Patent ID: 8878522

Claim:
A magnetic linear position sensor comprising: an array of N number of magnets distributed along a line to form a magnetic field relay along the line, the array of magnets including a first set of N1 magnets and a second set of N2, where N=N1+N2, the first set of N1 magnets being positioned on one side of a center of the array of magnets and the second set of N2 magnets being positioned on the other side of the center of the array of magnets, the size of the magnets decreasing from the sides of the array of magnets towards the center of the array of magnets; and a magnetic field sensor spaced apart and positioned above the array of magnets, wherein the magnetic field sensor moves back and forth over the array of magnets to sense the magnetic field of the array of magnets, the magnetic linear position sensor having performance characteristics that include a sensing range, a linearity of the magnets, a size of each magnet, and a sensor signal range, and wherein the performance characteristics are compared to sensor design characteristics to determine if the sensing range exceeds a minimum range, if the linearity is less than a maximum allowable value, if the sensor signal range exceeds a minimum value and is less than a maximum value, and if the total magnet size is less than a maximum value such that an optimal configuration of the array of magnets is set if the performance characteristics meet the sensor design objectives.