Phantom Electric Motor System with Parallel Coils

• US 20160105139A1
• Filed: 10/10/2014
• Published: 04/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Tillotson, Brian J., Zeng, Peng, Corey, Steven Richard
• Granted Patent: US 10,128,789 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/0094 Structural association with other electrical or electronic devices
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 11/35 Devices for recording or transmitting machine parameters, e.g. memory chips or radio transmitters for diagnosis
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 19/103 Motors having windings on the stator and a variable reluctance soft-iron rotor without windings
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 3/20 for auxiliary purposes, e.g. damping or commutating
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 3/28 Layout of windings or of connections between windings windings for pole-changing H02K17/06, H02K17/14, H02K19/12, H02K19/32
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 3/47 Air-gap windings, i.e. iron-free windings
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 37/02 of variable reluctance type
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 37/08 with rotors axially facing the stators
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 2201/05 Capacitive half bridge, i.e. resonant inverter having two capacitors and two switches
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/00 Arrangements or methods for the control of AC motors characterised by the kind of supply voltage of two or more motors H02P5/00; of synchronous motors with electronic commutators H02P6/00; of DC motors H02P7/00; of stepping motors H02P8/00
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 27/04 using variable-frequency supply voltage, e.g. inverter or converter supply voltage
• CPC Class Codes: H02P 31/00 Arrangements for regulating or controlling electric motors not provided for in groups H02P1/00 - H02P5/00, H02P7/00 or H02P21/00 - H02P29/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/263 Multiple coils at either side
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/70 specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/72 for local intradevice communication

Abstract

A method and apparatus for operating an electric motor is presented. A transmit magnetic field is received at a group of receive coils having a group of axes oriented substantially parallel to magnetic field lines from a transmit coil and having a group of resonant frequencies. A resonant frequency in the group of resonant frequencies is different from other receive coils in the group of receive coils. A receive magnetic field is generated at a receive coil in the group of receive coils having the resonant frequency when the transmit magnetic field has a selected frequency matching the resonant frequency. The receive magnetic field attracts a rotor in the electric motor.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a rotor comprised of a magnetic material; and

a group of receive coils having a group of axes oriented substantially parallel to magnetic field lines from a transmit coil and having a group of resonant frequencies, wherein a receive coil in the group of receive coils has a resonant frequency in the group of resonant frequencies that is different from other receive coils in the group of receive coils such that the receive coil generates a receive magnetic field that attracts the rotor when a transmit magnetic field has a selected frequency relative to the resonant frequency for the receive coil.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the group of axes have an orientation selected from one of substantially parallel to a rotor axis and substantially perpendicular to the rotor axis.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotor is rotatable about a rotor axis and the group of receive coils have a fixed position.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotor is fixed and the group of receive coils are rotatable around a rotor axis.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a transmitter having the transmit coil that generates the transmit magnetic field.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a group of capacitors connected to the group of receive coils, wherein the group of capacitors sets the group of resonant frequencies for the group of receive coils.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotor rotates within a rotor volume and a first portion of the receive coil in the group of coils is located on a first side of the rotor volume and a second portion of the receive coil is located on a second side of the rotor volume that is opposite to the first side of the rotor volume and wherein the first portion of the receive coil is connected to the second portion of the receive coil by a capacitor.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotor and the group of receive coils are part of a phantom motor that receives power wirelessly, and a transmitter is part of a controller, and the phantom motor and the controller form a phantom motor system.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a transmitter comprises transmit coils including the transmit coil.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a tilt adjustment system that changes an orientation of the group of axes based on an amount of divergence of the group of axes from the magnetic field lines in the transmit magnetic field.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the rotor and the group of coils form an electric motor associated with a platform selected from one of a mobile platform, a stationary platform, a land-based structure, an aquatic-based structure, a space-based structure, an aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned ground vehicle, surface ship, a tank, a personnel carrier, a train, a spacecraft, a space station, a satellite, a submarine, an automobile, a power plant, a bridge, a dam, a house, a manufacturing facility, a building, an artificial limb, an artificial organ, an implantable drug pump, a biomedical implant, a robotic arm, and a nano robot.

12. A method for operating an electric motor, the method comprising:

receiving a transmit magnetic field at a group of receive coils having a group of axes oriented substantially parallel to magnetic field lines from a transmit coil and having a group of resonant frequencies, wherein a resonant frequency in the group of resonant frequencies is different from other receive coils in the group of receive coils; and

generating a receive magnetic field at a receive coil in the group of receive coils having the resonant frequency when the transmit magnetic field has a selected frequency matching the resonant frequency, wherein the receive magnetic field attracts a rotor in the electric motor.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

generating the transmit magnetic field at the transmit coil positioned relative to the group of receive coils.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

changing a transmit frequency of the transmit magnetic field over a cycle such that all of the group of receive coils generates a group of receive magnetic fields during the cycle.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotor rotates within a rotor volume and a first portion of the receive coil in the group of coils is located on a first side of the rotor volume and a second portion of the receive coil is located on a second side of the rotor volume that is opposite to the first side of the rotor volume and wherein the first portion of the receive coil is connected to the second portion of the receive coil by a capacitor.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotor and the group of receive coils are part of a phantom motor that receives power wirelessly through the transmit magnetic field.

17. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

changing an orientation of the group of axes based on an amount of divergence of the group of axes from the magnetic field lines in the transmit magnetic field.

18. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotor is rotatable about a rotor axis and the group of receive coils have a fixed position.

19. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotor is fixed and the group of receive coils are rotatable around a rotor axis.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the rotor and the group of coils form an electric motor associated with a platform selected from one of a mobile platform, a stationary platform, a land-based structure, an aquatic-based structure, a space-based structure, an aircraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned ground vehicle, surface ship, a tank, a personnel carrier, a train, a spacecraft, a space station, a satellite, a submarine, an automobile, a power plant, a bridge, a dam, a house, a manufacturing facility, a building, an artificial limb, an artificial organ, an implantable drug pump, a biomedical implant, a robotic arm, and a nano robot.