PRODUCT NEWS

Cubic Transportation Systems choose non-contact angular position sensors for long life and increased reliability. Ticketing systems giant chooses Hall Effect rotary sensors for next generation transportation access gates. When Cubic Transportation Systems Inc, the global designer and manufacturer of mass transport ticketing systems looked to reduce maintenance and increase reliability on its range of access control gates, engineers at its UK based product development centre worked with Variohm Eurosensor to use the Contelec Vert-X 13 series non-contact Hall Effect sensor to improve performance. Access gates collect traveller’s electronic fares using high speed ticket encoding from magnetic strip or contactless smart cards to validate and allow entry and exit. Cubic’s Universal Gate range has been designed to adapt to the diverse requirements of ticketing and gate siting as an integral part of complete software, hardware and communications systems that have revolutionised mass transportation ticketing. One of Cubic’s major customers is Transport for London who’s ticketing system uses the technology to its full - allowing the Capital’s travellers to use just one smart card for tube, over ground rail and bus services. The Universal Gate has two paddles to provide dual opening for travellers. Each gate flap is independently driven via a motor gearbox with a fixed rotation of up to 180 degrees, controlled using a feedback voltage set between an upper and lower value from the directly coupled angular position sensor. High traveller throughput rates requires rapid accelerations and fast settling times which place high demands on all the components used. The two part Hall Effect and magnet design of the Swiss manufactured Vert-X 13 series sensor provides a non-contact solution with substantially improved life and superior performance with the added bonus of minimal engineering effort. This improves reliability and reduces down-time associated with preventative maintenance. As the Vert-X can be delivered with a pre-programmed angular range between 5% and 95% of rotation, Variohm was able to supply the replacement sensor with exactly the same output characteristics as the original potentiometer version. Thanks to its small size of just 13 mm in diameter and 20 mm nominal length, the Vert-X was easily installed within the existing space available, and with its durable stainless steel housing and integral ball bearing system the new sensor was able to satisfy the environmental specifications required. A further benefit was revealed by the true linear output and improved accuracy the new solution provided. Rather than a working tolerance of +/-10 mV to set up the potentiometer, Cubic engineers found they could achieve almost pin-point accuracy which considerably improved in-position stability and the superior linearity also enhanced the control system smoothness. “The Vert-X solution was trialled during 2007 at a new rapid transit system project in Atlanta-Georgia and quickly proved successful” says Colin Peacock of Cubic’s Redhill - UK engineering department, “The reliability gains and improved life time of the non-contact solution has considerably reduced the Universal Gate maintenance burden and it is now the design choice for new and retrofitted access gates worldwide.” The Vert-X range is available with IP69 rated housings, redundancy options and with a choice of limited angle or full rotation sensing with SSI, incremental encoder or analogue outputs. Its non-contact design, compact dimensions and ruggedised construction provides exceptionally long life and high reliability for angular position feedback applications in plant and machinery, robotics, wind turbines, autosports, medical and many other industries including those with inherently hostile environments. November 2008 Home - Search - Suppliers - Links - New Products - Catalogues - Magazines Problem Page - Applications - How they work - Tech Tips - Training - Events