Systems and methods of creating handwheel systems that provide haptic feedback to human operators such that handwheels have a simulated rotational inertia that is greater than their actual rotational inertial. A motor is coupled with a handwheel, and a rotation detector monitors the angular position of the handwheel. A controller creates a closed-loop control system by receiving information from the rotation detector and using that information to control the motor. Various control systems are contemplated: a 2-state system that monitors angular position and angular velocity of a handwheel, and a 4-state system that monitors angular position and angular velocity of a handwheel as well as angular position and angular velocity of a virtual mass and then drives a motor to try to make the actual values match the virtual values.

A method for driving an electric motor includes providing two controllers for driving the electric motor. The two controllers use different control methods to drive the electric motor. The method further includes selecting a first controller of the controllers as a primary controller to drive the electric motor and a second controller of the controllers as a secondary controller, monitoring a control of the electric motor, and switching the control of the electric motor from the primary controller to the secondary controller if an error condition is detected in the control of the electric motor.

An apparatus includes a brushless permanent magnet motor assembly with rotatable shaft configured to be rotatable about a longitudinal shaft axis extending along the rotatable shaft. A rotatable disk assembly is rigidly mounted to the rotatable shaft in such a way that rotatable disk assembly and the rotatable shaft are concurrently rotatable. Electromagnets of the stator assembly are arranged to magnetically interact with permanent magnets of the rotatable disk assembly in such a way to produce continuous rotation about a longitudinal shaft axis. The electromagnets are switched by a digital controller using angular rotation data from an encoder positioned on the rotatable shaft. The switching of the electromagnets is achieved using a switching interface module with the switching sequence done in such a way that the electromechanical torque developed at the rotational shaft increases with the speed of the rotatable shaft.

A variable-speed controller for use with an electric device including: a variable resistor element having a variable resistor element contact surface; a membrane including a first membrane contact surface spaced-apart from the variable resistor element contact surface by a spacer element, and, a second membrane contact surface; a slider configured for slidable movement along the second membrane contact surface wherein responsive to the slider slidably moving along the second membrane contact surface, the first membrane contact surface is able to be urged into contact with the variable resistor element contact surface in a plurality of contact point configurations whereby the effective resistance of the variable resistor element is configured to change in response to the first membrane contact surface being urged into contact with the variable resistor element contact surface in each of the plurality of contact point configurations.

A window control device for a vehicle, and a method therefor, include a driving motor configured to drive a window glass, a first sensor configured to generate one pulse signal corresponding to a rotation of the driving motor, a second sensor configured to sense a voltage signal provided to the driving motor, and a controller configured to perform a safety function based on the one pulse signal generated by the first sensor and the voltage signal sensed by the second sensor. Although a fault occurs in one of two hall sensors, the window control device may normally perform the safety function.