Electronic speed control programming

• US 7,740,516 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pivot-Castle, LLC
• Original Assignee: Castle Creations, Incorporated (Pivot International, Inc.)
• Inventors: del Castillo, Patrick D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Laneau; Ronald
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARPER, TRAMAR YONG
• Application Number:
  US11/361,822
• Publication Number:
  US 20060211328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 446/6
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 30/04 using wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416

Abstract

A method and apparatus for programming an electronic speed controller for a radio controlled model including a programmer for interfacing a personal computer to the RX port of the electronic speed controller. The electronic speed controller software may be updated, modified or replaced through the RX port.

Claims

1. One or more computer readable media having microprocessor-usable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for controlling a radio controlled vehicle having a battery and a motor, said method comprising:

enabling an electronic speed controller having a microprocessor and a radio receiver port located in the radio controlled vehicle to perform;

applying power received from the battery to the motor of the radio controlled vehicle by controlling timing and duration of voltage pulses based on updated parameters stored in the microprocessor,

wherein said parameters are updated by monitoring a wired interface from the radio receiver port, by determining a signal is present indicating a programming mode, and by communicating through said radio receiver port wired to a personal computer to receive replacement parameters from the personal computer.

2. The one or more computer readable media of claim 1, wherein said replacement parameters comprise one or more of soft start, throttle type, brake type, motor settings, pulse frequency and rotation direction.

3. The one or more computer readable media of claim 1, further comprising receiving command instructions including instructions operable to perform functions comprising one or more of communications, motor control, erase flash memory, product improvement, product upgrade and reconfiguration of motor control application.

4. The one or more computer readable media of claim 1, wherein said radio receiver port comprises a bidirectional line.

5. The computer readable media of claim 1 wherein said radio receiver port is a three wire interface, and wherein one of the three wires is the bidirectional line.

6. The computer readable media of claim 1 wherein said determining occurs at boot-up of said microprocessor.

7. One or more computer readable media having microprocessor-usable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method comprising:

enabling an electronic speed controller having a microprocessor and a radio receiver port located in a radio controlled vehicle to perform the steps of;

monitoring a wired interface from the radio receiver port,

determining a signal is present indicating a programming mode,

updating parameters of microprocessor firmware by communicating through a wired connection of said radio receiver port with a personal computer to receive replacement parameters from the personal computer, and

utilizing said microprocessor firmware and said replacement parameters to apply power received through a battery to a motor of the radio controlled vehicle by controlling timing and duration of voltage pulses.

8. The one or more computer readable media of claim 7, wherein said replacement parameters comprise one or more of soft start, throttle type, brake type, motor settings, pulse frequency and rotation direction.

9. The one or more computer readable media of claim 7, wherein said radio receiver port is a three wire interface, and wherein one of the three wires is the bidirectional line.