Crossed coil meter driving device having a plurality of input parameters

• US 5,051,688 A
• Filed: 12/11/1990
• Issued: 09/24/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kansei Company, ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Kanto Seiki Company Limited, ROHM Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Masakazu, Narita, Masanori, Ishizuka, Keizi, Murase, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Wieder, Kenneth A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): EDMONDS, WARREN
• Application Number:
  US07/625,927
• Time in Patent Office: 287 Days
• Field of Search: 324/140 R, 324/140 D, 324/143, 324/144, 324/146, 324/147, 324/151 R, 324/151 A, 324/154 R, 324/160, 324/166, 324/167, 324/115, 324/111
• US Class Current: 324/143
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 7/06 moving-iron type

Abstract

A meter driving device for indicating angular positions corresponding to input values. The device includes a memory for storing previously given input values, angular directions corresponding to the input values, and coefficients representative of the grades of change in angular direction depending on the change between adjacent two input values, as parameters. Based on these parameters and the frequency of input pulse signal giving the input values, the angular direction corresponding thereto is calculated. The angular direction signal receives PWM process and then supplies to a pair of crossed exciting coils via a driver. During a predetermined time period from the turning ON and OFF of the power source, the transference of the angular direction signals to the driver is shut out by logic gates, thereby inhibiting malfunctional meter indication.

Claims

1. A meter driving device for driving a cross coil meter which indicates angular directions corresponding to input values, comprising:

(a) a clock generating means for generating basic clock signals;

(b) a frequency calculating means for calculating input pulse signal frequency which provides the input value for indicating the angular direction;

(c) a memory means for memorizing, as parameters, a plurality of input values Sm (m=1, 2, . . . ), angular directions θ

m corresponding to the input values Sm, and coefficients Rm representative of the grades of the change in angular direction depending on the change between adjacent two input values Sm and Sm+1 among the plurality of input values;

(d) a calculating means for calculating the angular direction corresponding to the input value, on the basis of the input pulse signal frequency obtained by said frequency calculating means and of the parameters read out from said memory means, and for outputting an angular direction signal;

(e) a driving means, having a power source, for energizing a first and a second mutually crossed coils based on the outputted angular direction signal.

2. A meter driving device according to claim 1, wherein said calculating means executes the calculation by the formula noted below to obtain an angular direction θ

, based on the input pulse signal frequency S obtained by said frequency calculating means, and outputs sin θ

or cos θ

as an angular direction signal;

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">=θ

m+Rm*(S-Sm)

where Sm≦

S<

Sm+1.

3. A meter driving device according to claim 2, wherein said frequency calculating means further comprising:

(i) a frequency divider for dividing the frequency of the basic clock signal from said clock generating means;

(ii) a cycle detecting circuit for counting the number of the basic clock signal pulses per cycle of the input pulse signal.

4. A meter driving device according to claim 3, wherein said frequency divider divides the basic clock signal frequency at a frequency-division rate corresponding to the minimum cycle of the input pulse signal.

5. A meter driving device according to claim 4, wherein said driving means further comprising:

(i) a PWM (pulse width modulation) circuit for PWM-modulating the angular direction signal from said calculating means;

(ii) a first and a second drivers for applying the PWM-modulated angular direction signals to the first and second exiciting coils respectively.

6. A meter driving device according to claim 1, wherein said meter driving device further comprising:

(i) an output control means for outputting an indication-authorizing signal or an indication-inhibiting signal upon expiring a predetermined time period from when the power source of said driving means turned ON or OFF respectively;

(ii) logic gate means for supplying the angular direction signal to said driving means only when the output from said output control means is the indication-authorized signal.