Patent ID: 6931312

Claim:
An apparatus for detecting steering angle in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising: a shaft gear axially combined to a steering shaft of a vehicle; a first detecting gear joined, with a first gear ratio, to the shaft gear in a tooth combining manner; a second detecting gear joined, with a second gear ratio, to the shaft gear in a tooth combining manner; a first permanent magnet installed on an axis of the first detecting gear, for generating rotational magnetic field; a first magneto resistive sensor closely installed adjacent to an upper portion of the first permanent magnet, for detecting rotational angle of the rotational magnetic field; a second permanent magnet installed on an axis of the second detecting gear, for generating rotational magnetic field; a second magneto resistive sensor closely installed adjacent to an upper portion of the second permanent magnet, for detecting rotational angle of the rotational magnetic field; and a controlling device which computes rotational direction and angle of the steering shaft by processing detected signals provided from the first and the second magneto resistive sensors using a predetermined program, wherein the shaft gear is a multi-level gear having an upper level gear and a lower level gear; and the first and the second detecting gears are joined to the upper level gear and the lower level gear in a tooth combining manner so that the first and the second detecting gears are partially overlapped.