Patent ID: 7098654

Claim:
A position detector for countingly detecting rotational and/or translatory movements in preferably a predeterminable direction comprising at least one exciter magnet ( 2 ), a single ferromagnetic element ( 6 ), and at least one induction coil ( 7 ) operatively associated with the ferromagnetic element ( 6 ), wherein a movement to be detected is represented by a relative movement between the exciter magnet ( 2 ) and the ferromagnetic element ( 6 ) and the energy which is taken from the kinetic energy of the movement to be detected during the approach as between those two elements and accumulated by means of the ferromagnetic element is abruptly liberated upon the attainment of a given relative position and thus a given magnetic field strength and a voltage pulse is produced by the sudden change in the magnetic flux in the induction coil ( 7 ), and as an electronic system: at least one rectifier circuit ( 24 ) for rectifying voltage pulses of the induction coil ( 7 ), at least one capacitor ( 28 ) adapted to be charged up by voltage pulses in the same direction, at least one comparator circuit ( 22 ) adapted to produce a pulse recognition signal upon the occurrence of a voltage pulse to be counted, a non-volatile counting and memory circuit ( 32 ) which is formed by a register, in the form of a memory, of a counter and adapted to execute a counting and storage operation for each pulse recognition signal, wherein the electrical energy stored in the capacitor ( 28 ) serves for the power supply at least of the non-volatile counting and memory circuit ( 32 ), a data read circuit ( 34 , 34 ′) operable for further processing and output of data stored in the non-volatile counting and memory circuit ( 32 ) to an external user, and a control circuit ( 30 , 30 ′) operable to prevent mutual interference of a counting and storage operation and operation of the data read circuit ( 34 , 34 ′).