Abstract: A device (100, 200?, 200?, 300, 400) for detecting the contact between a user and a steering wheel (9) of a vehicle, the device (100, 200?, 200?, 300, 400) comprising: an electrically insulating support (10); a first electrically conductive track (101, 201, 301, 401) fastened to the support (10) and comprising a plurality of first peaks (11) alternated with a plurality of first troughs (12) along a direction (D), wherein the first track (101, 201, 301, 401) is distributed over the support so that the surface of the first track (101, 201, 301, 401) adapted to come into contact with a user's hand decreases along said direction (D).

Abstract: A heating and capacitive sensing device for a steering wheel of a motor vehicle. The device includes a support made from an electrically insulating flexible material to which at least an electrically conductive first track and at least an electrically conductive second track are fixed. An electronic control unit including a capacitance reading module is electrically connected to the at least one second track. The electronic control unit is configured to control the at least one first track and at least one second track, so that the at least one first track is suited to generate heat for heating the steering wheel, and at least one second track is configured to operate as a capacitive sensor means by sending capacitance values to the electronic control unit.

Abstract: A method and device for detecting the amount of limescale that accumulates in liquid heating devices, in particular for heating water. The method is capable of establishing, through simple temperature measurements, if the amount of limescale deposited on the heater element of a device for heating liquids is such as to jeopardize the correct operation thereof and provides the user with information on the need to clean the aforesaid heater.

Abstract: A device (100, 200?, 200?, 300, 400) for detecting the contact between a user and a steering wheel (9) of a vehicle, the device (100, 200?, 200?, 300, 400) comprising: an electrically insulating support (10); a first electrically conductive track (101, 201, 301, 401) fastened to the support (10) and comprising a plurality of first peaks (11) alternated with a plurality of first troughs (12) along a direction (D), wherein the first track (101, 201, 301, 401) is distributed over the support so that the surface of the first track (101, 201, 301, 401) adapted to come into contact with a user's hand decreases along said direction (D).

Abstract: A heating and capacitive sensing device for a steering wheel of a motor vehicle. The device includes a support made from an electrically insulating flexible material to which at least an electrically conductive first track and at least an electrically conductive second track are fixed. An electronic control unit including a capacitance reading module is electrically connected to the at least one second track. The electronic control unit is configured to control the at least one first track and at least one second track, so that the at least one first track is suited to generate heat for heating the steering wheel, and at least one second track is configured to operate as a capacitive sensor means by sending capacitance values to the electronic control unit.

Abstract: A method for controlling in an open-loop voltage mode a DC motor driven through a power amplifier includes generating a control voltage for the DC motor to be input to the power amplifier based upon a difference between an external command and a correction signal, and amplifying the control voltage for generating a replica of an output of the power amplifier. A model of the DC motor is defined based upon electrical parameters of the DC motor. The method further includes estimating current flowing in the DC motor based upon the replica of the output of the power amplifier and the model of the DC motor, and generating the correction signal proportional to the estimated current.

Abstract: A method for estimating resistance of a DC motor for positioning read/write heads of a data storage disk is provided. The DC motor is controlled in an open-loop voltage mode through a motor controller input with a first signal for compensating positioning of the read/write heads onto the data storage disk. The first signal is generated based upon a position error signal representing a difference between a position of the read/write heads and a center of a track to be read. The method includes monitoring the first signal during a read operation of data being stored on the data storage disk, and estimating the resistance based upon spectral components of the first signal.

Abstract: A method for controlling in an open-loop voltage mode a DC motor driven through a power amplifier includes generating a control voltage for the DC motor to be input to the power amplifier based upon a difference between an external command and a correction signal, and amplifying the control voltage for generating a replica of an output of the power amplifier. A model of the DC motor is defined based upon electrical parameters of the DC motor. The method further includes estimating current flowing in the DC motor based upon the replica of the output of the power amplifier and the model of the DC motor, and generating the correction signal proportional to the estimated current.

Abstract: A method for estimating resistance of a DC motor for positioning read/write heads of a data storage disk is provided. The DC motor is controlled in an open-loop voltage mode through a motor controller input with a first signal for compensating positioning of the read/write heads onto the data storage disk. The first signal is generated based upon a position error signal representing a difference between a position of the read/write heads and a center of a track to be read. The method includes monitoring the first signal during a read operation of data being stored on the data storage disk, and estimating the resistance based upon spectral components of the first signal.

Abstract: A method of driving an electrical load having a complex electrical impedance, such as a voice-coil motor controlling the position of a read/write head in a data storage disk drive system, comprises providing a voltage-mode driver generating drive signals for the electrical load in response to drive commands. Compensated commands for the voltage-mode driver are generated filtering the drive commands, compensating for a phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the electrical load. The voltage-mode drive thus emulates a conventional, but more expensive, current-mode drive. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises estimating characteristic parameters of the electrical load during the operation, and adapting the filtering to the estimated characteristic parameters. The estimation comprises implementing a Kalman filtering algorithm, particularly an extended Kalman filtering.

Abstract: A method of driving an electrical load having a complex electrical impedance, such as a voice-coil motor controlling the position of a read/write head in a data storage disk drive system, comprises providing a voltage-mode driver generating drive signals for the electrical load in response to drive commands. Compensated commands for the voltage-mode driver are generated filtering the drive commands, compensating for a phase shift between electrical quantities delivered to the electrical load. The voltage-mode drive thus emulates a conventional, but more expensive, current-mode drive. In a preferred embodiment, the method comprises estimating characteristic parameters of the electrical load during the operation, and adapting the filtering to the estimated characteristic parameters. The estimation comprises implementing a Kalman filtering algorithm, particularly an extended Kalman filtering.