Name of the sensor 1

[AndreaBianchi1984]

Hello to everybody,

I hope this is the correct section where to place this question.
I am planning to make a little automation to my home shutters and to know the specific position where the shutter is in every moment I found the detector that can view in the attachment.
Spite this, I am wishing to buy some of this rotating sensor, but i don't have any idea of its english name (it may sound likely roller arm to detect rolling shutter/Wheel operated detector for shutters...) may someone help me in the translation of this stuff? Internet did not helped me after a couple of hours of surfing...
How would you definetely call this sensor? How would you type it to found a seller over the Internet?
Thanks to everybody for any suggestion.
Andrea

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Do you really need to know where the shutter is at every moment/location? I would think a small photo-interrupter tab would give you a location within a few inches, or a hard stop switch so you'd know where the top and bottom are (and everything in between is simply a timing circuit).

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[VEBill]

An absolute position sensor avoids start up calibration movements. As after a power failure, when someone might have made a manual adjustment while the controller was off.

That one linked appears to be a big old potentiometer. Perhaps a modern tiny tilt sensor of the sort Arduio hobbiests use would be better in most regards. Tilt assumes horizontal blinds.

 

[AndreaBianchi1984]

The idea is excactly to be able to calibrate automatically the real position every Tim the top and the bottom sensor are reached and stop immediately the motor.
Adding to this with pulses coming from the sensor i can be more sure about the real movement of the shutter without any obstacle( if the shutter cannot move for any reason, lets jmagine a box left below i that s blocking it the motor will be overloaded till domething will be break. Better to know ghe movement status from real.
I Will post che whole Project detail once realized.
Main doubt is the English name of that kind of sensor...any suggest in how to find it over the web?

 

[AndreaBianchi1984]

I place the attachement in the first topic, I will post it here again because I think it was not clear that the main issue is I do not know the english term of this sensor type.
Could someone help me in finding the right translation to identify this device?

http://files.engineering.com/getfile.aspx?folder=312fa689-81ba-4705-95c8-4a5334f4dc58&file=123.JPG

Thanks to everybody.
Andrea

 

[John2025]

Looks like a microswitch to me.

 

[AndreaBianchi1984]

Not just a microswitch with open close contact. But a switch that give 1 pulse for each inch of rolling.
It should be more a roller microswitch with pulses output? Going crazy to find out its name...

 

[IRstuff]

More likely, it's a simple rotary encoder like:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11102,

only flatter.

If you search for pancake encoder, you'll find a couple PCB-based devices:

http://www.optical-encoders.eu/pancake-encoders.html

or search for optical encoders, in general.

TTFN
faq731-376
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