Patent ID: 7990136

Claim:
A variable-reluctance analog position transducer configured to determine a position of a target, comprising: a target made of a ferromagnetic material; at least one magnet, the target and the at least one magnet defining between one another an air gap; and a magnetosensitive element detecting a magnetic induction caused by a presence of the target and related to the air gap between the target and the at least one magnet, wherein the at least one magnet has a unidirectional and unipolar magnetization along a direction substantially perpendicular to a front surface of the at least one magnet bounding one edge of the air gap, the at least one magnet having a cavity opening on the front surface of the at least one magnet, the magnetosensitive element being seated in the cavity and sensing a direction and amplitude of the induction of the magnet, the target having a geometric configuration such that the variation of induction as a function of the position of the target corresponds to a predefined linear function while a variation of the air gap is nonlinear with regards to displacement of the target with respect to the magnet.