US 20080074008Al

( 1 2) Patent Application Publication ( 1 0) Pub. N 0. 2 US 2008/0074008 A1

( 1 9 ) United States
Lin ( 43 ) Pub. D ate: Mar. 27, 2008
( 5 4) LOW VIBRATION HYBRID STEP MOTOR
( 76 ) Inv entor:
C orres pondence Addres s :
SC HN EC K & SC HN EC K
P. O. BOX 2-E
SAN JOSE, C A 9 5 1 09 -0005
( 21 ) Appl. N o. : 1 1 /5 3 5 , 6 44
( 22) F iled: Sep. 27, 2006
Ted T. Lin, Saratog a, C A ( US)
Publication C las s i? cation
( 5 1 ) Int. C l.
H02K 3 7/1 4 ( 2006 . 01 )
H02K 21 /1 2 ( 2006 . 01 )
( 5 2) US. C l. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 0/49 R; 3 1 0/1 5 6 . 6 4
( 5 7) ABSTRAC T
A h y brid s tep m otor h as ax ially s paced ? rs t and s econd s ets
of rotor s ections ( or alternativ ely dif f erent s ets of s tator
s ections ) ch aracteriz ed by dif f erent tooth Width s . Th e rotor/
s tator tooth Width ratio in one s et is optim iz ed f or one-ph as e
ON operation Wh ile th e rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio f or th e
oth er s et is optim iz ed f or tWo-ph as e ON operation. More
g enerally , th e tWo s ets are optim iz ed tog eth er f or near
s inus oidal, torq ue pro? le and s ubs tantially eq ual m icros teps .
Patent Application Publication Mar. 27, 2008 Sh eet 1 0f 3 US 2008/0074008 A1
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 27, 2008 Sh eet 2 0f 3 US 2008/0074008 A1
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ROTOR m s LAcEMEN T IN AN G LE
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Patent Application Publication Mar. 27, 2008 Sh eet 3 0f 3 US 2008/0074008 A1
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RG TOR D ISPLAC EMEN T IN AN G LE
US 2008/0074008 A1
LOW VIBRATION HYBRID STEP MOTOR
TEC HN IC AL F IELD
[ 0001 ] Th e pres ent inv ention relates g enerally to electric
m otor s tructures des ig ned to rotate s tep by s tep, i. e. , s tep
m otors , and in particular to arrang em ents f or reducing
v ibration and im prov ing m icros tepping accuracy .
BAC KG ROUN D ART
[ 0002] Step m otors are us ed in a Wide v ariety of applica
tions th at req uire precis e m otion control s uch as in printers ,
s canners , x -y tables , turntables , tape and dis k driv e s y s tem s ,
s ecurity cam eras and oth er optical eq uipm ent, robotics ,
C N C ( com puter-num eric-control) m ach ine tools , dis pens
ers , and inj ector pum ps . Th ere h av e been m any s tep m otor
des ig ns introduced to ach iev e s peci? c perf orm ance g oals ,
s uch as reduced nois e and v ibration, increas ed res olution
and accuracy of m otor pos itions , and adeq uate h olding
torq ue and ef ? cient poWer us ag e ov er a rare of m otor s peeds .
D if f erent m odes of driv ing a s tep m otor are av ailable. Th e
m icros tepping m ode h as been dev is ed both to increas e
res olution of m otor pos itions and to reduce v ibration ov er
oth er driv e m odes ( f ull-s tepping and h alf -s tepping ) . Step
m otor des ig n can be optim iZ ed to im prov e pos ition accuracy
Wh en m icros tepping .
[ 0003 ] Vary ing th e pitch ang les of th e s tator teeth is th e
m os t com m on Way to im prov e m icros tepping accuracy . Th e
pitch ang le of th e rotor teeth m us t be cons tant it order to
m aintain a cons is tent s tep ang le, s o only th e pos itions of th e
s tator teeth are altered. D es ig n Work h as als o been done on
th e relations h ip betWeen th e rotor tooth Width and s tator
tooth Width , e. g . , to ach iev e adeq uate h olding torq ue, or to
adj us t f or th e particular s tator tooth pitch des ig n being us ed.
In order to g et th e h ig h es t torq ue s tif f nes s , th e rotor tooth
Width s h ould eq ual th e s tator tooth Width f or a one-ph as e ON
operation; th e rotor tooth Width s h ould be one-h alf of th e
s tator tooth Width f or a f ull tWo-ph as e ON operation
Becaus e m icros tepping of a m otor includes both one-ph as e
ON and f ull tWo-ph as e ON conditions , as Well as a Wide
rang e of interm ediate conditions , at dif f erent m otor pos i
tions , th e relations h ip betWeen th e rotor tooth Width and
s tator tooth Width is ch os en as a com prom is e to ens ure
adeq uate torq ue at all pos s ible m icro-s tep pos itions . F or
m ax im um m icros tepping accuracy , a s inus oidal torq ue pro
? le is des ired. A ty pical des ig n m ig h t h av e a rotor tooth
Width approx im ately 3 A of th e is s tator tooth Width , With th e
ex act v alue ch os en being dependent on f actors s uch as tooth
g eom etry and th e s tator tooth pitch des ig n. Oth er des ig ns
m ig h t us e a rotor-to-s tator tooth Width ratio of approx i
m ately 1 /4.
[ 0004] Wh ile m icros tepping reduces nois e and v ibration
ov er oth er driv e m odes , th ere s till tends to be s om e rem ain
ing erratic m otion Wh en th e m otor pas s es th roug h a one
ph as e ON pos ition, Wh ich is a s table detent pos ition of th e
m otor. Th is is k noWn as th e Z ero-cros s ing problem in s tep
m otor des ig n. In a one-ph as e ON pos ition f ull ( 1 00% )
current is applied to one s et of s tator coils , Wh ile anoth er s et
of coils is at a Z ero cros s ing point With no ( 0% ) applied
current. Th e rotor and s tator teeth are at m ax im um alig nm ent
at th is s table pos ition. Th e rotor is v ery eas ily pus h ed into
th is natural detent pos ition, but h as g reater dif ? culty pulling
out f rom th e pos ition. Th is ty pically res ults in erratic j erk s
in rotor m otion. One com m on s olution is to reduce th e rotor
Mar. 27, 2008
tooth Width . HoWev er, Wh ile it is acceptable f or f ull-s tepping
or h alf -s tepping m otors , th is s olution als o produces a non
s inus oidal torq ue pro? le, and th ereby caus es unev en m icro
s teps . A s olution f or accurately and precis ely m icros tepping
m otors is s oug h t.
[ 0005 ] US. Pat. N o. 6 , 79 1 , 223 to Suz uk i et al. des cribes
a loW v ibration s tep m otor in Wh ich th e rotor unit h as a
dev eloped pattern of alternate S and N poles m ag netiZ ed on
its circum f erence. Th e Width s of th e S poles are s et to be
dif f erent f rom th e Width s of th e N poles , Wh ile each pair of
adj acent S and N poles is s et to a predeterm ined cons tant
v alue.
[ 0006 ] US. Pat. N os . 5 , 9 6 9 , 45 4 and 6 , 028, 3 85 to Peng ov
et al. des cribe res pectiv e tWo-ph as e and th ree-ph as e
s Witch ed reluctance m otors , com pris ing a s tator h av ing
ev enly s paced s tator poles , With Winding s f or tWo or th ree
ph as es Wound about th e s tator poles , and a rotor h av ing at
leas t tWo rotor s ections . A ? rs t rotor s ection includes a
num ber of Wide rotor poles , Wh ile a s econd rotor s ection
includes a num ber of narroW rotor poles . D uring each ph as e
energ iZ ation, th e rotor is adv anced in a tWo-s tep f as h ion. In
a ? rs t s tep, th e leading edg e of th e Wide rotor poles interact
With ? rs t energ iZ ed s tator poles to induce a ? rs t torq ue on th e
rotor and produce a ? rs t ang ular rotation of th e rotor. Th en,
in a s econd s tep, th e narroW rotor poles are draWn into
alig nm ent With s econd energ iZ ed s tator poles to induce a
s econd torq ue and produce a s econd ang ular rotation of th e
rotor.
SUMMARY D ISC LOSURE
[ 0007] Th e pres ent inv ention is a h y brid s tep m otor in
Wh ich th ere are tWo ax ially dis placed s ets of rotor s ections
( or, alternativ ely , tWo s ets of s tator s ections ) , each s et h av ing
a dif f erent rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio th an th at of th e oth er
s et. F or ex am ple, one s et m ay be optim iZ ed f or one-ph as e
ON operation ( rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio near 1 . 0) , Wh ile
th e oth er s et m ay be optim iZ ed f or tWo-ph as e ON operation
( rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio near 0. 5 ) . More g enerally , th e
tWo s ets are optim iZ ed tog eth er f or near s inus oidal torq ue
pro? le and s ubs tantially eq ual m icros teps . Th e optim um
rotor/s tator tooth ratio is ty pically betWeen 0. 75 and 0. 9 5 ,
and th e optim um tooth ratio betWeen th e tWo s ets of rotor or
s tator s ections is ty pically betWeen 0. 8 and 0. 9 5 .
BRIEF D ESC RIPTION OF THE D RAWIN G S
[ 0008] F IG . 1 is a s ide v ieW of an ex em plary rotor f or a
h y brid s tep m otor in accord With th e pres ent inv ention.
[ 0009 ] F IG . 2A is a partial end v ieW, tak en along th e lines
2A-2A in F IG . 1 , of a ? rs t rotor s ection With Wide rotor teeth ,
tog eth er With an as s ociated portion of a s tator, of an ex em
plary h y brid s tep m otor in accord With th e pres ent inv ention.
[ 001 0] F IG . 2B is a g raph of th e relativ e s tatic h olding
torq ue contribution f rom th e ? rs t rotor s ection v ers us rotor
dis placem ent ang le.
[ 001 1 ] F IG . 3 A is a partial end v ieW, tak en along th e lines
3 A-3 A in F IG . 1 , of a s econd rotor s ection With narroW rotor
teeth , tog eth er With an as s ociated portion of a s tator, of an
ex em plary h y brid s tep m otor in accord With th e pres ent
inv ention.
[ 001 2] F IG . 3 B an is a g raph of th e relativ e s tatic h olding
torq ue contribution f rom th e s econd rotor s ection v ers us
rotor dis placem ent ang le.
US 2008/0074008 A1
[ 001 3 ] F IG . 4 is a g raph of th e relativ e s tatic h olding
torq ue of th e ex em plary h y brid s tep m otor in accord With th e
pres ent inv ention, com bining th e torq ue contributions f rom
both rotor s ections .
D ETAILED D ESC RIPTION
[ 001 4] With ref erence to F IG . 1 , an ex em plary rotor 1 0 f or
a h y brid s tep m otor in accord With th e pres ent inv ention
com pris es a perm anent m ag net 1 2 s andWich ed betWeen tWo
rotor s ections 1 41 and 1 42 on a rotor s h af t 1 6 . Alternativ e
cons tructions m ay h av e m ore th an tWo rotor s ections laid out
along th e rotor s h af t With perm anent m ag nets betWeen
adj acent s ections , Wh ere th e rotor s ections m ay belong to
eith er of tWo alternating s ets corres ponding to th e tWo rotor
s ections 1 4 l and 1 42 s h oWn in th e ex em plary em bodim ent of
F IG . 1 .
[ 001 5 ] G enerally , th e s tep m otor Will als o include a s tator
( not s h oWn) h av ing a plurality of s tator poles With s tator coil
Winding s around th e poles and coupled to a s tep m otor
driv er. Any des ig n m ay be us ed f or th e s tator, its Winding s ,
and driv e circuitry . Each of th e s tator poles h as rotationally
dis placed s tator teeth in m ag netic coupling relation to th e
rotor teeth on th e rotor, and ch aracteriz ed by a s tator tooth
Width S ( des cribed in detail in F IG S. 2A and 3 A, beloW) . As
noted beloW, in one pos s ible alternativ e em bodim ent of th e
pres ent inv ention, th e s tator teeth m ig h t be div ided into tWo
or m ore ax ially dis placed s ections With tWo dif f erent s ets of
s tator tooth Width s .
[ 001 6 ] Th is em bodim ent of th e pres ent inv ention concerns
th e rotor teeth 1 6 1 and 1 6 2, and, in particular, th e tooth
Width s T 1 and T2 of th e rotor s ections 1 41 and 1 42. Th e teeth
1 6 1 of th e ? rs t rotor s ection 1 41 h av e a Width Tl th at, is
dif f erent f rom th e Width T2 of th e teeth 1 6 2 of th e s econd
rotor s ection 1 42. As s een in F IG S. 1 and 2A, th e ? rs t rotor
s ection 1 41 h as a rotor tooth Width Tl approx im ately eq ual
to th e s tator tooth Width S, f or a rotor/s tator tooth Width
ratio. Tl/Sz l. F or a ty pical optim iz ed h y brid m otor con
s truction in accord With th e pres ent inv ention, Tl/S m ay
actually be clos er to 0. 9 5 . N ote th at it is als o pos s ible in
s om e m otor des ig ns f or th e rotor teeth to be, Wider th an th e
s tator teeth , f or a ratio T l/ S> 1 , f or ex am ple 1 . 05 ; but in m os t
cas es optim iz ation appears to f av or rotor/s tator tooth Width
ratios th at tend to be les s th an 1 .
[ 001 7] As s een in F IG S. 1 and 3 A, th e s econd rotor s ection
1 42 h as a rotor tooth Width T2 approx im ately eq ual to, or
s lig h tly Wider th an, about h alf th e s tator tooth Width S, f or
a rotor/s tator tooth Width ratio T2/Sz 0. 5 . F or a ty pical
optim iz ed h y brid m otor cons truction in accord With th e
pres ent inv ention, T2/S m ay actually be clos er to 0. 75 or 0. 8
f or a m ore s inus oidal torq ue pro? le. Th e tWo rotor s ections
1 41 and 1 42, or tWo s ets of rotor s ections , h av e a tooth ratio
betWeen th em , Tl/T2 in a rang e betWeen, 0. 8 and 0. 9 5 .
[ 001 8] Alternativ ely , th e s tator teeth Width s in tWo s ets of
s ections m ig h t be v aried to g iv e tWo dif f erent rotor/s tator
tooth Width ratios T/Sl and T/S2, Wh ere S l and S2 are s tator
tooth Width s f or th e dif f erent s tator s ections .
[ 001 9 ] In all cas es , notWith s tanding th e dif f erences in
tooth Width s , th e pos itions of th e rotor teeth around th e
rotation ax is are ch aracteriz ed by a cons tant and eq ual pitch
P, as s een in F IG S. 2A and 3 A, f or unif orm s tepping . Als o,
as s een in F IG . 1 , th e teeth 1 6 1 on one s et of rotor s ections
1 4 1 are of f s et by one-h alf rotor tooth pitch f rom th e teeth 1 6 2
on th e oth er s et of rotor s ections 1 42. Th e s tator teeth
pos itions m ay be v aried, as is k noWn in th e art.
Mar. 27, 2008
[ 0020] With ref erence to F IG S. 2B, 3 B, and 4, th e torq ue
contributions of tWo s ets of rotor ( or s tator) s ections create
a com pos ite torq ue pro? le th at s h ould be s ubs tantially
s inus oidal, Wh en optim iz ed by proper s election of tooth
Width ratios . Th e torq ue contribution f rom th e s econd s ec
tion 1 42, With its narroWer rotor/s tator tooth Width ratio,
tends to be s om eWh at non-s inus oidal Wh en T2/ S approach es
0. 5 , as s een in F IG . 3 B. According ly , an optim iz ed ratio T2/S
is m ade clos er to 0. 75 or 0. 8 f or a m ore s inus oidal pro? le.
Th e torq ue contribution f rom th e ? rs t s ection 1 41 , Width its
Wider rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio Would be q uite s inus oidal
Wh en Tl/ S approach es 1 . 0, as s een in F IG . 2B. HoWev er, its
optim iz ed ratio m ay be reduced s om eWh at to about 0. 9 5 , in
order th at th e com pos ite torq ue pro? le ( F IG . 4) f rom both
torq ue contributions Will be s ubs tantially s inus oidal, s o th at
th e m icros teps Will be s ubs tantially eq ual ov er a f ull s tep.
Mag netic ? ux analy s is can be m odeled, if des ired, us ing
? nite elem ent analy s is and th e lik e, to obtain an optim um s et
of rotor/s tator tooth ratios . HoWev er, becaus e th e m ag netic
? ux analy s is is v ery com plicated, optim iz ation can als o be
done ex perim entally . A rang e of pos s ible rotor/s tator tooth
Width ratios f rom 0. 75 to 0. 9 5 f or th e dif f erent s ections can
be s elected, and th e res ulting m icros tep unif orm ity ev alu
ated f or each trial com bination.
1 . A h y brid s tep m otor, com pris ing :
a s tator h av ing a plurality of s tator poles With a plurality
of rotationally dis placed s tator teeth on s aid poles ; and
a m ulti-s ection rotor h av ing a plurality of rotationally
dis placed rotor teeth in m ag netic coupling relation to
th e s tator teeth , th e rotor including at leas t one ? rs t
rotor s ection and at leas t one s econd rotor s ection
ax ially dis placed f rom th e ? rs t rotor s ection th e rotor
teeth in both rotor s ections h av ing a cons tant rotor tooth
pitch , th e rotor teeth of th e ? rs t s ection dis placed f rom
th e rotor teeth of th e s econd s ection by one-h alf of th e
rotor tooth pitch ,
Wh erein at leas t one of th e s tator and rotor h as ax ially
dis placed ? rs t and s econd s ets of teeth ch aracteriz ed by
dif f erent tooth Width s , s uch th at a rotor/s tator tooth
Width ratio f or a ? rs t s et of teeth is g enerally optim iz ed
f or one ph as e ON operation and a rotor/s tator tooth
Width ratio f or a s econd s et of teeth is g enerally
optim iz ed f or tWo ph as e ON operation, and th e rotor/
s tator tooth Width ratios f or th e tWo s ets of teeth are
tog eth er optim iz ed f or s ubs tantially unif orm
m icros teps .
2. Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein ax ially
dis placed s ets of rotor teeth h av e dif f erent rotor tooth Width s .
3 . Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein ax ially
dis placed s ets of s tator teeth h av e dif f erent s tator tooth
Width s .
4. Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein a
rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio f or a ? rs t s et of teeth is les s th an
or eq ual to 1 . 0.
5 . Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein a
rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio f or a ? rs t s et of teeth is les s th an
or eq ual to 0. 9 5 .
6 . Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein a
rotor/s tator tooth Width ratio f or a s econd s et of teeth is
g reater th an or eq ual to 0. 5 .
7. Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein a
rotor/s tator tooth Width ratio f or a s econd s et of teeth is
g reater th an or eq ual to 0. 75 .
US 2008/0074008 A1
8. Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , w h erein th e
rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio f or each s et of teeth is s elected
f rom a rang e betWeen 0. 75 and 0. 9 5 .
9 . Th e h y brid s tep m otor as in claim 1 , Wh erein th e
optim iz ations of rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratios f or th e s epa
rate ? rs t and s econd s ets f or res pectiv e one-ph as e ON and
tWo-ph as e ON operation are m ade on a bas is of near
s inus oidal torq ue pro? le contributions , and th e optim iZ ation
of th e tWo s ets tog eth er f or s ubs tantially unif orm m icros teps
is m ade on a bas is of s ubs tantially s inus oidal com pos ite
torq ue pro? le.
1 0. A h y brid s tep m otor, com pris ing :
a s tator h av ing a plurality of s tator poles With a plurality
of rotationally dis placed s tator teeth on s aid poles ; and
a m ulti-s ection rotor h av ing a plurality of rotationally
dis placed s tator teeth in m ag netic coupling relation to
th e s tator teeth , th e rotor including at leas t one ? rs t
Mar. 27, 2008
rotor s ection and at leas t one s econd rotor s ection
ax ially dis placed f rom th e ? rs t rotor s ection, th e rotor
teeth in both rotor s ections h av ing a cons tant rotor tooth
pitch , th e rotor teeth of th e ? rs t s ection dis placed f rom
th e rotor teeth of th e s econd s ection by one-h alf of th e
rotor tooth pitch ,
Wh erein at leas t one of th e s tator and rotor h as ax ially
dis placed ? rs t and s econd s ets of teeth ch aracteriZ ed by
di? cerent tooth Width s , s uch th at a rotor/s tator tooth
Width ratio f or a ? rs t s et of teeth is at leas t 0. 75 and a
rotor/ s tator tooth Width ratio f or a s econd s et of teeth is
at m os t 0. 5 9 , a ratio of relativ e tooth Width s betWeen
th e tWo s ets of teeth being s elected to be in a rang e
betWeen 0. 8 and 0. 9 5 and optim iZ ed f or s ubs tantially
unif orm m icros teps .
* * * * *