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Axial gap electrical machine

  • US 7,098,566 B2
  • Filed: 10/05/2001
  • Issued: 08/29/2006
  • Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2001
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. An electrical machine with an axis of rotation between a magnetic field element (102/103 FIG. 1, FIG. 9) with a plurality of pairs of poles, each pair of poles arranged to provide a substantially axial magnetic field between members of said pairs of poles in a direction substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of said electrical machine, and wherein said plurality of pairs of poles are arranged to be around a circle about the axis of rotation of said electrical machine, and wherein said magnetic field element is supported by a first support element;

  • and at least one internally self braced toroidal wound element (101 FIG. 1) comprising a first toroid of rotation and a second toroid of rotation, each with a radial direction and each coaxial with the axis of rotation of said electrical machine (147 A,B FIG. 16 A), said at least one toroidal wound element mechanically supported at one or both of its external and internal peripheries by a second support element, and comprising a plurality of interlocking windings (FIGS. 2J, 2S, 10C, 13C) wherein each of said windings has a first end and a second end (111c of FIGS. 2J, 2S, 10C, 13C), and each comprising a contiguous flat insulated conductor with a length, and a width (“

    w”

    FIG. 2C) and a thickness (“

    t”

    FIG. 2C) at each point along said length, and wherein the width is greater than the thickness at each point along said length, and said conductor having a first and second face across said thickness along said length of said conductor, and wherein said conductor comprises at least one pair of working segments along its length, each of said working segments oriented such that the width of the conductor along the length of said working segments lies substantially in the direction of said substantially axial magnetic field (FIGS. 2M, 2T, 10C, 13C), and wherein for all windings of said at least one wound element, the first face of said contiguous conductor for each winding, along each element of the at least one pair of working segments is a first face of respectively each element of the at least one pair of working segments and faces substantially in the local direction of motion of said working segment in the electrical machine, and wherein the second face of said contiguous conductor for each winding, along each element of the at least one pair of working segments is a second face of respectively each of the elements of the at least one pair of working segments and faces substantially in the direction opposite the local direction of motion of said working segment in the electrical machine, and wherein said at least one pair of working segments comprise a first working segment and a second working segment, wherein the first working segment (148A FIG. 1) lies across the first toroid of rotation with its length along the radial direction of said first toroid of rotation and the second working segment (148B FIG. 1) lies across the second toroid of rotation with its length along the radial direction of said second toroid of rotation, and wherein the first working segment and the second working segment are arranged with a non-working segment of said conductor on either side thereof, thereby forming a turn of said winding with a first end and a second end, and wherein a space between each of the pairs of poles of the magnetic field element (102, 103), straddle and are separated by a pair of working airgaps (139) from the first and second toroids of rotation of the at least one wound element,such that relative movement of the pairs of poles of said magnetic field element cause their magnetic field relative to the working segments in the at least one would element to generate an electromotive force across the working segments, and conversely such that when there is an electromotive force applied to the ends of the working segments, the induced current in the working segments and thereby in the magnetic field of the magnetic field element, create a force on the magnetic field element to cause its relative movement in a predetermined direction of rotation.

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