Structure of Supporting a Stepping Motor

A stepping motor (also called as stepper motor) rotates in short and essentially uniform angular movements rather than continuously, and high precision is required to supporting of the stepping motor to a machine, so that it rotates stepwise, e.g., 30.degree., 45.degree. or 90.degree., by input pulse.

The invention relates to a structure for supporting the stepping motor to the machine, and more particularly to a supporting structure which exactly reduces disorder play, noises and other disadvantages generally caused in the stepping motor. The stepping motor is incorporated in the machinery in order to adjusts positioning of an object at high precision.

The stepping motor is used, for example, with a sewing machine in order to adjust needle swinging amplitude or fabric feed. The stepping motor is often given external force intentionally or incidentially, shocks during transportation or reaction of a stator effected with stepping movement with respect to movement of a rotor shaft while driving the stepping motor. For measures to those matters, a first requirement is to reduce lag in a center of the rotor shaft, and a second requirement is to reduce noises caused by driving the stepping motor. However, it is generally difficult to satisfy the first and second requirements at the same time. If the stepping motor were rigidly held to the machine housing through an attaching plate, the first requirement would be satisfied, but the second requirement could not be satisfied, since action of the rotor shaft generates reaction of the stator during operation of the stepping motor and makes considerable noises.

On the contrary, if the stepping motor were elastically held to the attaching plate fixed to the machine housing via a plurality of elastic members, the second requirement could be satisfied, but compression rates of said elastic members would be much more sporadic if tolerance between cores of opposing members were not exactly observed, and the above mentioned disadvantages would be caused.

An object of the invention is to elastically hold the housing of the stepping motor via a plurality of cushion members in a direction of the rotor shaft with respect to the supporting plate secured to the housing of the machinery, and elastically hold the housing of the stepping motor by means of one of said cushions in rotating direction of the rotor shaft around fitting portion between a bearing and a hole of the rotor shaft. In such manner, the present invention could reduce disorder caused in the prior art with respect to the compression rate of the cushions in the axial direction of the rotor, and the compression rate of the cushion in the rotating direction between the supporting member and the positioning hole, and the invention can secure the precision in the supporting position of the housing to the supporting plate with little disorder in the machinery.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing attachment of the housing and the attaching plate,

FIG. 2 is a view seen from an arrow A in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a view showing an embodiment removing a washer and a cushion material of ring shape from that in FIG. 2, and,

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view seen from B--B line in FIG. 3.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, the reference numeral 1 is a stepping motor, 2 and 3 are housings secured to a stator (not shown). The housing 2 is fixed with a bearing 5 of a rotor shaft 4 and with a plurality of mounts 6 (three members in the instant embodiment). The mounts 6 are each defined with female thread 6a. The numeral 7 shows a supporting plate to be secured to the housing of a machinery, which is formed with a hole 7a for fitting the bearing 5 at high precision, a positioning hole 7b facing to one of the mounts 6, and a plurality of supporting holes 7c (two holes in this embodiment). The numeral 8 shows a cushion member comprising a tubular portion 8a and a flange 8b. 9 is a ring shaped cushion, 10 is a washer and 11 is a screw. The positioning hole 7b is made larger in size than an outer diameter of the tubular portion 8a of the cushion member 8 in radial direction of the rotor shaft. The rotor shaft 4 is formed to be smaller than the outer diameter of the tubular portion 8a in circumferential direction of the rotor shaft 4. In this embodiment, the positioning hole 7b is defined as oblong as seen in FIG. 3.

Inner diameter of the supporting hole 7c is formed to be larger than outer diameter of the tubular portion 8a of the cushion member 8. Under a condition of holding the housing 2 and the supporting plate 7, if positioning relation of those relative parts were within proper processing tolerance, the inner diameter of the supporting hole 7c and the outer diameter of the tubular portion 8a would be non contacted.

In positioning of the housing 2 with respect to the supporting plate 7, the rotor shaft 4 is elastically held by the screw 11 screwed into the mount 6 due to the cushion 9 intervening between the washer 10 and the attaching plate 7, and the flange portion 8b of the cushion 8 between the attaching plate 7 and the housing 2. With respect to the plan face crossing with an axis of the rotor 4, the rotor shaft 4 is further elastically held by one of the tubular portions 8a of the cushions 8 placed between the mount 6 and the positioning hole 7b around the fitting portion of the bearing 5 and the hole 7a.

Having been composed as mentioned above, the present invention could reduce disorder play caused in the machinery, of the compression rate of the cushion in the axial direction of the rotor and the compression rate of the cushion in the rotation direction between the mount and the positioning hole, and the invention could secure the precision in the attaching position of the housing to the supporting plate with little disorder in the machinery.

Since the supporting position is stable against the external force subjecting to the stepping motor after having been set and adjusted, the stepping movement caused by reaction of the stator which drives the stepping motor, may be elastically absorbed within scope where the positioning precision of the object to be controlled is fully satisfied by one of the tubular portions of the cushions at the fitting portion of the bearing and the hole of the rotor shaft, thereby to reduce noise of the stepping motor.