Direct flux regulated permanent magnet brushless motor utilizing sensorless control

A flux regulated permanent magnet brushless motor comprising:

• a stator, said stator having an inner peripheral bore;
• and
• a permanent magnet rotor mounted within inner peripheral bore, said permanent magnet rotor having a flux path along a direct axis through the poles of the permanent magnets that is different than the flux path along a quadrature axis spaced 45° from the direct axis;
• and
• said stator being a hybrid-type stator, wherein there are radially outer stator wedges, and radial inner control coils, with said control coils being provided with a control current which may be varied, said current control being selectively increased above zero to partially saturate the outer stator wedges, and decrease their magnetic permeability to regulate the flux of the machine;
• and
• a difference in a magnetic characteristic along said direct and quadrature axes being evaluated to identify a position of the permanent magnetic rotor.