Patent ID: 7081059
Filing Date: 2006-07-25
Classification: F01L,F15B,F16H,G01B,G01D,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A piston rod position detecting mechanism for detecting the position of a piston rod connected to a piston slidably mounted in a cylinder having both ends thereof closed, said mechanism comprising a magnetic circuit including a detecting coil provided at one end of said cylinder from which the piston rod protrudes out of the cylinder, and a flange provided on the piston rod opposite to said detecting coil, wherein said detecting coil and said flange are arranged such that movement of said flange, and thus the piston rod, relative to said detecting coil causes a change in inductance in said magnetic circuit, which causes a change in an output signal from said detecting coil, and wherein a detecting circuit is provided for receiving the output signal from said detecting coil to detect the position of the piston rod based on said output signal.