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AssigneeDelco Electronics Corporation
InventorsRaymond Lippmann, Gail Monica Sylvester, Ronald Kenneth Selby, James Edward Nelson, Michael John Schnars
Estimating the term…
A rotary gauge driven by a stepper motor has a stop near the zero point of the gauge graphics. A factory calibration procedure rotates the gauge field in reverse direction to move the gauge pointer against the stop and continues field rotation until the rotor becomes unstable and flips back in the forward direction, and then moved to a rotor rest position. The angle of flip back, the rest position and the number of steps to the zero position are stored in non-volatile memory. In the vehicle, when the ignition is off, the microprocessor or the stepper motor wakes periodically and exercises the gauge, using the stored values to reset the gauge to the stable position. When ignition is turned on, the microprocessor moves the gauge directly to the zero position.
A method of securing a rest position of a vehicle gauge driven by a stepper motor having a rotating field controlled by a motor driver including a microprocessor wherein the gauge has a stop, and wherein when the field is rotated beyond the stop the motor is subject to reaching an unstable angle and flipping back a fixed angle from the stop, comprising the steps of:
In a vehicle gauge driven by a microprocessor controlled stepper motor and having a stop limiting the gauge range, a method of establishing and maintaining a gauge rest position comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.