Comparisons of Linear Characteristic for Shape of Stator Teeth of Hall Effect Torque Sensor

Electric Power Steering (EPS) system is superior to conventional Hydraulic Power Steering (HPS) system in aspect of fuel economy and environmental concerns. The EPS system consists of torque sensor, electric motor, ECU (Electric Control Unit), gears and etc. Among the elements, the torque sensor is one of the core technologies of which output signal is used for main input of EPS controller. Usually, the torque sensor has used torsion bar to transform torsion angle into torque and needs linear characteristic in terms of flux variation with respect to rotation angle of permanent magnet. The torsion angle of both ends of a torsion bar is measured by a contact variable resistor. In this paper, the sensor is accurately analyzed using 3D finite element method and its characteristics with respect to four different shapes of the stator teeth are compared. The four shapes are rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal and circular type.