EP0327989B1 - Circuit de commande d'un moteur pas-à-pas, notamment pour montre - Google Patents

Circuit de commande d'un moteur pas-à-pas, notamment pour montre Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0327989B1
EP0327989B1 EP89101879A EP89101879A EP0327989B1 EP 0327989 B1 EP0327989 B1 EP 0327989B1 EP 89101879 A EP89101879 A EP 89101879A EP 89101879 A EP89101879 A EP 89101879A EP 0327989 B1 EP0327989 B1 EP 0327989B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
signal
circuit
voltage
coil
pulses
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP89101879A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP0327989A1 (fr
Inventor
Yves Guérin
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ETA SA Manufacture Horlogere Suisse
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Eta SA Fabriques dEbauches
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G04—HOROLOGY
    • G04C—ELECTROMECHANICAL CLOCKS OR WATCHES
    • G04C3/00—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means
    • G04C3/14—Electromechanical clocks or watches independent of other time-pieces and in which the movement is maintained by electric means incorporating a stepping motor
    • G04C3/143—Means to reduce power consumption by reducing pulse width or amplitude and related problems, e.g. detection of unwanted or missing step

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a control circuit for a stepping motor, in particular a watch, the motor comprising a rotor and a coil magnetically coupled to the rotor. It relates more particularly to a circuit supplying the coil, from a supply voltage source, driving pulses of determined duration, the average voltage and the energy of which practically do not depend on variations in the voltage d 'food.
  • a control circuit comprising means for measuring the supply voltage by comparing it to a reference voltage, and five predetermined programs for interrupting the current of the driving pulse.
  • the admissible variation of the supply voltage is divided into five ranges and each program corresponds to one of the programs, the programs being established so that the average voltage is equal to the value required in the middle of each range.
  • the adjustment is therefore discontinuous and therefore, within a range, the average voltage does not remain constant. It follows that at the lower limit of the range, the motor could lose steps, its torque being reduced, while at the upper limit its performance cannot be optimum.
  • a more advanced control circuit having the advantage of continuously adjusting the average voltage, is described in patent application EP-O 154889. To this end, it includes a relaxation oscillator creating interruptions in the driving pulse. , the duration of these interruptions being determined by variations in the supply voltage so as to keep the average voltage of the driving pulse constant. Provided that the oscillator produces the required interruptions, this circuit provides precise adjustment.
  • the two circuits which have just been described thus comprise adjustment means which, by creating interruptions of the current passing through the coil during the driving pulse, make it possible to maintain constant the average voltage appearing across the terminals of the coil, and this whatever or the value of the supply voltage.
  • This is an open loop setting in which the output quantity, here the average voltage, is directly determined by the input quantity, that is to say the supply voltage.
  • this type of adjustment can only give good results insofar as the values of the elements of the circuit correspond exactly to the specifications, deviations, even small, of certain critical elements which can cause large deviations of the output quantity. This is of course an important drawback.
  • the main object of the invention is to provide a control circuit delivering, to a stepping motor, driving pulses having a constant average voltage, and which does not have this drawback.
  • control circuit according to the invention is that it is based on the principle of closed-loop adjustment, the interruptions in the driving pulse being in fact determined by the voltage at the terminals of the coil and not, as in prior art, by the supply voltage.
  • this circuit performs the control of an output quantity, that is the average voltage across the terminals of the coil, to a reference quantity, and it is well known that with such an adjustment the output quantity is very little influenced either by external disturbances, such as variations in the supply voltage or temperature for example, or by variations in the values of the elements of the circuit.
  • the circuit according to the invention is, compared to known similar circuits, both easier to manufacture and less sensitive to various disturbances.
  • control circuit will be described in the case where it is associated with a stepping motor of a watch, this application in fact highlighting its advantages particularly well, but of course this circuit can also be used with profit in many other areas where current consumption and operational reliability play a decisive role.
  • FIG. 1 An analog electronic watch, well known in the prior art, is shown in Figure 1.
  • an oscillator circuit 1 the frequency of which is stabilized by a quartz resonator 2, providing a reference signal, generally of 32768 Hz.
  • This signal is applied to the input of a frequency divider 3 which delivers at its output a time base signal S3 of 1 Hz to a control circuit 4 to which a stepping motor 5 is connected.
  • This motor which comprises a rotor, a coil magnetically coupled to the rotor, and two terminals connected to the coil, drives an analog time display 6 comprising hands. Finally, a battery 7 supplies, under a supply voltage Vb, the energy necessary for the operation of the watch.
  • the control circuit 4 comprises a formatter circuit 8, and a drive circuit 9.
  • the formatter circuit supplies, in response to the time base signal S3 and possibly to other signals S′3 produced by the frequency divider 3, a signal S8, of the same frequency as the signal S3, formed of a series of control pulses I 8, all of these pulses having the same duration, typically 7.8 ms.
  • the signals S3 and S8 are represented in FIG. 8.
  • the drive circuit 9, for its part, comprises switching means which are represented, for the sake of simplification, in the form of a contact X. The position of this contact is determined by the signal S8, using means not shown, so that it is closed during the pulses I 8 and open between these pulses, while the amplitude of this signal is zero.
  • contact X is connected to one terminal of battery 7, while the other terminal of this contact is connected by a connection 10 to one terminal of the motor 5, the other terminal of the battery and the other terminal of the motor being connected together through the ground 11 of the watch.
  • a contact X ′ controlled by the signal S8 so as to be open when the contact X is closed and closed during at least part of the opening time of the contact X, can still advantageously be arranged between the connection 10 and a connection 10 'connected to ground 11.
  • the contacts X and X' are actually electronic switching devices, such as transistors or transmission gates.
  • control circuit 4 The operation of the control circuit 4 is as follows.
  • the formatter circuit 8 produces a control pulse I 8 during which the contacts X and X ′ are closed and open respectively.
  • the terminals of the motor 5 are connected directly to the battery 7 and the motor then receives a current supply pulse, generating at the terminals of the coil a driving pulse I m of voltage Vm, in response at which the rotor takes a step.
  • the duration and the amplitude of this pulse are respectively equal to that of the pulse I 8 and to the supply voltage Vb.
  • the end of the driving pulse is given by the opening of contact X and the closing of contact X ′. This last contact, by short-circuiting the motor, dampens the oscillations of the rotor.
  • the operation of a stepping motor is very sensitive to the amplitude of the driving pulse. Therefore, if the battery 7 is replaced by another having a different voltage, the motor, even if it continues to operate, will have less reliability and an efficiency not corresponding to the optimum.
  • control circuit 14 shown in FIG. 2, comprising, in addition to the formator 8 and driver 9 circuits already described, a circuit for setting 15.
  • This latter circuit receives the voltage Vb as well as the signal S8, and it includes means, not shown, for measuring the voltage Vb by comparing it. at a reference voltage Vr supplied by a voltage source 16.
  • This source 16 is preferably a voltage stabilizing circuit of known type, supplied by the battery 7 and supplying the voltage Vr whose value remains constant despite variations in the voltage d Vb.
  • the adjustment circuit 15 is arranged so as to supply the drive circuit 9 with a signal S15 formed by a sequence of pulses I 15, identical to the sequence of pulses I 8, each of the pulses I 15 comprising duration interruptions t15, as shown in Figure 9.
  • Each pulse I 15 thus contains a series of elementary pulses I ′15 of duration t′15 during which the contacts X and X ′ are closed and open respectively.
  • the duration t15 of the interruptions and their number or, equivalently, the durations t15 and t′15 are determined as a function of the supply voltage Vb so that, whatever the value of this voltage between given limits, l the average energy of the driving pulse I m or, which is practically equivalent, its average voltage, designated by Vo, remains substantially constant.
  • the average voltage Vo of the driving pulse I m will be independent of the supply voltage Vb.
  • such a circuit being very sensitive to the value of its constituent elements, if it has to meet severe requirements, its cost price will necessarily be high.
  • This circuit similar to the control circuit 14, thus comprises the circuits 8 and 9 already described, and an adjustment circuit 20 constituting the invention proper.
  • the circuit 20 is supplied by the voltage Vb and it includes a reference voltage source, similar to the source 16 already described, and an auxiliary input E. It receives on its main input the signal S8, and provides at its output a signal S20 to circuit 9.
  • Input E is also connected by means of a connection 21 to connection 10 to receive the voltage from the coil of motor 5, this voltage corresponding, during the closing of contact X, to that of l driving impulse I m.
  • the signal S20 has the same general form as the signal S15. It thus comprises a series of intermittent pulses I 20, of the same duration as the pulses I 8, each of the pulses I 20 comprising elementary pulses I ′ 20 of duration t′20 separated by interruptions of duration t20.
  • the adjustment circuit 20 is designed to determine the duration t20 of the interruptions and their number so that the difference between the average voltage Vo of the driving pulse I m and the reference voltage Vr is substantially zero.
  • the voltage Vr therefore plays the role of a reference value to which the average voltage Vo of the pulse is controlled, which is also the output quantity of the control circuit 19.
  • the control circuit 19 therefore makes it possible to solve in a particularly advantageous manner the problem of replacing the battery of one watch by another having a different voltage.
  • a circuit can find applications in many other fields than watchmaking, in fact everywhere where a stepping motor must operate in the best conditions while external parameters are likely to vary in large proportions. .
  • control circuit 19 The characteristics of the control circuit 19 according to the invention resulting essentially from those of the adjustment circuit 20, various embodiments of the latter circuit will now be described.
  • the reference 25 designates a differential amplifier whose inverting input is connected to the input E of the circuit to receive the driving pulse I m, that is ie the voltage Vm at the terminals of the coil, while the non-inverting input is connected to the voltage source 16 supplying the reference voltage Vr.
  • the output of amplifier 25 then supplies a signal S25 representative of the sign of the difference Vr-Vm.
  • a capacitor 26 of approximately 1 microfarad, this capacitor therefore being directly connected to the terminals of the motor 5.
  • a switching device schematically represented in the form of a contact Y.
  • the amplitude of the intermittent signal S20 is therefore zero or identical to that of signal S8.
  • the control of the contact Y is, for its part, supposed to be made directly by the signal S25, using means not shown, but within the reach of those skilled in the art, so that it is closed when Vr -Vm is positive, and open when Vr-Vm is negative.
  • the operation of the circuit of FIG. 4 is, under these conditions, the following.
  • the amplitude of the signal S20 is zero and the contact X open. Since the motor 5 is not connected to the battery 7, the amplitude of the driving pulse I m is zero and the capacitor 26 discharged. As Vr-Vm is then positive, the contact Y is closed. As soon as a control pulse I 8 appears, which is found in the signal S20, the contact X closes and the battery 7 supplies a current supply pulse, this current being distributed between the motor 5 and the capacitor 26.
  • the amplitude of the driving pulse I m of voltage Vm common to the motor and to the capacitor, then begins to increase and the motor rotor to turn.
  • the growth of the voltage Vm is very rapid and, as soon as it has exceeded the voltage Vr, that is to say after a time interval t′20, the contact Y opens and the amplitude of the signal S20 becomes zero, while the pulse I 8 is still present.
  • This causes the contact X to open and the current supplied by the battery 7 to be cut off. From this moment, it is the capacitor 26 which supplies the motor 5 with the current necessary for its operation, which lowers its voltage, equal to the amplitude of I m.
  • the contact Y closes, which also causes the contact X to close and the current flow through the battery 7.
  • the signal S20 during the driving pulse, is therefore composed of a series of elementary pulses I ′20 of duration t′20, separated from each other by interruptions of duration t20. These durations can vary during a driving pulse because they depend on the current absorbed by the motor, this current being a function, for its part, of the instantaneous speed of the rotor.
  • the general shape of the signal S20 is therefore similar to that of the signal S15 already described and for this reason these signals are represented by the same curve in FIG. 9.
  • time interval t20 thus defined would however lead to extremely low values since a very small variation in the amplitude of I m may be sufficient to change the sign Vr-Vm. This would result in a high working frequency of the Y contact. Now, this contact is actually an electronic switching device, and as the consumption of such a device increases with the frequency of work, it could become excessive.
  • the time interval t20 it is advantageous to control the contact Y by the output signal S27 of a Schmitt flip-flop 27 whose input is connected to the output of the amplifier 25, the signal S25 varying continuously and in the opposite direction to the amplitude of I m when it is substantially equal to Vr.
  • the flip-flop 27 is designed so that its output signal takes a first state, causing the closing of the contact Y, when the signal S25 reaches, by increasing values, a first level, and a second state, causing the opening of the contact Y, when the signal S25 reaches, by decreasing values, a second level, lower than the first level.
  • t20 corresponds to the time it takes for the signal S25 to pass from the first to the second level, this time depending both on the gain of the amplifier 25 and on the difference separating these levels.
  • t′20 corresponds to the time necessary for the signal S25 to pass from the second to the first level.
  • the durations t20 and t′20 being known, the quotient of the duration of the control pulse I 8 by t20 + t′20 determines the number of interruptions of the signal S20.
  • the amplitude of I m at the terminals of the motor 5, during the control pulse I 8, thus keeps an average value Vo substantially constant, equal to Vr, while presenting slight instantaneous fluctuations.
  • An increase in the supply voltage Vb has the effect, under these conditions, of increasing the number of interruptions of the signal S20 by decreasing the duration t′20 of the elementary pulses I ′20, the duration t20 of the interruptions remaining substantially constant.
  • FIG. 5 A circuit not requiring a high-value capacitor is shown in FIG. 5.
  • the reference 16 designates the reference voltage source. This source is connected to the non-inverting input a differential amplifier 30, the inverting input of which is connected, through a resistor R, to terminal E of the adjustment circuit, this terminal receiving the driving pulse I m.
  • a capacitor C is also connected between the inverting input and the output of the amplifier 30 which delivers a signal S30. Under these conditions the amplifier 30, the resistor R and the capacitor C define an integrator circuit 31 with two inputs, this circuit receiving the voltages Vm and Vr and supplying the signal S30, depending on the time t and being equal to:
  • the RC time constant is not critical. It must be of the order of magnitude of the time intervals t20 and t′20 and a capacitor C of about 500 pF may be suitable.
  • the signal S30 thus represents, at each instant, the value of the integral of the difference Vr-Vm, and it must be considered as the equivalent of the signal S25 already described, also a function of Vr-Vm.
  • the contact Y Between the input and the output of the control circuit 20 of FIG. 5 is disposed the contact Y already described. As before, it will first be assumed that this contact is directly controlled by the signal S30, using means not shown but known per se, so that it is closed when the integral value of Vr-Vm is positive, and open when this value is negative. The contact Y therefore produces in the output signal S20 interruptions which, in this case, have the effect of maintaining, in the presence of external disturbances, the mean value of Vr-Vm substantially zero during a driving pulse.
  • a switching device represented in the form of a contact Z.
  • This contact connected to the terminals of the resistor R, is controlled by the signal supplied by an inverter 34 whose input receives the signal S8.
  • the contact is controlled, using means not shown, so that it is open during the pulses I 8 of the signal S8, and closed between these impulses.
  • This allows the integrator circuit 31 to be reset to an initial state before each driving pulse.
  • the contact Z could be arranged differently, for example at the terminals of the capacitor C, if the inverting input and the output of the amplifier 30 are at the same potential in the initial state.
  • the control circuit 19 supplies the motor 5 with driving pulses of voltage Vm, the maximum amplitude of which is equal to the supply voltage Vb, and the general shape, defined by the interruptions of duration t20, identical to the signal S20 shown in FIG. 9.
  • Vb the voltage
  • the time intervals t20, t′20 change so that the mean voltage Vo of the driving pulse I m remains constant.
  • FIG. 10 The typical shape of a driving pulse I m for two different supply voltages Vb is represented in FIG. 10, this figure showing in particular that the time interval t20 remains substantially constant, while the time interval t ′ 20 varies in opposite direction to Vb.
  • Vr-Vm The integration of Vr-Vm is done analogically in the adjustment circuits represented in FIGS. 5 and 6. However, it is well known that this integration operation can also be carried out digitally by means of a logic circuit. So it's at the scope of the skilled person to design a logic circuit capable of fulfilling the same function as these two analog circuits.
  • FIG. 7 An exemplary embodiment of such an adjustment circuit 20, using the digital technique, is shown in FIG. 7.
  • the input E of this circuit receiving the driving pulse I m, is connected to the input of a analog-digital converter 40.
  • This converter which also receives the signal S8 and a clock signal Cl, provides a logic output signal S40 representative of the digital value, at times determined by the signal Cl, of the amplitude by I m during the control pulses I 8 of the signal S8, this signal also resets the converter between the control pulses to zero.
  • the signal S40 is applied to the input of a microprocessor 41 which also receives the clock signal Cl.
  • the microprocessor is associated, in a known manner, a random access memory 42 and a read-only memory 43 containing, next to control instructions , the numerical value of the reference voltage Vr.
  • the output of the microprocessor 41 provides a signal S41 which controls the contact Y already described.
  • the adjustment circuit of FIG. 7 can be programmed so that the signal S41 plays an identical role to the signal S30 or to the signal S27 of the circuit of FIG. 5.
  • the two circuits, while being produced differently, are therefore able to fill the same function. This function could, of course, also be obtained by means of a wired logic circuit.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Control Of Stepping Motors (AREA)
  • Electromechanical Clocks (AREA)
EP89101879A 1988-02-12 1989-02-03 Circuit de commande d'un moteur pas-à-pas, notamment pour montre Expired - Lifetime EP0327989B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CH513/88A CH672043B5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1988-02-12 1988-02-12
CH513/88 1988-02-12

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0327989A1 EP0327989A1 (fr) 1989-08-16
EP0327989B1 true EP0327989B1 (fr) 1991-08-28

Family

ID=4188724

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP89101879A Expired - Lifetime EP0327989B1 (fr) 1988-02-12 1989-02-03 Circuit de commande d'un moteur pas-à-pas, notamment pour montre

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0327989B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (1) JP2905856B2 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH672043B5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE68900226D1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
HK (1) HK142594A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0704774B1 (en) * 1994-04-06 1999-08-25 Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. Electronic timepiece
JP5265821B1 (ja) 2013-01-28 2013-08-14 日本食品化工株式会社 油脂加工澱粉およびその製造方法
JP7066361B2 (ja) * 2017-09-21 2022-05-13 セイコーインスツル株式会社 時計、電子機器、および時計の制御方法

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE2944872C2 (de) * 1979-11-07 1981-11-19 Gebrüder Junghans GmbH, 7230 Schramberg Anordnung zur Steuerung eines Schrittmotors für batteriebetriebene Geräte
JPS5676078A (en) * 1979-11-28 1981-06-23 Citizen Watch Co Ltd Circuit for electronic time piece
US4383209A (en) * 1980-10-15 1983-05-10 Minnesota Mining And Manufacturing Company Control system for transducer positioning motor
JPS5979886A (ja) * 1982-10-29 1984-05-09 Rhythm Watch Co Ltd 時計のモ−タ駆動回路
CH653206GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) * 1983-09-16 1985-12-31

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JP2905856B2 (ja) 1999-06-14
JPH01243891A (ja) 1989-09-28
DE68900226D1 (de) 1991-10-02
CH672043B5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1990-04-30
EP0327989A1 (fr) 1989-08-16
HK142594A (en) 1994-12-23
CH672043GA3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1989-10-31

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