Patent ID: 7085638

Claim:
A steering angle sensor assembly for use with a vehicle having a rotatable steering mechanism, said assembly comprising: a first rotational indexing member operably couplable to the steering mechanism for rotation therewith, said steering mechanism and said first indexing member each being rotatable through a rotational range including a plurality of revolutions, said first indexing member defining a first rotational axis, a plurality of indexing elements being disposed on said first indexing member and circumscribing said first rotational axis; a first sensing device positioned to sense said plurality of indexing elements as said first indexing member rotates, said first sensing device outputting a first signal representative of a rotational position of said first rotational indexing member within one of the revolutions; a second rotational indexing member defining a second rotational axis; a reduction gear mechanism operably coupling said first and second indexing members wherein a rotational displacement of said second indexing member is less than a corresponding rotational displacement of said first indexing member; a second sensing device, said second sensing device including a plurality of components, the number of said components being at least as great as the number of said revolutions within the rotational range of said first indexing member, said components being spaced from one another at substantially equal angles relative to the second rotational axis, said second sensing device configured to sense a rotational position of said second rotational indexing member and generate a second signal representative thereof; and a logic module receiving said first and second signals, said logic module identifying in which one of the revolutions said first indexing member is positioned based upon said second signal and determining the rotational position of said first indexing member within the identified revolution based upon the first signal.