2
Theory of Operation
The AEDR-8300 series combines
an emitter and a detector in a
single surface mount leadless
package. When used with a
codewheel or linear codestrip,
the encoder translates rotary or
linear motion into digital outputs.
As seen in the block diagram, the
AEDR-8300 consists of three
major components: a light emit-
ting diode (LED) light source, a
detector IC consisting photo-
diodes and lens to focus light
beam from the emitter as well as
light falling on the detector.
The operation of the encoder is
based on the principle of optics
where the detector photodiodes
sense the absence and presence
of light. In this case, the rotary/
linear motion of an object being
monitored is converted to
equivalent light pattern via the
use of codewheel/codestrip. As
shown in the above diagram, the
reflective area (window) of the
codewheel (or codestrip) reflects
light back to the photodetector
IC, whereas no light is reflected
by the non-reflective area (bar).
An alternating light and dark
patterns corresponding to the
window and bar fall on the
photodiodes as the codewheel
rotates. The moving light pattern
is exploited by the detector
circuitry to produce digital
outputs representing the rotation
of the codewheel. When the
codewheel is coupled to a motor,
the encoder outputs is then a
direct representation of the
motor rotation. The same con-
cept applies to the use of a
codestrip to detect linear motion.
Definitions
State Width (S)
: The number of
electrical degrees between a
transition in Channel A and the
neighboring transition in Chan-
nel B. There are 4 states per
cycle, each nominally 90oe.
State Width Error (
S): The
deviation of state width, in
electrical degree, from its ideal
value of 90oe.
Phase (
φ): The number of electri-
cal degrees between the center of
high state of Channel A and the
center of high state of Channel B.
Nominally 90oe.
Phase Error (
φ): The deviation
of phase, in electrical degree,
from its ideal value of 90oe.
Pulse Width (P)
: The duration of
high state of the output, in
electrical degree, within one
cycle. Nominally 180oe or half a
cycle.
Pulse Width Error (
P): The
deviation of pulse width, in
electrical degree, from its ideal
value of 180oe.
Count (N)
: The number of
window and bar pair per revolu-
tion (CPR) of codewheel. For
linear codestrip, defined as the
number of window and bar pair
per unit length (lines per inch
[LPI] or lines per mm [LPmm]).
One Cycle (C)
: 360 electrical
degrees (oe). Equivalent to one
window and bar pair.
One Shaft Rotation
: 360 me-
chanical degrees. Also equivalent
to N counts (codewheel only).
Line Density
: The number of
window and bar pair per unit
length, expressed in either lines
per inch (LPI) or lines per mm
(LPmm).
Optical radius (Rop)
: The
distance between the codewheel
center and the centerline be-
tween the two domes of the
encoder.
Figure 1. Block Diagram of AEDR-8300.
VLED
GND
VCC
CH A
CH B
GND
SIGNAL
PROCESSING
CIRCUITRY
R
CODEWHEEL
OR
CODESTRIP