Patent ID: 8120298

Claim:
A device, comprising: a brushless DC motor including at least one winding and a permanent magnetic rotor mounted for rotation about an axis; a load member connected to the rotor for rotation about the axis; a control circuit operatively coupled to the at least one winding to selectively provide current to the at least one winding and thereby cause both the rotor and the load member to rotate about the axis; and wherein the control circuit provides the current in response to a control value such that: if the magnitude of the control value is in a range of values associated with a fault condition, the control circuit sets the current to a predetermined value, wherein the rotor and the load member rotate at a nonzero speed in response to the current, and if the magnitude of the control value is between a nonzero first threshold value and a second threshold value greater than the first threshold value, the control circuit stops rotation of the rotor and the load member.