to FIGS. 4A and 4B, wherein a variable differential transformer 70 with a single section secondary coil is shown. Primary 71 and single section secondary 72 coils, represented by lines 71a and 72a respectively, are wound about a ring 73 of magnetic susceptible material in a manner to form a projected angle of 90.degree. with the longitudinal axis 74. A cylinder 75 of magnetic susceptible material, rotatable about the longitudinal axis 74, has end faces 75a, 75b that form projected angles with the longitudinal axis 74 such that, for the position shown in FIG. 4A, coupling between the primary and secondary coils is increased over that realized through the stationary core 73 through the lower portion of the primary 71 and the upper portion of the secondary 72. When the cylinder is rotated 180.degree. this increase in coupling is accomplished through the upper portion of the primary 71 and the lower portion of the secondary 72. These two positions provide the maximum increase in coupling and represent polarity changes therefor. As the cylinder 75 rotates the increased coupling vary as a function of rotation angle to provide the rotary differential transformer.

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate an embodiment of the invention 80 wherein first and second sections 81, 82 of a secondary coil are wound about fixed cylindrical cores 83a, 83b of magnetic susceptible material, having substantially equal V-notches 84a, 84b oriented at substantially equal angular positions relative to a common reference. The primary coil 85 is wound about the longitudinal axis 86 to form a projected angle therewith of substantially 90.degree. as do the two sections 81, 82 of the secondary coil, to form a cylindrical region about the longitudinal axis 96 that is of a diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the fixed core rings 83a, 83b. A rotatable cylindrical core 87 of magnetic susceptible material with V-notches at either end thereof angularly positined with 90.degree. separation therebetween having apex angles substantially equal to the apex angles of the V-notches in the fixed coils 83a, 84b, as shown in FIG. 5C, extends through the cylindrical region formed by the windings of the primary coil 85 into the cylindrical regions formed by the magnetic susceptible rings of the stationery coils 83a, 83b to overlap with the notches thereof. In one position of the rotatable core, shown in FIG. 5A, a maximum overlapping of the magnetic susceptible material of the rotary core 87 and the fixed core 83a occurs while a minimum overlapping of the magnetic susceptible material of the rotary core 87 and the fixed core 83b is realized. When the core 87 is rotated 90.degree. from the position of 5A the overlapping is reversed, as shown in FIG. 5B. The orientation in FIG. 5B provides maximum overlapping between the magnetic material of the rotatable core 87 and the fixed core 83b while minimum overlapping between the magnetic susceptible materials of the core 87 and 83a is realized. Thus a rotation of the core 87 varies the coupling between the primary and secondary windings between values determined by the two conditions depicted in FIGS. 5A and 5B, this variation repeating after every 90.degree. rotation of the rotatable cone 87. Those skilled in the art will recognized that the frequency of coupling variation may be increased by equally spacing a multiplicity of V-notches about the rotatable core and orienting the notches on either end to provide an apex for one in longitudinal alignment with a valley of the other, as shown in FIG. 5D as apex-valley pairs 91a, 91b and 92a, 92b.

While the invention has been described in its preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than limitation and that changes may be made within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the true scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspects.