Vehicle compass compensation
First Claim
1. A calibration method for calibrating a compass system suitable for use in a vehicle, said calibration method comprising:
- sampling data points of a magnetic field with a magneto-responsive sensor;
processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor via compass circuitry, wherein said compass circuitry comprises (a) an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to digital signals and (b) a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital signals to analog signals that are supplied to said magneto-responsive sensor for adjusting said magneto-responsive sensor;
adjusting said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within an operable range of said analog-to-digital converter via an initial calibration mode;
after completion of said initial calibration mode, processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to determine when said output signals are outside a range of said analog-to-digital converter; and
adjusting an output of said digital-to-analog converter to reposition said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within said range of said analog-to-digital converter.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A calibration method for calibrating a compass system suitable for use in a vehicle includes sampling data points of a magnetic field with a magneto-responsive sensor and processing output signals of the sensor via compass circuitry. The compass circuitry includes an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog signals of the sensor to digital signals and a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital signals to analog signals that are supplied to the sensor for adjusting the sensor. The output signals of the sensor are adjusted to be within an operable range of an analog-to-digital converter via an initial calibration mode. After completion of the initial calibration mode, output signals of the sensor are processed to determine when the output signals are outside a range of the analog-to-digital converter. An output of a digital-to-analog converter is adjusted to reposition the output signals of the sensor to be within the range of the analog-to-digital converter.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A calibration method for calibrating a compass system suitable for use in a vehicle, said calibration method comprising:
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sampling data points of a magnetic field with a magneto-responsive sensor; processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor via compass circuitry, wherein said compass circuitry comprises (a) an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to digital signals and (b) a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital signals to analog signals that are supplied to said magneto-responsive sensor for adjusting said magneto-responsive sensor; adjusting said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within an operable range of said analog-to-digital converter via an initial calibration mode; after completion of said initial calibration mode, processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to determine when said output signals are outside a range of said analog-to-digital converter; and adjusting an output of said digital-to-analog converter to reposition said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within said range of said analog-to-digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A calibration method for calibrating a compass system suitable for use in a vehicle, said calibration method comprising:
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sampling data points of a magnetic field with a magneto-responsive sensor, wherein said magneto-responsive sensor comprises a first axis sensing element and a second axis sensing element, and wherein one of said first axis sensing element and said second axis sensing element is generally aligned with a direction of travel of a vehicle equipped with said magneto-responsive sensor, and wherein sampling data points comprises sensing the Earth magnetic field and a deviating magnetic field via said magneto-responsive sensor, and wherein said method comprises adjusting said magneto-responsive sensor to substantially nullify the deviating magnetic field; processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor via compass circuitry, wherein said compass circuitry comprises (a) an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to digital signals and (b) a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital signals to analog signals that are supplied to said magneto-responsive sensor for adjusting said magneto-responsive sensor; adjusting said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within an operable range of said analog-to-digital converter via an initial calibration mode utilizing an assumed value of the Earth magnetic field; after completion of said initial calibration mode, processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to determine when said output signals are outside a range of said analog-to-digital converter; and adjusting an output of said digital-to-analog converter to reposition said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within said range of said analog-to-digital converter. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A calibration method for calibrating a compass system suitable for use in a vehicle, said calibration method comprising:
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sampling data points of a magnetic field with a magneto-responsive sensor, wherein said magneto-responsive sensor comprises one of a magneto-inductive sensor, a magneto-resistive sensor, a magneto-capacitive sensor, and a flux gate sensor; processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor via compass circuitry, wherein said compass circuitry comprises (a) an analog-to-digital converter for converting analog signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to digital signals and (b) a digital-to-analog converter for converting digital signals to analog signals that are supplied to said magneto-responsive sensor for adjusting said magneto-responsive sensor; adjusting said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within an operable range of said analog-to-digital converter via an initial calibration mode; after completion of said initial calibration mode, processing output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to determine when said output signals are outside a range of said analog-to-digital converter; adjusting an output of said digital-to-analog converter to reposition said output signals of said magneto-responsive sensor to be within said range of said analog-to-digital converter; and displaying directional heading information responsive to said compass circuitry. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification