Patent attributes
A dual-acting solenoid, consisting of one armature moving between two latching positions against two yokes with two drive windings, is interconnected to bring out three wire terminations: a center and two ends. The electronic drive circuitry is similarly configured for three terminals. Optionally, the drive circuitry includes sensing and computation sufficient to determine the two currents and the two inductive voltages associated with the two windings. A method is shown for using six measured or computed parameters, two inductive voltages, two currents, and two time derivatives of current, to determine the simultaneous position and velocity of the armature. The method involves simultaneous solution of the equations for current and voltage in two time-varying inductors where the two inductances are constrained to correspond to the position of a single armature moving between two fixed magnetic yokes.
