A Quick summary follows as a place holder, This will be updated and more detail added later
The origonal SmartPot was designed by Spectrol Electronics. It was intedned to provide a low cost full 360° position sensor.
Spectrol
was owned by Wabash Technologies at the time. In 2000 Spectrol was sold
off to Vishay who have since replaced the origonal SmartPot with a new
design using hall effect sensors.
Advantages:
Non contacting giving longer life,
Better repeatability over life (possibly, depends on the applications)
Disadvantages:
Much more expensinve.
Two seperate versions for clockwise and counter-clockwise directions
The new Smartpot by Vishay Spectrol, 601-HEThe new Smartpot on Farnell, 151-7319RS appear to have dropped it
The
origonal Smartpot used a continuous ring of thickfilm printed carbon
track and a single wiper. The electronics would then excited the track
with volts and measure the output on the wiper. These readings would
then be processed and a D to A converter would produce a voltage
proportional to the angle of rotation.
This pot would resolve
angles down to 0.55° and could give either a rising output or falling
output with a clockwise rotation depending on one of the pins
being tied to the suppply rail or left floating.
I did have
ideas on how to improve the algorithm for better accuracy and
resolution but unfortunately I did not get the opportunity to fully
develop the idea. I have since left the company.
Smartpot datasheet
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(Updated: 30th August 2008)
