Patent ID: 8751190

Claim:
A method for ascertaining a rotational direction of a rotating body, comprising: measuring, by a processor, in each of multiple measurements, one rotational direction and one rotational speed value indicating the rotational frequency of the rotating body; comparing, by the processor, the rotational speed values of the multiple measurements to each other; and ascertaining, by the processor, the rotational direction of the rotating body based on the measured rotational directions and the comparison of the rotational speed values; wherein in each of the measurements, at least two acceleration sensors each measure a gravitational acceleration with a phase shift, and the rotational speed value and the rotational direction as ascertained from the values measured by the two acceleration sensors; wherein for multiple measurements recorded within a specified time period, intervals of the rotational speed values relative to each other are evaluated, and the rotational direction of the rotating body is ascertained based on the evaluation; and wherein in the evaluation of the intervals of the rotational speed values relative to each other, a most significant rotational speed value is ascertained, and the rotational direction assigned to the most significant rotational speed value is determined as the rotational direction of the rotating body.