Patent ID: 7070194

Claim:
A control system for operating a powered running board movably mounted on an automotive vehicle for deployment between a retracted position and an operative position, comprising: a control module in operative communication with a drive mechanism for powering the movement of said running board, said control module being operative to send a drive signal to said drive mechanism to effect operation of said drive mechanism to cause movement of said running board, said control module further being operative to receive a position signal from said drive mechanism indicative of the deployment position of said running board; a memory module operatively connected to said control module to store a previously defined deployment position, said control module being operable to stop the operation of said drive mechanism when said position signal is indicative of said running board being moved to said previously defined deployment position; and a position switch for manually moving said running board to a desired position, said control module storing said desired position in said memory module for subsequent deployment as said previously defined deployment position.