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Digital Encoders: Absolute Encoder

Digital encoders convert motion into digital pulses that can be used to measure position. There are two main types: absolute encoders that produce a unique digital word for each rotational position, and incremental encoders that produce pulses as the shaft rotates to allow measurement of relative position changes. Rotary encoders are most common and have an optical disk with tracks that interrupt light beams to produce digital pulses. Absolute encoders distinguish positions with codes like gray code, while incremental encoders use two signal tracks to determine direction of rotation from the phase relationship of the output pulses.

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111 views4 pages

Digital Encoders: Absolute Encoder

Digital encoders convert motion into digital pulses that can be used to measure position. There are two main types: absolute encoders that produce a unique digital word for each rotational position, and incremental encoders that produce pulses as the shaft rotates to allow measurement of relative position changes. Rotary encoders are most common and have an optical disk with tracks that interrupt light beams to produce digital pulses. Absolute encoders distinguish positions with codes like gray code, while incremental encoders use two signal tracks to determine direction of rotation from the phase relationship of the output pulses.

Uploaded by

07me07
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Digital Encoders

A digital optical encoder is a device that converts


motion into a sequence of digital pulses. By counting
a single bit or by decoding a set of bits, the pulses
can be converted to relative or absolute position
measurements. Encoders have both linear and rotary
configurations, but the most common type is rotary.
Rotary encoders are manufactured in two basic
forms: the absolute encoder where a unique digital
word corresponds to each rotational position of the
shaft, and the incremental encoder, which produces
digital pulses as the shaft rotates, allowing
measurement of relative position of shaft. Most
rotary encoders are composed of a glass or plastic
code disk with a photographically deposited radial
pattern organized in tracks. As radial lines in each track interrupt the beam between a photo
emitter-detector pair, digital pulses are produced.

Absolute encoder

The optical disk of the absolute


encoder is designed to produce a
digital word that distinguishes N
distinct positions of the shaft. For
example, if there are 8 tracks, the
encoder is capable of producing
256 distinct positions or an angular
resolution of 1.406 (360/256)
degrees. The most common types
of numerical encoding used in the
absolute encoder are gray and
binary codes. To illustrate the
acion of an absolute encoder, the
gray code and natural binary code
dsisk track patterns for a simple 4-
track (4-bit) encoder are illustrated
in Fig 2 and 3. The linear patterns
and associated timing diagrams are
what the photo detectors sense as
the code disk circular tracks rotate
with the shaft. The output bit codes
for both coding schemes are listed
in Table 1.
Decimal Rotation Binary Gray
code range (deg.) code code Table 1. 4-Bit gray and
0 0-22.5 0000 0000 natural binary codes
1 22.5-45 0001 0001
2 45-67.5 0010 0011 The gray code is designed
3 67.5-90 0011 0010 so that only one track (one
4 90-112.5 0100 0110 bit) will change state for
5 112.5-135 0101 0111 each count transition, unlike
6 135-157.5 0110 0101 the binary code where
7 15.75-180 0111 0100 multiple tracks (bits)
8 180-202.5 1000 1100 change at certain count
9 202.5-225 1001 1101
transitions. This effect can
be seen clearly in Table 1.
10 225-247.5 1010 1111
For the gray code, the
11 247.5-270 1011 1110
uncertainty during a
12 270-292.5 1100 1010
transition is only one count,
13 292.5-315 1101 1011 unlike with the binary code,
14 315-337.5 1110 1001 where the uncertainty could
15 337.5-360 1111 1000 be multiple counts.

Since the gray code


provides data with the least
uncertainty but the natural binary code is the preferred choice for direct interface to computers
and other digital devices, a circuit to convert from gray to binary code is desirable. Figure 4
shows a simple circuit that utilizes exclusive OR gates (XOR) to perform this function.For a gray
code to binary code conversion of any number of bits N, the most signficant bits (MSB) of the
binary and gray code are always identical, and for each other bit, the binary bit is the exlcusive
OR (XOR) combination of adjacent gray code bits.

Incremental encoder

The incremental encoder, sometimes


called a relative encoder, is simpler in
design than the absolute encoder. It
consists of two tracks and two sensors
whose outputs are called channels A and
B. As the shaft rotates, pulse trains occur
on these channels at a frequency
proportional to the shaft speed, and the
phase relationship between the signals
yields the direction of rotation. The code
disk pattern and output signals A and B
are illustrated in Figure 5. By counting the
number of pulses and knowing the
resolution of the disk, the angular motion
can be measured. The A and B channels
are used to determine the direction of
rotation by assessing which channels "leads" the other. The signals from the two channels are a
1/4 cycle out of phase with each other and are known as quadrature signals. Often a third output
channel, called INDEX, yields one pulse per revolution, which is useful in counting full
revolutions. It is also useful as a reference to define a home base or zero position.

Figure 5 illustrates two separate tracks for the A and B channels, but a more common
configuration uses a single track with the A and B sensors offset a 1/4 cycle on the track to yield
the same signal pattern. A single-track code disk is simpler and cheaper to manufacture.

The quadrature signals A and B can be decoded to yield the direction of rotation as hown in
Figure 6. Decoding transitions of A and B by using sequential logic circuits in different ways can
provide three different resolutions of the output pulses: 1X, 2X, 4X. 1X resolution only provides
a single pulse for each cycle in one of the signals A or B, 4X resolution provides a pulse at every
edge transition in the two signals A and B providing four times the 1X resolution. The direction
of rotation(clockwise or counter-clockwise) is determined by the level of one signal during an
edge transition of the second signal. For example, in the 1X mode, A= with B =1 implies a
clockwise pulse, and B= with A=1 implies a counter-clockwise pulse. If we only had a single
output channel A or B, it would be impossible to determine the direction of rotation.
Furthermore, shaft jitter around an edge transition in the single signal woudl result in erroneous
pulses..

 
Incremental versus absolute encoder terminology
There seem to be some grey areas as to what constitutes an incremental encoder as opposed to an
absolute encoder.

Traditional absolute encoders

Traditional absolute encoders have multiple code rings with various binary weightings which
provide a data word representing the absolute position of the encoder within one revolution. This
type of encoder is often referred to as a parallel absolute encoder. The distinguishing feature of
the absolute encoder is that it reports the absolute position of the encoder to the electronics
immediately upon power-up with no need for indexing.

Traditional incremental encoders

A traditional incremental encoder works differently by providing an A and a B pulse output that
provide no usable count information in their own right. Rather, the counting is done in the
external electronics. The point where the counting begins depends on the counter in the external
electronics and not on the position of the encoder. To provide useful position information, the
encoder position must be referenced to the device to which it is attached, generally using an
index pulse. The distinguishing feature of the incremental encoder is that it reports an
incremental change in position of the encoder to the counting electronics.

Battery backed incremental encoders

Some encoder manufacturers, such as Fanuc, have taken a different approach to this terminology.
These manufacturers use absolute as their terminology for incremental encoders with a battery
backed up memory to store count information and provide an absolute count immediately upon
power up.[2]

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