Claw-pole stepper motor with built-in drive chip
The claw-pole stepper motor with a built-in driver chip addresses high costs and noise issues by integrating the drive control circuit, using sinusoidal current, and stabilizing rotation with a reduction gear assembly, resulting in reliable, low-noise operation.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2025600107U
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Utility models
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-02-20
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-13
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-23
- Estimated Expiration
- 2033-12-13
AI Technical Summary
Current claw-pole stepper motors in household appliances have high production costs, unreliable connections, and generate significant noise and vibration due to rapid current changes and gear imbalances, which are exacerbated by mass production errors.
A claw-pole stepper motor with a built-in driver chip that integrates the motor drive control circuit, uses sinusoidal current drive, and reduces the number of wire harnesses, incorporates a two-pin structure for coil winding, and employs a reduction gear assembly to stabilize rotation and reduce noise.
The integrated drive chip reduces production costs, improves connection reliability, minimizes electromagnetic interference, and significantly decreases noise and vibration, enhancing motor stability and efficiency.
Smart Images
Figure 0003254374000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present invention relates to a claw-pole stepper motor with a built-in driver chip. [Background technology]
[0002] In the prior art, the claw-pole stepping motor used in household appliances has its chip located on the main control circuit board of the appliance, and its general driving method is to occupy four IO ports of the CPU and use Darlington transistors for driving. The connection from the main control board of the appliance to the motor body is generally made by a five-wire method, which results in a relatively high cost for the wire harness from the main control board of the appliance to the motor body and a relatively low reliability for the entire connection.
[0003] In addition, the drive method for claw-pole stepping motors currently used in household appliances is generally a 4-phase 8-step method or a 4-phase 4-step method, in which a square-wave voltage is directly supplied according to the step sequence. The pulse frequency is generally between tens and hundreds of hertz, and when the phase sequence is switched, the magnitude of the current flowing through the motor coil changes relatively rapidly, which in turn causes the magnitude of the rotational torque that the magnet rotor receives from the magnetically permeable claw poles near the air gap circumference to change rapidly. As a result, the entire stepping motor includes a gear reduction mechanism, which generates relatively loud noise due to vibration. In particular, during mass production, dimensional errors in materials such as gears can cause imbalances in the gaps between each transmission component, or resonance can occur in the final household appliance that is actually used to meet customer needs, which can cause more noticeable vibration and noise.
[0004] Therefore, the present invention is proposed to solve the above technical problems. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a claw-pole stepping motor with a built-in driver chip, which has the characteristics of low overall production costs, relatively high connection reliability, and low vibration. Furthermore, this invention uses high-frequency pulse-width modulated voltage pulses to achieve sinusoidal current drive according to the required drive current waveform, and precisely controls each pulse of the output current, resulting in smooth operation, low vibration, low noise, and stable output torque. [Means for solving the problem]
[0006] The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in driver chip of the present invention comprises a rotor assembly and a stator assembly, the stator assembly including a housing and a skeleton assembly inside the housing, an opening on one side of the housing, an outlet box connected to the opening, a circuit board between the outlet box and the skeleton assembly, the circuit board and the skeleton assembly connected by pins, and a driver control chip for adjusting and controlling the drive current waveform and chip peripheral elements integrated on the circuit board.
[0007] The stator assembly further includes a central shaft disposed at a central position inside the housing, the rotor assembly is disposed inside the housing and is located on the central shaft, and the skeleton assembly includes a lower coil skeleton, a middle magnet plate, an upper coil skeleton, an upper magnet plate, and a cover plate disposed at the opening of the housing, which are assembled in that order inside the housing, and pins are provided on both the upper coil skeleton and the lower coil skeleton.
[0008] The lower coil skeleton and the upper coil skeleton are both provided with two pins that can be inserted into a circuit board, a connection device that can be connected to the main control board of an electrical appliance through an outlet box is connected to the circuit board, pads to which the pins can be connected are provided on the back of the circuit board, and position control pillars are further provided on the outside of the pins.
[0009] The connection device is a lead that can be passed through an outlet box, and the number of leads is three or four, and the outlet box is provided with an outlet that allows the leads to pass easily and can clamp the leads to prevent them from swinging.
[0010] The connection device is a pin header that can be passed through an outlet box, the pin header has three or four pins, the outlet box is formed with a protrusion to protect the pin header, and the protrusion is provided with an exit that allows the pin header to easily pass through.
[0011] Both the lower coil skeleton and the upper coil skeleton have coil grooves for winding wire, and one of the two pins on the lower coil skeleton or the upper coil skeleton is the starting point for winding wire, and the other is the end point for winding wire.
[0012] A reduction assembly is provided between the upper magnet plate and the cover plate, and the reduction assembly includes a gear mounting plate that is provided on the upper magnet plate and through which a rotor gear can pass, and a plurality of gear pins are provided on the gear mounting plate, and a first stage transmission gear that can mesh with the rotor gear output shaft, a second stage transmission gear that meshes with the first stage transmission gear, a third stage transmission gear that meshes with the second stage transmission gear, and an output shaft gear that meshes with the third stage transmission gear are connected to the gear pins, and a motor output shaft is provided to the output shaft gear.
[0013] A plurality of housing claw poles extending toward the intermediate magnet plate are arranged circumferentially at intervals on the inner bottom of the housing, and a plurality of magnet plate claw poles extending toward the intermediate magnet plate are arranged circumferentially at intervals on the upper magnet plate, and a plurality of intermediate lower claw poles and intermediate upper claw poles are arranged circumferentially at intervals on the intermediate magnet plate toward the inner bottom of the housing and the upper magnet plate, respectively, and each of the intermediate lower claw poles and housing claw poles are arranged crosswise, a lower space for the intermediate lower claw pole to be accommodated between two adjacent housing claw poles, a lower intermediate space for the housing claw pole to be accommodated between two adjacent middle lower claw poles, and each of the intermediate upper claw poles and magnet plate claw poles are arranged crosswise, an upper space for the intermediate upper claw pole to be accommodated between two adjacent magnet plate claw poles, and a middle upper space for the magnet plate claw pole to be accommodated between two adjacent middle upper claw poles. [Effects of the Invention]
[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: First, the motor drive control circuit is integrated into a drive control chip, which is built into the motor case, thereby reducing the number of wire harnesses used to connect the main control circuit of the appliance to the motor, cutting wiring costs, simplifying the design complexity of the drive control of the main control circuit of the appliance for the motor, reducing electromagnetic interference, and improving the connection stability between the main control board of the appliance and the motor, thereby reducing the failure rate of appliances using this motor. Second, the claw-pole stepper motor is driven by an internal drive control chip capable of generating a sine wave current, which adjusts the waveform of the drive current and neutralizes the stiffness of the rotor in the claw-pole stepper motor as it rotates, reducing the noise generated by the claw-pole stepper motor during operation. Adjusting the frequency and pulse width of the electrical pulse waveform reduces the vibration generated by adjusting the rotational speed of the claw-pole stepper motor, making the acceleration and deceleration of the claw-pole stepper motor smoother. Third, one of the two pins on the lower or upper coil skeleton is the starting point of wire winding, and the other is the end point of wire winding, and the winding wire is placed in the coil grooves of the two coil skeletons, resulting in a total of two sets of coils, which is two sets less than the normal coil, significantly reducing the coil cost and the time cost of wire winding. In addition, the two-pin structure used in this invention ensures that there is a sufficiently large gap between the two pins, further improving the wire winding process, reducing the difficulty of wire winding, optimizing the production process, and improving production efficiency and yield. Fourth, a pin header is welded to the circuit board inside the motor, and the motor is connected to an external pluggable connector through the pin header. In this embodiment, no leads are attached during the production process of the stepping motor, simplifying the production process, improving production yield, and further optimizing motor production. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a first exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a second exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a third exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a fourth exploded view of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view of a speed reducer assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a circuit board according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a first exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a second exploded view of the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a motor control structure according to the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a flow chart of the 2-2 phase excitation according to the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a current waveform according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The present invention will be further explained below with reference to the drawings. Example 1 As shown in Figures 1 to 8 and 12 to 14, this is a claw-pole stepping motor with an integrated drive chip, comprising a rotor assembly 4 and a stator assembly 5, the stator assembly 5 including a housing 51 and a skeleton assembly 55 inside the housing 51, an opening 511 is provided on one side of the housing 51, an outlet box 52 is connected to the opening 511, a circuit board 2 is provided between the outlet box 52 and the skeleton assembly 55, the circuit board 2 and the skeleton assembly 55 are connected by pins 53, and a drive control chip 21 and chip peripheral elements 22 for adjusting and controlling the drive current waveform are integrated on the circuit board 2. The motor drive control circuit is integrated into the drive control chip 21, which is built into the motor case, thereby reducing the wire harness used to connect the main control circuit of the appliance to the motor, saving wire costs, simplifying the design complexity of the drive control of the main control circuit of the appliance for the motor, reducing electromagnetic interference, and improving the connection stability between the main control board of the appliance and the motor, thereby reducing the failure rate of appliances using this motor.
[0017] This invention uses a built-in drive control chip capable of generating a sinusoidal current to drive a claw-pole stepper motor, thereby adjusting the waveform of the drive current and eliminating the stiffness of the rotor in the claw-pole stepper motor as it rotates, thereby reducing the noise generated by the claw-pole stepper motor during operation. By adjusting the frequency and pulse width of the electrical pulse waveform, the vibration generated by adjusting the rotational speed of the claw-pole stepper motor can be reduced, making the acceleration and deceleration process of the claw-pole stepper motor smoother.
[0018] 3, the stator assembly 5 further includes a central shaft 54 disposed at the center of the housing 51, the rotor assembly 4 is disposed inside the housing 51 and is positioned on the central shaft 54, and the skeleton assembly 55 includes a lower coil skeleton 5511, a middle magnet plate 552, an upper coil skeleton 553, an upper magnet plate 554, and a cover plate 555 at the opening of the housing 51, which are assembled in order within the housing 51, and pins 53 are provided on both the upper coil skeleton 553 and the lower coil skeleton 5511. The rotor assembly 4 is mounted on the central shaft 54 within the housing 51, and electrical signals from the circuit board 2 are transmitted via the pins 53 to the coils on the upper coil skeleton 553 and the lower coil skeleton 551, generating a magnetic field in the stator assembly 5 to rotate the rotor assembly 4 and thereby realize the operation of the motor.
[0019] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 , the lower coil frame 551 and the upper coil frame 553 each have two pins 53 that can be inserted into the circuit board 2. A connection device 6 that can be connected to a main control board of an appliance is connected to the circuit board 2 through an outlet box 52. Pads 23 to which the pins 53 can be connected are provided on the back side of the circuit board 2, and position-regulating posts 7 are further provided on the outside of the pins 53. The connection device 6 is a lead that can be passed through the outlet box 52. The outlet box 52 has three or four leads, and outlets for clamping the leads to allow the leads to pass easily and prevent them from swinging. When there are four leads, separating the direction control line and the speed control line can make the motor operation more stable and simplify software operation. When there are three leads, combining the two lines into one instead of separating the direction control line and the speed control line can reduce manufacturing costs and simplify the hardware structure. Furthermore, providing openings for clamping the leads can improve the connection stability between the leads and the circuit board 2.
[0020] 2 and 5, both the lower coil skeleton 551 and the upper coil skeleton 553 have coil grooves 5511 for winding wire, and one of the two pins 53 on the lower coil skeleton 551 or the upper coil skeleton 553 is the starting point for winding wire, and the other is the ending point for winding wire. In the present invention, one of the two pins 53 on the lower coil skeleton 551 or the upper coil skeleton 553 is the starting point for winding wire, and the other is the ending point for winding wire, and the wound wire is placed in the coil grooves 5511 of the two coil skeletons, resulting in a total of two sets of coils, which is two sets less than a normal coil, significantly reducing the coil cost and the time cost for winding wire. In addition, the structure of the two pins 53 used in the present invention ensures a sufficiently large gap between the two pins 53, which further improves the wire winding process, reduces the difficulty of winding wire, optimizes the production process, and improves production efficiency and yield.
[0021] 3, the rotor assembly 4 includes a rotor body 41 mounted on a central shaft 54 and a rotor gear 42 at one end of the rotor body 41, with an elastic piece 43 provided between the other end of the rotor body 41 and the housing 51. The elastic piece 43 provided between the rotor body 41 and the bottom surface of the housing 51 makes the rotor body 41 more stable when rotating, and the rotor gear 42 engages with a gear set, further driving the motor output shaft to rotate.
[0022] As shown in FIG. 7, a reduction gear assembly 8 is provided between the upper magnet plate 554 and the cover plate 555. The reduction gear assembly 8 is provided on the upper magnet plate 554 and includes a gear mounting plate 81 through which the rotor gear 42 can pass. A plurality of gear pins are provided on the gear mounting plate 81. The gear pins are connected to a first-stage transmission gear 82 that can mesh with the output shaft of the rotor gear 42, a second-stage transmission gear 83 that meshes with the first-stage transmission gear 82, a third-stage transmission gear 84 that meshes with the second-stage transmission gear 83, and an output shaft gear 85 that meshes with the third-stage transmission gear 84. A motor output shaft 86 is provided on the output shaft gear 85. Rotation of the rotor gear 42 causes the reduction assembly 8 to rotate, which in turn causes the motor output shaft 86 to rotate, thereby operating the motor. By installing the first stage transmission gear 82, the second stage transmission gear 83, and the third stage transmission gear 84, the motor can withstand greater force and is more stable during operation, reducing the failure rate of electrical appliances using the motor.
[0023] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of housing claw poles 512 extending toward the intermediate magnet plate 552 are arranged at intervals on the inner bottom of the housing 51 to form a circle, a plurality of magnet plate claw poles 5541 extending toward the intermediate magnet plate 552 are arranged at intervals on the upper magnet plate 554 to form a circle, and a plurality of intermediate lower claw poles 5521 and intermediate upper claw poles 5522 are arranged at intervals on the intermediate magnet plate 552 to form a circle toward the inner bottom of the housing 51 and the upper magnet plate 554, respectively. The housing claw poles 512 are arranged crosswise, and a lower space 513 for receiving an intermediate lower claw pole 5521 is provided between two adjacent housing claw poles 512, and an intermediate lower space 5523 for receiving the housing claw pole 512 is provided between two adjacent middle lower claw poles 5521. Each middle upper claw pole 5522 and a magnet plate claw pole 5541 are arranged crosswise, and an upper space 5542 for receiving the intermediate upper claw pole 5522 is provided between two adjacent magnet plate claw poles 5541, and an intermediate upper space 5524 for receiving the magnet plate claw pole 5541 is provided between two adjacent middle upper claw poles 5522. The housing claw poles 512 on the inner bottom of the housing 51 are arranged crosswise with the middle lower claw poles 5521 on the middle magnet plate 552, and the magnet plate claw poles 5541 on the upper magnet plate 554 are arranged crosswise with the middle upper claw poles 5522 on the middle magnet plate 552. This allows the claw poles to have a wider base than the tip, forming a non-uniform air gap between adjacent claw poles, and the stator coil placed in between is an annular concentrated winding. The rotor assembly 4 has 2p poles punched uniformly along the circumferential surface, arranged in multiple axial directions and offset by a predetermined angle circumferentially to form a multi-phase structure. This produces high torque, low noise, and low power consumption.
[0024] As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the claw-pole stepping motor includes four circuits, and the connection state of the four circuits is as follows: During the period 1, the circuits 1 and 4 are connected to the positive pole, and the circuits 2 and 3 are connected to the negative pole. During the time period 2, the circuit 1 and the circuit 3 are connected to the positive pole, and the circuit 2 and the circuit 4 are connected to the negative pole; During the time period 3, the circuit 2 and the circuit 3 are connected to the positive pole, and the circuit 1 and the circuit 4 are connected to the negative pole; During the time period 4, the circuits 2 and 4 are connected to the positive poles, and the circuits 1 and 3 are connected to the negative poles. This operation is repeated, and the built-in drive control module simultaneously outputs two channels of PWM-modulated bipolar voltage that subdivide each of the above time periods, obtaining alternating sinusoidal currents in the two coils.
[0025] To ensure that the rotor in the claw-pole stepping motor achieves a uniform and stable rotational drive torque, the strength of the initial torque output from the drive gear integrally coupled to the rotor is made uniform. An internal circuit board containing a motor drive controller and a small number of peripheral elements is used, and a logic circuit and two-phase sinusoidal current drive circuit are integrated into the drive control chip 21. Programs including drive control can be pre-programmed, thereby enabling adjustment of the drive current waveform. This dynamically achieves accurate and stable drive of the rotor position of the claw-pole stepping motor, optimizes the stability of the torque output of the claw-pole stepping motor, and reduces noise generated during operation. Adjusting the frequency and pulse width of the electrical pulse waveform reduces vibrations generated by adjusting the rotational speed of the claw-pole stepping motor, making the acceleration and deceleration of the claw-pole stepping motor smoother.
[0026] Example 2 The differences between the second embodiment and the first embodiment are as follows. 9 to 11, the connection device 6 is a pin header that can be passed through the outlet box 52, and the pin header has three or four pins. The outlet box 52 is formed with a protrusion 521 to protect the pin header, and the protrusion 521 is provided with an outlet that allows the pin header to easily pass through. The pin header is welded to the circuit board 2 inside the motor, and the motor is connected to an external pluggable connector through the pin header. In this embodiment, no leads are attached during the production process of the stepping motor, which simplifies the production process, improves production yield, and further optimizes motor production.
Claims
1. A claw-pole stepper motor with an integrated drive chip, 1. A claw-pole stepping motor with a built-in drive chip, comprising: a rotor assembly (4) and a stator assembly (5), the stator assembly (5) including a housing (51) and a skeleton assembly (55) inside the housing (51), an opening (511) is provided on one side of the housing (51), an outlet box (52) is connected to the opening (511), a circuit board (2) is provided between the outlet box (52) and the skeleton assembly (55), the circuit board (2) and the skeleton assembly (55) are connected by pins (53), and a drive control chip (21) for adjusting and controlling a drive current waveform and chip peripheral elements (22) are integrated on the circuit board (2).
2. 2. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in driving chip according to claim 1, wherein the stator assembly (5) further includes a central shaft (54) disposed at a central position inside the housing (51), the rotor assembly (4) is disposed inside the housing (51) and is located on the central shaft (54), the skeleton assembly (55) includes a lower coil skeleton (551), an intermediate magnet plate (552), an upper coil skeleton (553), an upper magnet plate (554), and a cover plate (555) disposed at the opening of the housing (51), which are assembled in this order inside the housing (51), and both the upper coil skeleton (553) and the lower coil skeleton (551) are provided with pins (53).
3. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in driving chip according to claim 2, characterized in that the lower coil frame (551) and the upper coil frame (553) are each provided with two pins (53) that can be inserted into a circuit board (2), a connection device (6) that can be connected to a main control board of an electrical appliance is connected to the circuit board (2) through an outlet box (52), pads (23) to which the pins (53) can be connected are provided on the back side of the circuit board (2), and position control posts (7) are further provided on the outside of the pins (53).
4. 4. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in drive chip according to claim 3, characterized in that the connection device (6) is a lead that can be passed through an outlet box (52), the number of leads is three or four, and the outlet box (52) is provided with an outlet that allows the leads to pass easily and can clamp the leads to prevent them from swinging.
5. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in drive chip according to claim 3, characterized in that the connection device (6) is a pin header that can be passed through an outlet box (52), the pin header has three or four pins, the outlet box (52) is formed with a protrusion (521) for protecting the pin header, and the protrusion (521) is provided with an exit that allows the pin header to easily pass through.
6. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in drive chip as described in claim 2, characterized in that the lower coil skeleton (551) and the upper coil skeleton (553) are both formed with coil grooves (5511) for winding wire, and one of the two pins (53) on the lower coil skeleton (551) or the upper coil skeleton (553) is the starting point for winding wire, and the other is the end point for winding wire.
7. 3. The claw-pole stepping motor with built-in drive chip according to claim 2, wherein a reduction gear assembly (8) is provided between the upper magnet plate (554) and the cover plate (555), the reduction gear assembly (8) including a gear mounting plate (81) provided on the upper magnet plate (554) and through which the rotor gear (42) can pass, a plurality of gear pins are provided on the gear mounting plate (81), and the gear pins are connected to a first-stage transmission gear (82) capable of meshing with an output shaft of the rotor gear (42), a second-stage transmission gear (83) meshing with the first-stage transmission gear (82), a third-stage transmission gear (84) meshing with the second-stage transmission gear (83), and an output shaft gear (85) meshing with the third-stage transmission gear (84), and a motor output shaft (86) is provided on the output shaft gear (85).
8. A plurality of housing claw poles (512) extending toward the middle magnet plate (552) are arranged at intervals on the inner bottom of the housing (51) to form a circumferential shape, and a plurality of magnet plate claw poles (5541) extending toward the middle magnet plate (552) are arranged at intervals on the upper magnet plate (554) to form a circumferential shape, and a plurality of middle lower claw poles (5521) and middle upper claw poles (5522) are arranged at intervals on the middle magnet plate (552) toward the inner bottom of the housing (51) and the upper magnet plate (554), respectively, and each of the middle lower claw poles (5521) and housing claw poles (512) are installed crossing each other, and two adjacent housings A claw-pole type stepping motor with an internal drive chip as described in claim 2, characterized in that a lower space (513) for receiving an intermediate lower claw pole (5521) is provided between the housing claw poles (512), an intermediate lower space (5523) for receiving the housing claw pole (512) is provided between two adjacent intermediate lower claw poles (5521), each of the intermediate upper claw poles (5522) and a magnet plate claw pole (5541) is installed crosswise, an upper space (5542) for receiving the intermediate upper claw pole (5522) is provided between two adjacent magnet plate claw poles (5541), and an intermediate upper space (5524) for receiving the magnet plate claw pole (5541) is provided between two adjacent intermediate upper claw poles (5522).