# US 2024/0204591 A1 · Electric motors > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2024/0204591 A1 - Document ID: US20240204591A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 18/593,229 - Filed: 2024-03-01 - Published: 2024-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2020-01-16 - Assignees: Tau Motors, Inc. - Applicants: Tau Motors, Inc. - Inventors: Walter Wesley Pennington, III; Matthew J. Rubin; Gregory Gordon Stevenson; Michael Parker Owen - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20240204591A1 ## CPC - H02K 1/223: {Rotor cores with windings and permanent magnets (for additional excitation in synchronous motors or generators H02K21/042; in synchronous motors having additional short-circuited winding for starting as an asynchronous motor H02K21/46)} - H02K 1/02: characterised by the magnetic material - H02K 21/16: having annular armature cores with salient poles (with homopolar co-operation H02K21/20) - H02P 7/29: using pulse modulation - H02P 25/022: Synchronous motors (H02P25/064 takes precedence) - H02P 25/03: with brushless excitation - H02K 21/14: with magnets rotating within the armatures - H02P 2207/05: Synchronous machines, e.g. with permanent magnets or DC excitation - H02K: DYNAMO-ELECTRIC MACHINES (dynamo-electric relays H01H53/00; conversion of DC or AC input power into surge output power {H03K3/53}) - H02P: CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS ## Abstract A stator defines multiple stator poles with associated electrical windings. A rotor includes multiple rotor poles. The rotor is movable with respect to the stator and defines, together with the stator, a nominal gap between the stator poles and the rotor poles. The rotor poles includes a magnetically permeable pole material. The rotor also includes a series of frequency programmable flux channels (FPFCs). Each FPFC includes a conductive loop surrounding an associated rotor pole. The stator and the rotor are arranged such that the electrical windings in the stator induce an excitement current within at least one of the FPFCs during start-up. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A synchronous electric machine comprising: a stator defining multiple stator poles with associated electrical windings that overlap one another; a rotor comprising multiple rotor poles, the rotor movable with respect to the stator and defining, together with the stator, a nominal gap between the stator poles and the rotor poles, the rotor poles comprising a magnetically permeable pole material; and a stator-rotor coupling configured to wirelessly communicate signals between the stator and a circuit on the rotor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the circuit includes a frequency programmable flux channel (FPFC). ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The synchronous electric machine of claim 2, wherein current induced in the FPFC generates a magnetic field configured to oppose an alternating magnetic field induced between the stator and the rotor, thereby producing a repelling force therebetween. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the circuit includes a logic circuit of an active FPFC. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the stator-rotor coupling is configured to perform wireless power transfer from the stator to the rotor. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the signals between the stator and the rotor provide torque, speed, flux and signal coupling or control. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the signals include a constant excitation frequency to the rotor regardless of rotor speed. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The synchronous electric machine of claim 7, wherein the signals include modulation of stator excitation under constant or dynamic speed conditions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, wherein the stator-rotor coupling includes a plurality of frequency programmable flux channels (FPFCs), and wherein current induced in the each FPFC generates a magnetic field configured to oppose an alternating magnetic field induced between the stator and the rotor, thereby producing a repelling force therebetween. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein the repelling force concentrates or redirects magnetic flux of the magnetic field substantially tangentially along a direction of relative motion between the rotor and the stator to increase a force available to do work by the synchronous electric machine. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein the magnetic field configured to oppose an alternating magnetic field is a reflective or resistant magnetic field, such that each FPFC controllably attenuates a change in total magnetic flux of the synchronous electric machine during operation. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein each rotor pole and associated FPFCs are salient and non-overlapping with respect to other rotor poles and associated FPFCs. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein the stator and the rotor are arranged such that the electrical windings in the stator induce an excitement current within at least one of the FPFCs during start-up or wherein the stator and the rotor are arranged such that the electrical windings in the stator magnetize at least one of the rotor poles during start-up. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein each of the FPFCs do not overlap with an adjacent FPFC. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The synchronous electric machine of claim 9, wherein each FPFC comprises a conductive loop surrounding an associated rotor pole. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The synchronous electric machine of claim 15, wherein the conductive loop comprises a substantially uniform inductance. ### Claim 17 (depends on 15) The synchronous electric machine of claim 15, wherein the conductive loop comprises a rectifier in series with two ends of the conductive loop. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The synchronous electric machine of claim 15, wherein the conductive loop includes a discrete capacitor or a logic circuit in series with two ends of the conductive loop configured to tune the FPFC to be responsive to specified frequencies. ### Claim 19 (depends on 15) The synchronous electric machine of claim 15, wherein the conductive loop is a first conductive loop and the rotor pole is a first rotor pole, and wherein each FPFC further comprises a second conductive loop the associated rotor pole and an additional rotor pole adjacent the first rotor pole. ### Claim 20 (depends on 1) The synchronous electric machine of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to: apply a pulse of magnetizing current over time to a stator coil of a stator pole when the stator pole is aligned with a rotor pole across a nominal gap, wherein the magnetizing current is configured to charge a magnetic field within the rotor pole through induced coupling; and apply a load current pulsed over time to the stator coil when rotor pole is positioned between adjacent stator poles, wherein the load current pulses stiffen the magnetic field within the rotor pole, and wherein the pulsed load current comprising more pulses per increment of time than pulse the magnetizing current.