Patent ID: 7183938
Filing Date: 2007-02-27
Classification: B60Q

Abstract:
1. A rotating beacon system comprising: a beacon control circuit; a first rotating beacon conductively connected to the beacon control circuit; a first angular position sensing device including a first magnetic strip attached to the first rotating beacon and a first magnetic field sensor positioned with respect to the first magnetic strip and adapted to sense a varying magneto resistance value of the first angular position indicator as the first angular position indicator rotates past the first magnetic field sensor and output a first angular position signal representative of an angular position of the first rotating beacon; a second rotating beacon conductively connected to the beacon control circuit; a second angular position sensing device including a second magnetic strip attached to the second rotating beacon and a second magnetic field sensor positioned with respect to the second magnetic strip and adapted to sense a varying magneto resistance value of the second angular position indicator as the second angular position indicator rotates past the second magnetic field sensor and output a second angular position signal representative of an angular position of the second rotating beacon; the beacon control circuit including a controller, a square wave signal generator and a pulse width modulated current generator, the beacon control circuit connected to the two or more angular position sensing devices, the beacon control circuit adapted to output a synchronizing signal, the square wave signal generator configured to output a square wave signal and the pulse width modulated current generator adapted to modulate a duty cycle of the square wave signal producing a first pulse width modulated current conducted to the first rotating beacon, driving and controlling the angular speed of the first rotating beacon, and a second pulse width modulated current conducted to the second rotating beacon, driving and controlling the angular speed of the second rotating beacon.