Methods and apparatus to control an architectural opening covering assembly

A tangible computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

• operate a motor to rotate a tube of an architectural covering assembly, the architectural covering assembly including an architectural covering mounted on the tube such that rotation of the tube extends or retracts the architectural covering;
• monitor movement of the tube via a gravitational sensor to continually track a current position of the tube, wherein the gravitational sensor rotates in complete revolutions with the tube as the tube extends or retracts the architectural covering, wherein the gravitational sensor is to monitor the movement of the tube and the gravitational sensor to determine first tube position information when the tube is rotated by the motor and second tube position information when the tube is rotated by a manual control without energizing the motor;
• and
• when the tube is rotated by the motor, determine an angular position of the tube at which the architectural covering is substantially fully extended using at least one of the first tube position information or the second tube position information.

An architectural covering assembly, comprising:

• a tube;
• a covering operatively coupled to the tube such that rotation of the tube moves the covering between an upper limit position and a lower limit position;
• a motor operatively coupled to the tube to rotate the tube;
• a gravitational sensor mounted to rotate with the tube, wherein the gravitational sensor is structured to measure rotation of the tube and the gravitational sensor to generate tube position information based on a gravity reference, and wherein each revolution of the gravitational sensor indicates a revolution of the tube;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the motor to control the motor;
• wherein:
• the controller is communicatively coupled to the gravitational sensor to access the tube position information;
• based on the tube position information, the controller determines a current position of the tube based on an amount of angular displacement of the tube relative to a stored angular position of the tube;
• based on the tube position information, the controller determines a first rotational speed of the tube;
• and
• in response to the controller determining a difference between the first rotational speed and a second rotational speed of the motor, the controller identifies the tube as being rotated by a manual control and causes the motor to assist with moving the tube.

An architectural covering assembly, comprising:

• a tube;
• a covering operatively coupled to the tube such that rotation of the tube extends or retracts the covering to move the covering between an upper limit position and a lower limit position;
• a motor operatively coupled to the tube to rotate the tube;
• a gravitational sensor coupled to the tube, the gravitational sensor to rotate a number of revolutions with the tube as the tube rotates, wherein the gravitational sensor is structured to measure rotation of the tube and the gravitational sensor to generate tube position information based on a gravity reference;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the motor to control the motor, the controller communicatively coupled to the gravitational sensor to enable access to the tube position information, the controller structured to:
• determine a current position of the tube by counting a number of revolutions of the tube from a stored reference position based on the tube position information;
• determine a rotational speed of the tube based on the tube position information;
• determine whether the motor is causing the rotational speed of the tube;
• and
• in response to the motor not causing the rotational speed of the tube, cause the motor to assist with moving the tube.