DRV8870 Brushed-DC Motor Driver

Texas Instruments' DRV8870 device is a brushed-DC motor driver for printers, appliances, industrial equipment, and other small machines. Two logic inputs control the H-bridge driver, which consists of four N-channel MOSFETs that can control motors bidirectionally with up to 3.6 A peak current. The inputs can be pulse-width modulated (PWM) to control motor speed using a choice of current-decay modes. Setting both inputs low enters a low-power sleep mode.

The DRV8870 device features integrated current regulation, based on the analog input V_REF and the voltage on the ISEN pin, which is proportional to motor current through an external sense resistor. The ability to limit current to a known level can significantly reduce the system power requirements and bulk capacitance needed to maintain stable voltage especially for motor startup and stall conditions.

The device is fully protected from faults and short circuits including under-voltage (UVLO), over-current (OCP), and over-temperature (TSD) protections. When the fault condition is removed the device automatically resumes normal operation.