United Technologies Automotive Inc.

United Technologies Corporation

Ut Automotive Dearborn, Inc.

John A Barrs

Darrell J Kolomyski

Steven R Settles

In a microcontroller-based system that controls the operation of equipment such as lights and wipers in an automobile, overcurrent is detected by comparing the total current through the device with a stored level. If the detected current is excessive the devices are independently activated and the current through each device is compared with stored current level for the device. A device having an overcurrent condition is inactivated and the remaining devices are activated.

Monitoring and protecting drives controlled with microcontroller

Loads, such as power relays controlling wipers, windows and lights are connected to an automobile battery through individual transistor drives that are controlled by a microcontroller. A switch, connected to the microcontroller, is operated to activate each drive. The microcontroller checks the load characteristic when each drive is activated and inactivated. When the load is inactivated, it is part of a resistance network producing a test voltage that is digitally converted and supplied to the microcontroller, which compares the test voltage to a stored voltage to determine if the load is correct. An analog multiplexer is controlled by the microcontroller to select the voltage produced for each load.

Monitoring the characteristics of a load driver controlled by a

A memory mirror system having a mirror 19, two constant speed motors 16,18 each controlling an axis of mirror movement, position feedback signals 26,28 from each motor, switch inputs 12, a diagnostic push button 40, and an electronic controller 10, is provided with a diagnostic procedure after a self-test push button 40 has been depressed by automatically driving the mirror to the center of movement when manual movement is not requested, thereby allowing system level failures, such as position feedback sensor failures, to be detected quickly by visual inspection of mirror movement as the mirror attemps to return to the origin, without altering existing memory settings or disconnecting the controller 10 from the system. When manual movement is not requested for a predetermined period of time, the diagnostic procedure is prevented from running.

Automatic mirror repositioning system diagnostics

A memory mirror system having a mirror 19 mounted within concave-shaped mirror movement boundaries, two constant speed motors 16, 18 each controlling an axis of mirror movement, position feedback signals 26,28 from each motor, push button inputs 12 and an electronic controller 10, is provided with automatic mirror repositioning that drives the mirror from a start position to a memory position in minimum time without colliding with any mirror movement boundaries by driving the mirror position toward the target along the axis farthest from the target and driving the mirror toward the origin along the other axis until the mirror position is within a predetermined safe region along that axis or the current position is 45 degrees from the target, then driving the mirror in the direction of the target along an axis for which the distance to the target is not less than the distance to the target along the other axis or in which the direction toward the target is also toward the origin.

Automatic repositioning of mirrors mounted within concave-shaped

A 'memory' mirror system having a mirror 19 mounted within convex-shaped mirror movement boundaries, two constant speed motors 16,18 each controlling an axis of mirror movement, position feedback signals 26,28 from each motor, push button inputs 12 and an electronic controller 10, is provided with automatic mirror repositioning that drives the mirror from a start position to a 'memory' position in minimum time without colliding with any mirror movement boundaries by turning ON the motor, in the direction of the target, whose movement axis is the greatest distance from the target and turning ON the other motor, in the direction of the target, if the direction toward the target is also toward the center of the mirror movement pattern (i.e., away from the nearest boundary).

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Clawson, MI, United States of America

John A Barrs