Abstract: An apparatus of an automatic gearbox for generating a startup signal according to which starting of an engine, which interacts with the gearbox, is made possible or prevented. The apparatus having a position sensor (1) for detecting the position of a gearshift lever of the an automatic gearbox, and the position sensor (1) measuring distance and providing a measurement signal based on the distance measured. A transducer device (2) converts the measurement signal, from the position sensor, into a digital signal. A hardware circuit (5) generates a startup signal from the digital signal provided by the transducer device.

Abstract: The invention relates to a motor vehicle steering column unit consisting of a steering column which can be electromechanically adjusted in the longitudinal direction of and/or in relation to the inclination thereof. The aim of the invention is to provide a steering column unit which can be easily adapted to various types of vehicles and which can be configured, during the manufacturing process thereof, in a variety of manners with respect to the functionality thereof, said steering column unit being clearly defined systemically in relation to other components of the motor vehicle.

Abstract: An electronic control device for integration into mechanical systems is described and provided with an operating program hierarchically broken down into a plurality of program levels. Some of the program levels are non-reprogrammable and some are reprogrammable. In this manner the flexibility of the electronic control device is greatly enhanced.

Abstract: The process has an open control loop which detects the total current intensity of actuators and supplies it to a microprocessor. In a modulation mode the microprocessor successively generates at its output a modulated set value signal for each actuator, the set value signals lying below the response level of the process. The microprocessor then determines compensation values from the total current signal with which the set values of the actuators are corrected. The (regulating) speed of a control is thus combined with the accuracy of a regulation. The hardware expenditure (costs) is minimized thanks to the total current detection instead of the individual current detection.