Switched reluctance motor and control method therefor

A switched reluctance motor comprising:

• a motor main body including:
• a rotor having a plurality of rotor salient poles;
• a stator having a plurality of stator salient poles;
• a drive winding of each phase wound around stator salient poles of the plurality of stator salient poles, of the phase;
• and
• a permanent magnet disposed in a stator yoke and changeable in magnetization state by means of a magnetic field caused by current flow;
• a drive circuit that outputs a drive current to the drive winding of each phase to rotate the rotor;
• and
• a pulse current output circuit that outputs a pulse current to be superimposed on the drive current during an application time shorter than an application time of the drive current to the drive winding of each phase, thereby causing the drive winding of each phase to generate a magnetic flux in a magnetic circuit extending through the rotor, the stator, and the permanent magnet and thereby causing a change in the magnetization state of the permanent magnet.