Stepping motor for rotary device

A stepping motor comprising:

• a frame member;
• a plurality of coil carriers mounted to the frame member;
• a plurality of coils carried on the coil carriers;
• a cylindrical ring assembly adapted to be rotated relative to the frame member and formed of magnetic material, said rings being axially adjacent the coil carriers and non-magnetic rings having interior ridges therein with the interior ridges being non-aligned between the rings;
• an armature mounted co-axially within the magnetic ring assembly and having ridges complementary to the ridges defined in the ring members defined thereon with one portion having such ridges defined in the form of equi-distantly spaced, axially extending splines, and another portion of the armature having such ridges formed as circumferentially extending equi-distantly spaced rings;
• and
• means to sequentially and selectively induce magnetic flux in individual coil carriers and accordingly in adjacent magnetic rings and the armature adjacent such rings whereby the armature may be indexed relative to the rings.

A stepping motor, comprising:

• a frame;
• an armature moveably mounted on said frame and having a magnetic path means with a plurality of flux directing ridge means facing said frame,
• a magnetic ring means for transferring magnetic flux, and movably disposed between said armature means and said frame and having a plurality of spaced apart rings facing said armature means and alignable with said flux directing means into a constant flux transferring relationship, and
• circumferentially extending magnetic path means axially aligned with said ring means for transferring magnetic flux thereto for magnetically energizing said armature via said magnetic ring means during movements thereof with respect to said frame.