Electromagnetic rotary engine

• US 7,834,495 B1
• Filed: 02/22/2008
• Issued: 11/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jack H. Mitchell
• Original Assignee: Jack H. Mitchell
• Inventors: Mitchell, Jack H
• Primary Examiner(s): Leung; Quyen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gonzalez Quinones; Jose A
• Application Number:
  US12/035,460
• Time in Patent Office: 998 Days
• Field of Search: 310/68.B, 310/46, 318/258, 318/400, 318/400.4
• US Class Current: 310/68.00B
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/22 Optical devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 16/00 Machines with more than one rotor or stator machines for transmitting mechanical power from a driving shaft to a driven shaft and comprising structurally interrelated motor and generator parts H02K51/00; permanent magnet machines with multiple rotors or stators relatively rotated for vectorially combining the excitation fields or the armature voltages H02K21/029
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 21/14 with magnets rotating within the armatures

Abstract

An electromagnetic engine is disclosed which utilizes a plurality of rotors mounted on a common drive shaft. There are permanent magnets mounted on and near the periphery of the rotors. Electromagnets are mounted external to the rotors but adjacent to the periphery of the rotors. A timing means is provided with each rotor to sense the position of the rotor and energize the electromagnets to a first magnetic polarity when the permanent magnets are a predetermined angular distance from an electromagnet. The energized electromagnets attract the permanent magnets and create rotation of the rotors and drive shaft. When a permanent magnet comes into alignment with an electromagnet the electromagnet is de-energized from its first magnetic polarity and is re-energized to the opposite magnetic polarity. This neutralizes the effects of residual magnetism and repels the permanent magnets to also create rotation of the rotors and drive shaft. At the same time different electromagnets associated with a different rotor are energized and the process is repeated. The staggered attraction and repelling of a plurality of permanent magnets and a plurality of electromagnets is converted into a cumulative rotational output of the engine.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic rotary engine having a drive shaft and a power supply to drive the engine, the engine comprising:

a plurality of rotors attached to the drive shaft;

a plurality of permanent magnets spaced around and near the edges on each of the rotors;

a plurality of electromagnets spaced around but separate from, and positioned adjacent to each of the rotors;

means to indicate the position of each rotor as it turns;

a first means for energizing each electromagnet to a first state to create a first magnetic polarity that causes the permanent magnets to be attracted to the electromagnets and rotating the drive shaft in a first direction when the position indicating means indicates that a permanent magnet is a predetermined distance before rotating in the first direction to be opposite to an energized electromagnet, and the energizing means ceases energizing each electromagnet when the position indicating means indicates that the permanent magnet is adjacent to an energized electromagnet;

a second means for sequentially energizing each electromagnet, first to a second state of opposite polarity having a first level that just neutralizes the residual magnetism in the last mentioned electromagnet when the position indicating means indicates that the permanent magnet is adjacent to an energized electromagnet, and then to a second state of opposite polarity having a second, higher level that repels the permanent magnet on the rotor and rotates the drive shaft in the first direction;

wherein when the second energizing means ceases energizing an electromagnet adjacent to one rotor the first energizing means energizes another electromagnet on another rotor and this sequence is repeated through all the plurality of rotors, and the sum of all the forces between permanent magnets and energized electromagnets on the plurality of rotors causes the drive shaft to rotate in the first direction.

2. The electromagnetic engine of claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of rotors has a first surface and a second surface on opposite sides of the rotors, and wherein the position indicating means comprises:

an elongated slot through each rotor near each of the first magnets;

a light source mounted in a fixed manner near the first surface of each of the rotors so that light emitted by the light sources will pass through the elongated slot as each rotor turns;

a photo-detector mounted in a fixed manner near the second surface of each of the rotors so that light passing through the elongated slot as each rotor turns will impinge on the photo-detector and cause a signal to be output there from; and

means responsive to the signal output from a photo-detector to energize the electromagnets around the rotor through the elongated slot of which light from a light source is passing.

3. The electromagnetic engine of claim 2 wherein the elongated slots through the plurality of rotors are oriented with respect to each other so that light from the light source adjacent to each of the rotors will only pass through one elongated slot at a time through one of the rotors in a sequential manner as the drive shaft rotates.

4. The electromagnetic engine of claim 3 wherein the electromagnets adjacent to only one of the rotors at a time are energized due to the sequential manner in which light from the light sources passes through all the elongated slots through all rotors.

5. The electromagnetic engine of claim 4 wherein the sequential manner in which the light passes through the elongated slots through all the rotors causes all the electromagnets adjacent to all the rotors to be energized and attract first magnets in a sequential manner that cause the drive shaft of the electromagnetic engine to rotate smoothly in the first direction.

6. A method for rotating the drive shaft of a rotary engine that has a plurality of rotors that are fastened to a drive shaft, a plurality of permanent magnets that are mounted on each rotor, a plurality of electromagnets that are fixedly mounted adjacent to each of the rotors, means for indicating the position of each of the rotors as they turn in a first direction, and a power supply to drive the engine, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) energizing the electromagnets adjacent to a rotor to a first polarity when the position indicating means indicates that permanent magnets on the last mentioned rotor are a predetermined number of degrees before rotating in the first direction to be opposite an energized electromagnet adjacent to the rotor;

(b) de-energizing the electromagnets adjacent to the last mentioned rotor when the position indicating means indicates that the last mentioned magnet is permanent magnets are adjacent to the energized electromagnets on the rotor;

(c) energizing the electromagnets adjacent to the last mentioned rotor to a second state of opposite polarity having a first level that just neutralizes the residual magnetism in the last mentioned electromagnets when the position indicating means indicates that the last mentioned permanent magnets are adjacent the electromagnets de-energized in step (b);

(d) subsequently energizing the electromagnets adjacent to the last mentioned rotor to the second state of opposite polarity but having a second, higher level that repels the permanent magnets and thereby continues to rotate the drive shaft in the first direction;

(e) repeating steps (a) through (d) for a different rotor that has not had its adjacent electromagnets energized and de-energized;

(f) repeating steps (a) through (e) until all the plurality of rotors have had their adjacent electromagnets energized and de-energized; and

(g) repeating steps (a) through (f);

wherein when each fixedly mounted electromagnet is energized per step (a) it attracts the permanent magnets that are a predetermined number of degrees before being opposite to the electromagnet and that causes the drive shaft to rotate in the first direction, by then de-energizing each electromagnet per step (b) and then re-energizing the electromagnets per step (c) to an opposite polarity of a first level the drive shaft is permitted to continue rotating in the first direction without interference from residual magnetism, and by then re-energizing the electromagnets per step (d) to an opposite polarity of a second level the permanent magnets are repelled from the last mentioned electromagnets in the first direction; and

wherein the sum of all the attractive and repelling forces between the permanent magnets and the energized electromagnets for all rotors causes the drive shaft to continue rotating in the first direction.

7. The method for rotating the drive shaft of an electrical engine in accordance with claim 6 further comprising the step of:

(h) sensing when the position indicating means indicates that a permanent magnet on a rotor is a predetermined number of degrees before rotating in the first direction to be opposite an energized electromagnet adjacent to the rotor and then causing the energizing of the electromagnets in step (a).