Digital speed control circuit for a DC motor

Claim 1

A speed control circuit for a DC motor having an armature, comprising: a pulse transmitter connected to and driven by the motor to produce a binary speed signal proportional to motor speed; evaluation and control means connected to said pulse transmitter, including storage means storing a reference value corresponding to a reference speed, and operable during constant speed of the motor to generate a first control signal as an output signal representing the difference between the pulse width of the binary speed signal and the stored reference value, the first control signal representing a desired current value and desired current direction through the armature; said storage means further storing reference values representing pluralities of the pulses of the binary speed signal, and said evaluation and control means operable during acceleration and deceleration to generate a second control signal as an output signal representing the difference between the pulse duration of the binary speed signal and a stored path-dependent reference value representing the plurality of pulses of the binary speed signal; switching means connected between said evaluation and control means and the motor and operable in response to the output signals of said evaluation and control means to set the current and current direction through the armature of the motor, the output signal comprising a control word and an operational sign signal, and said switching means comprising a digital-to-analog converter connected to said evaluation and control means to receive said control word and form a reference voltage, and a current regulator connected between said digital-to-analog converter and the motor and connected to receive the operational sign signal, said current regulator responsive to the reference voltage and the operational sign signal to set the current value and current direction for the motor.