STEPPER MOTOR DRIVE APPARATUS AND PRINTER EMBODYING THE SAME

In apparatus which uses a plurality of stepper motors for the actuation of various moving members therein, e.g., impact printer apparatus, an improvement is provided wherein at least one pair of stepper motors (14, 15) which operate during mutually exclusive periods share common driver means (13) which are switchable to be connected to the active stepper motor and disconnected from the dormant one. When thus connected to the active stepper motor, the driver means operate in the conventional manner to couple the windings of the active stepper motor to the particular current supply associated with that active motor in a predetermined sequence so that each winding of the active motor is energized during portions of the sequence and deenergized during other portions. The apparatus further includes switching means (16) for selectively connecting and disconnecting the drive means to the first and second stepper motors in accordance with the requirements of the apparatus driven by said stepper motors.