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9/13
L8219
Phase
This input determines the direction of current flow in the windings, depending on the motor connections. The
signal is fed through a Schmidt-trigge for noise immunity, and through a time delay in order to guarantee that
no short-circuit occurs in the output stage during phase-shift. High level on the PHASE input causes the motor
current flow from Out A through the winding to Out B.
Current Sensor
This part contains a current sensing resistor (RS), a low pass filter (RC,CC) and three comparators.Only one
comparator is active at a time. It is activated by the input logic according to the current level chosen with signals
I0 and I1.
The motor current flows through the sensing resistor RS. When the current has increased so that the voltage
across RS becomes higher than the reference voltage on the other comparator input, the comparator goes high,
which triggers the pulse generator.
The max peak current Imax can be defined by:
Single-pulse Generator
The pulse generator is a monostable triggered on the positive going edge of the comparator output.
The monostable output is high during the pulse time, toff , which is determined by the time components Rt and Ct.
toff = 1.1 RtCt
The single pulse switches off the power feed to the motor winding, causing the winding current to decrease dur-
ing toff.
If a new trigger signal should occur during toff, it is ignored.
Output Stage
The output stage contains four Darlington transistors (source drivers) four saturated transistors (sink drivers)
and eight diodes, connected in two H bridge. The source transistors are used to switch the power supplied to
the motor winding, thus driving a constant current through the winding.
VS,VSS,VRef
The circuit will stand any order of turn-on or turn-off the supply voltages VS and VSS. Normal dV/dt values are
then assumed. Preferably, VRef should be tracking VSS during power-on and power-off if VS is established.
Thermal Shutdown
When the die temperature reach 170
°C the thermal shutdown internal circuitry turns off the power stage
(tristate), once the cause of the die increased temperature will be removed the L8219 re-turns on itself as soon
as the die temperature reach 150
°C.
APPLICATION INFORMATIONS
Some stepper motors are not designed for continuous operation at maximum current. As the circuit drives a con-
stant current through the motor, its temperature might increase exceedingly both at low and high speed opera-
tion. Also, some stepper motors have such high core losses that they are not suited for switch mode current
regulation. Unused inputs should be connected to proper voltage levels in order to get the highest noise immu-
nity. As the circuit operates with switch mode current regulation, interference generation problems might arise
in some applications. A good measure might then be to decouple the circuit with a 100nF capacitor, located near
the package between power line and ground. The ground lead between Rs, and circuit GND should be kept as
short as possible. A typical Application Circuit is shown in Fig. 4. Note that Ct must be NPO type or similar else.
To sense the winding current, paralleled metal film resistors are recommended.
I
max
V
ref
10 R
S
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