Abstract
In order to comprise a basic closed-loop control system for hydraulic systems it is necessary to detect the piston rod stroke of a hydraulic cylinder. There are many conventional type sensors which can detect the displacement of cylinders. However, they cannot reveal the original performance normally or they cannot be applied at all where the operating circumstance of cylinders is beyond specifications of sensors. Especially, for the purpose of detecting the strokes of cylinders mounted on heavy equipments, a special exclusive sensor must be used because the operating circumstances of heavy equipments are so severe that general purpose sensors cannot endure such circumstance as shock and a residual vibration induced by rough works. In this paper, an exclusive method for detecting the piston rod stroke for heavy equipments is suggested, which adopts a remote detecting technique using optical fiber sensors. Several experiments using the prototype are executed for verifying the effectiveness of the suggested method and the possibility of the accurate detection of stroke.