US 7,868,511 B2Granted

Electrical devices using disk and non-disk shaped rotors

AssigneeMotor Excellence, LLC

InventorDavid Gregory Calley

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

Various devices for generating electrical or mechanical output, comprising a coil, a rotor assembly rotatable about an axis, the rotor comprising alternating magnet portion and flux conducting portions, each of the magnet portions having a first end with a first polarity and a second end with the opposite polarity and oriented along the periphery such that the first end of each magnet portion points toward the first end of the previous magnet portion and the second end of each magnet portion points toward the second end of the next magnet portion, a stator assembly having first and second sets of stator flux conductor extensions, each of the stator flux conductor extensions having a stator surface facing the rotor, wherein rotating the rotor assembly about the axis alternates the rotor assembly between a first and a second position, causing magnetic flux to flow. The stator and the rotor may be reversed in operation. Other variations are presented, including multiple geometries for both the permanent magnets and the flux conductive portions of the invention. A means of coupling the invention to an exterior device or apparatus is also discussed, as are ways to control the output of the device.

Claims36

Dependent claims

An electrical machine, comprising:

a coil;
a rotor assembly rotatable about an axis, the rotor comprising an alternating plurality of magnet portions and plurality of flux conducting portions, each of the plurality of magnet portions having a first end with a first polarity and a second end with the opposite polarity and being oriented in a circumferential direction, pairs of magnet portions sandwiching flux conduction portions, each pair of sandwiching magnet portions being oriented such that each sandwiched flux conducting portion is sandwiched between either two first ends or two second ends of the pair of sandwiching magnet portions;
and
a stator assembly having first and second sets of stator flux conductor extensions, each of the stator flux conductor extensions having a stator surface facing the rotor;
wherein rotating the rotor assembly about the axis alternates the rotor assembly between a first position and a second position;
wherein, in the first position, magnetic flux flows in a first path in a first direction through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor;
wherein, in the second position, magnetic flux flows in a second path in a second direction through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor, the first direction being substantially opposite the second direction;
wherein the first set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a first stator portion,
wherein the second set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a second stator portion, and
wherein the first stator portion is rotatable about the axis relative to the second stator portion.

7 more elements

An electrical machine, comprising:

a coil;
a substantially ring-shaped rotor assembly rotatable about an axis and at least partially surrounding the coil, the rotor assembly having at a peripheral location an attached plurality of magnet portions alternating with an attached plurality of flux conducting portions,
wherein each of the plurality of magnet portions has a first end with a first polarity and a second end with opposite polarity, each of the plurality of magnet portions being oriented along the peripheral location such that the first end of each magnet portion points toward the first end of the sequential magnet portion in a first circumferential direction, and the second end of each magnet portion points toward the second end of the sequential magnet portion in a second circumferential direction opposite the first circumferential direction;
and
a stator assembly at least partially surrounding the coil, the stator assembly having first and second sets of stator flux conductor extensions, each of the stator flux conductor extensions having a stator surface facing the rotor;
wherein the rotor assembly is rotatable about the axis between a first position and a second position;
wherein, in the first position, each of the stator surfaces of the first set of stator flux conductor extensions faces one of the plurality of rotor flux conducting portions located between two first ends of successive magnet portions, and each of the stator surfaces of the second set of stator flux conductor extensions faces one of the plurality of rotor flux conducting portions located between two second ends of successive magnet portions;
wherein, in the second position, each of the stator surfaces of the first set of stator flux conductor extensions faces one of the plurality of rotor flux conducting portions located between two second ends of successive magnet portions, and each of the stator surfaces of the second set of stator flux conductor extensions faces one of the plurality of rotor flux conducting portions located between two first ends of successive magnet portions,
wherein the first set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a first stator portion,
wherein the second set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a second stator portion, and
wherein the first stator portion is rotatable about the axis relative to the second stator portion.

8 more elements

An electrical machine, comprising:

a coil;
a rotor assembly at least partially encompassing the coil and rotatable about an axis, the rotor comprising a plurality of non-rectilinear magnet portions alternating with a plurality of non-rectilinear flux conducting portions;
wherein each of the plurality of magnet portions has a first end having a first polarity and a second end having the opposite polarity, each of the plurality of magnet portions being oriented such that the first end of each magnet portion points toward the first end of the sequential magnet portion in a first circumferential direction, and such that the second end of each magnet portion points toward the second end of the sequential magnet portion in a second circumferential direction opposite the first circumferential direction;
a stator assembly having first and second sets of stator flux conductor extensions, each of the stator flux conductor extensions having a stator surface facing the rotor;
wherein the rotor assembly is rotatable about the axis between a first position and a second position;
wherein, in the first position, magnetic flux flows in a first path through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor in a first direction;
wherein, in the second position, magnetic flux flows in a second path through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor in a second direction, the second direction being substantially opposite the first direction,
wherein the first set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a first stator portion,
wherein the second set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a second stator portion, and
wherein the first stator portion is rotatable about the axis relative to the second stator portion.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/149,934Filed 9 May 2008 · us provisional application
Priority: 9 May 2007
Published: US 2009/0206696 A120 Aug 2009
Granted: 11 Jan 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification15 codes

H02K 21/125
With stationary armatures and rotating magnets: having an annular armature coil
H02K 1/02
Details of the magnetic circuit: characterised by the magnetic material
H02K 1/141
Stator cores with salient poles: consisting of C-shaped cores
H02K 1/18
Stationary parts of the magnetic circuit: means for mounting or fastening magnetic stationary parts on to, or to, the stator structures

Family

Application60/924,328Us provisional application · filed 9 May 2007
Application61/064,162Us provisional application · filed 20 Feb 2008
Application61/064,161Us provisional application · filed 20 Feb 2008
US 2009/0206696 A1Pre-grant publication · published 20 Aug 2009
US 7,868,511 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.