Patent ID: 11904928
Assignee: NIDEC MOTORS &ACTUATORS (GERMANY) GMBH
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 0:
1. A method of operating a steering column of a motor vehicle including a height adjuster with an electric motor and a controller, the controller driving the electric motor to raise and lower along an adjustment path of a steering assembly connected to the steering column, the method comprising:
effecting control of the electric motor with the controller by pulse width modulation; and
adjusting an electrical voltage by varying a duty cycle of the pulse width modulation in such a way that the raising and/or lowering is carried out over the adjustment path at a constant adjustment speed; wherein
during a first start-up of the height adjuster an initialization includes:
moving the height adjuster from an uppermost end position to a lowermost end position and back with a constant duty factor and determining a load condition of the electric motor; and
determining a duty cycle of the pulse width modulation to control the electric motor as a function of a position of the height adjuster and an adjustment direction to adjust the steering assembly at a constant adjustment speed as a function of a load curve.