Motor control for a stepping motor

Claim 2

A motor control for a stepping motor having a plurality of winding sets with the sets having a selected number of possible combinations of energization comprising an input on which command pulses are received, a counter having a different count for each possible combination, means for individually energizing each set, decoding means connected between the counter and the energizing means to energize the sets a different combination for each different count and means for directing command pulses to the control to have each pulse change the count of the counter by a number that is selected from at least two different available numbers to thereby change the combination of the sets that are energized.

Claim 3

The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the motor is energized to move in one direction for each input pulse according to the preselected sequence, in which the motor is energized to move in the other direction for each input pulse according to a reversal of the preselected sequence, in which the constant number change of the counter for movement in one direction is different from the constant number change for movement in the other direction.

Claim 4

The invention as defined in claim 2 in which the preselected sequence has a maximum number of combinations of set energizations, in which the maximum count of the counter equals the maximum number of combinations, in which the constant number change of the counter count in the other direction is the difference between the maximum counter count and the constant number change for movement in the one direction.

Claim 5

The invention as defiNed in claim 2 in which the sets are energizable according to a second preselected sequence of combinations and in which the count of the counter is changed another constant number for each successive combination of the second sequence.

Claim 6

The invention as defined in claim 4 in which the second sequence has twice the number of combinations as the first sequence and in which the constant number change in the counter count for each input pulse for the second sequence is one half the constant number change for each input pulse for the first sequence.

Claim 7

The invention as defined in claim 2 in which the counter is a spillover counter and in which a constant number is added to the counter for each successive combination to produce the constant change.

Claim 8

The invention as defined in claim 1 in which the counter includes a plurality of bistable means and a multi bit adder means, there being one bistable means associated with each bit and in which each bistable means is made to assume the state of its associated bit in the adder means for each input pulse.

Claim 9

The invention as defined in claim 7 in which the decoding means includes a diode resistance matrix connected to sense the output of the bistable means and in which the matrix decodes the states to effect combination of set energization dictated by the states.

Claim 10

A motor control for a stepping motor having a plurality of winding sets with the sets having a selected number of possible combinations of energizations and being energized according to a desired sequence comprising an input on which command pulses are received with counting means including a plurality of flip-flops with the possible combination of states of the flip-flops being at least equal to the possible combination of energizations, said counting means further including an adder with the adder having a plurality of different states at least equal to the number of combinations of energizations, means for causing the states of the flip-flops to be changed to the states of the adder with each command pulse, means for causing each different state of the flip-flops to produce a different combination of energization of the winding sets and means for causing the adder to assume the state required for the next energization in the sequence for each change to a different state of the flip-flops.

Claim 11

A motor control for a stepping motor having a plurality of winding sets with the sets having a selected number of possible combinations of energizations and being energized according to a desired sequence comprising an input on which command pulses are received with counting means including a plurality of flip-flops with the possible combination of states of the flip-flops being at least equal to the possible combination of energizations, said counting means further including an adder with the adder having a plurality of different states at least equal to the number of combinations of energizations, means for causing the states of the flip-flops to be changed to the states of the adder with each command pulse, means for causing each different state of the flip-flops to produce a different combination of energization of the winding sets and means for causing the adder to assume the state required for the next energization in the sequence for each change to a different state of the flip-flops.