Stepping motor, method of driving the same and drive circuit therefor

A stepping motor comprising:

• a first element including at least two permanent magnets each having a pair of N and S poles;
• a second element including a yoke separated from said first element by a predetermined interval;
• said first and second elements being relatively movable;
• said second element including a two-phase coil arranged on said yoke at spaced locations corresponding to the relative spacing between said at least two permanent magnets, and means for generatin a static detent torque between said first and second elements at predetermined locations along the direction of movement diffusion from the locations of the detent torque due to the interaction between the magnetic field generated by the permanent magnets and the magnetic field generated by the coil when energized so that said first and second elements achieve a stable static detent position at one of said predetermined locations when the coil is de-energized;
• means for supplying a drive current to one of the coils of said two-phase coil;
• and
• means for supplying said drive current to the other coil of said two-phase coil after said two-phase coil is energized.