VERFAHREN ZUR POSITIONSBESTIMMUNG EINES BEWEGLICHEN ELEMENTS IN MINDESTENS EINEM HAUPTLUFTSPALT EINES ELEKTROMAGNETISCHEN AKTUATORS

The invention relates to a method for determining the position of a moveable element (2) in at least one main pole air gap (3) of a polarized electromagnetic actuator (1), comprising a stator structure (4) in the form of a magnetic circuit made from a highly permeable magnetic material and comprising at least one electric coil (6). The inventive method consists in the following: at least one secondary measurement air gap (7) is defined for the magnetic circuit (5) of the stator structure (4); a magneto-sensitive element such as a Hall probe or similar is disposed in said secondary air gap (7), whereby said magneto-sensitive element can deliver an electric signal that is representative of the total magnetic induction passing therethrough, respecting a known function that is dependent on the current in the coil (6) and the position of the moveable element (2) in the main pole air gap (3); the current in the coil (6) is measured in order to ascertain the position of the moveable element (2) in the main pole air gap (3). The invention also relates to actuators for carrying out said method.