US Patent 7113376 Motor control apparatus

In a control apparatus for a motor, an over-current protection circuit detects an abnormality in a motor current forcibly turns off a MOSFET. The over-current protection circuit has a timer function and a time switching function. In the timer operation, the over-current protection circuit stops an abnormality detection signal for an ON time period before producing the signal for an OFF time period when a current flowing through the motor exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The time switching function is for controlling to lengthen the OFF time period to a relatively larger value in comparison with the ON time period.