Magnetic guiding and capacitive sensing for a passive vehicle of a long-primary linear motor

In order to implement magnetic guidance in a long primary linear motor, the measurement of the airgap and yaw angle is required. Usual gap sensors deliver the signal and require power supply in the moving part. In this case, a power and data transmission system is necessary between the mover and the stationary controller. In addition to the magnetic guidance, a new type of capacitive sensor system was developed to eliminate the power and data transmission for the measurement of the air gap widths and yaw angle. Calculation and experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed system.