PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 15945867
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-04
Publication Date: 2018-10
Patent Classification: ["318", "696000"]

Abstract:
A control device for a stepping motor capable of suppressing a level of sound generated in association with driving of the motor is provided. The control device for a stepping motor is configured to, from when the hold period is started (t 10 ) until the hold period ends (t 12 ), gradually increase an absolute value of the excitation current in the A phase such that the amount of change in the excitation current per unit time is smaller than or equal to a first predetermined value. From when the hold period is started (t 10 ) until a predetermined time elapses (t 11 ), an absolute value of the excitation current in the B phase is gradually increased such that the amount of change in the excitation current per unit time is smaller than or equal to the first predetermined value. By the time the hold period ends (t 12 ) after the predetermined time has elapsed (t 11 ), the excitation current in the B phase is caused to reach zero. When the hold period ends (t 12 ), one-phase excitation operation of the stepping motor is started such that the excitation current flows in the one phase first with the same polarity as at the end of the hold period.

Claim (Index 6):
A control method of a stepping motor configured to rotate a rotor by controlling an excitation current in each of one phase and another phase of two-phase coils, the method comprising:\n a hold control step of moving the rotor of the stepping motor to a predetermined initial position during a hold period at a startup of the stepping motor; and a normal control step of performing one-phase excitation operation of the stepping motor after the end of the hold period, wherein the hold control step comprises: from when the hold period is started until the hold period ends, gradually increasing an absolute value of the excitation current in the one phase such that the amount of change in the excitation current per unit time is smaller than or equal to a first predetermined value; from when the hold period is started until a predetermined time elapses, gradually increasing an absolute value of the excitation current in the other phase such that the amount of change in the excitation current per unit time is smaller than or equal to the first predetermined value; and by the time the hold period ends after the predetermined time has elapsed, causing the excitation current in the other phase to reach zero, and wherein the normal control step comprises starting to perform one-phase excitation operation of the stepping motor such that the excitation current flows in the one phase first with the same polarity as at the end of the hold period when the hold period ends.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 3.0
- Percentile: 91.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.8875
- Patent Class: 318.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['14301579', '13221357', '14332987', '12891630', '13981391']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.6645594709544733
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.493750909797786
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.6474786148388045
- Mean Citation Score: 214.001018
- Max Citation Score: 276.3211
- Similarity Product: 240.78498738951683

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test