New Bosch Steering-Angle Sensor Enters Series Production

Global automotive supplier Bosch announced yesterday its new cost-effective steering angle sensor went into series production. Dubbed LWS6, the product is suitable for ESP applications in vehicles of compact class and below. However, the manufacturer also says the LWS6 can be used for electro-hydraulic power steering or ACC adaptive cruise control.

Used to determine the direction the driver wants the vehicle to take, the LWS6 is based on a technology known as the Hall effect. “For this purpose, a multi-pole magnet is fixed to the steering column. Hall elements detect changes in the sensor’s magnetic field without contacts and without gear wheels,” the company describes the process.

“As two or more Hall elements are used, any rotary motion generates square-wave signals, which show a certain phase shift relative to each other. These square-wave signals are transmitted directly to the control unit, thus ruling out any need for evaluation logic in the LWS6,” the statement continues.

Furthermore, the system control unit calculates the position, rotation direction, and rotation speed of the steering wheel. The control unit also validates the sensor output signals and detects short-circuits.

The LWS6 does not need to be calibrated by the car manufacturer and also does not require stand-by current when the vehicle is parked.

“As there is no mechanical link between the Hall measuring elements and the magnetic hub, the sensor is wear-free. Unlike optical sensors, the magnetic measuring principle makes the LWS6 resistant to contaminants, such as dust, which can find their way into the housing over the course of the device's service life,” Bosch says in the release.