3D-printed all-dielectric electromagnetic encoders with synchronous reading for measuring displacements and velocities
Herrojo, Cristian (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Electrònica)
Paredes Marco, Ferran (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Electrònica)
Martín, Ferran (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament d'Enginyeria Electrònica)

Date:	2020
Abstract:	In this paper, 3D-printed electromagnetic (or microwave) encoders with synchronous reading based on permittivity contrast, and devoted to the measurement of displacements and velocities, are reported for the first time. The considered encoders are based on two chains of linearly shaped apertures made on a 3D-printed high-permittivity dielectric material. One such aperture chain contains the identification (ID) code, whereas the other chain provides the clock signal. Synchronous reading is necessary in order to determine the absolute position if the velocity between the encoder and the sensitive part of the reader is not constant. Such absolute position can be determined as long as the whole encoder is encoded with the so-called de Bruijn sequence. For encoder reading, a splitter/combiner structure with each branch loaded with a series gap and a slot resonator (each one tuned to a different frequency) is considered. Such a structure is able to detect the presence of the apertures when the encoder is displaced, at short distance, over the slots. Thus, by injecting two harmonic signals, conveniently tuned, at the input port of the splitter/combiner structure, two amplitude modulated (AM) signals are generated by tag motion at the output port of the sensitive part of the reader. One of the AM envelope functions provides the absolute position, whereas the other one provides the clock signal and the velocity of the encoder. These synchronous 3D-printed all-dielectric encoders based on permittivity contrast are a good alternative to microwave encoders based on metallic inclusions in those applications where low cost as well as major robustness against mechanical wearing and aging effects are the main concerns.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación TEC2016-75650-R Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2019-103904RB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2017/SGR-1159
Note:	Altres ajuts: ICREA
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Microwave sensors ; Motion control ; 3D printing
Published in:	Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), Vol. 20, Issue 17 (September 2020) , art. 4837, ISSN 1424-8220

DOI: 10.3390/s20174837
PMID: 32867115

13 p, 3.6 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Engineering > CIMITEC-UAB
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles