Patent ID: 6956368

Claim:
A magnetic rotational position sensor, comprising: a magnetic circuit, including: a loop pole piece having a peripheral outer wall defining an inner air gap, said outer wall including an inwardly projecting portion extending into said air gap and defining a convex inner surface facing said air gap; and a magnet positioned within said air gap and disposed generally opposite said inwardly projecting portion of said loop pole piece; wherein said magnet and said loop pole piece cooperate to generate a magnetic field within said air gap extending between said magnet and said convex inner surface of said inwardly projecting portion, said magnetic circuit being rotatable about a rotational axis to correspondingly rotate said magnetic field about said rotational axis; and a magnetic flux sensor disposed within said magnetic field generally between said magnet and said inwardly projecting portion of said loop pole piece to sense a different magnitude of magnetic flux density passing therethrough in response to rotation of said magnetic field about said rotational axis.