Rotor with magnet pattern

Abstract

Planar rotor designs for axial air-gap electric machines are presented. Some embodiments comprise rotors each of whose magnetic poles comprise a pair of permanent magnets each magnetized in an orientation of about 45° to the direction of the rotor axis. In some embodiments, axial components of the magnetization of each pair of magnets are co-directional, and tangential components of the magnetization of each pair of magnets are opposite.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the priority and benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of US Provisional Patent Applications 61 / 773,295 filed 6 Mar. 2013 and 61 / 693,375 filed 27 Aug. 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to a rotor for an electric machine such as an electric motor or generator, and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to patterns for magnetic elements of a planar rotor for an axial air-gap electric machine.[0003]As an aid to understanding the present invention, several examples of known designs for planar rotors of axial air-gap machines are presented, for purposes of comparison, in the accompanying figures, and are discussed herein. As will be seen in that discussion, some of these designs presented may be relatively inefficient in the use of space available for a planar rotor, as compared to some embodiments of the presen...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention is about a new design for an electrical machine that uses a planar unit as its rotor. The design helps to optimize the use of magnet material in the rotor, and may be simpler and less expensive to manufacture compared to some previous designs. Overall, the technical effect of the invention is to improve the efficiency and performance of electrical machines.

Problems solved by technology

The designs may also be advantageous in that they may be more simple than some prior art designs, since some embodiments require only two types of magnetic pieces whereas some comparably efficient prior art designs require manufacture and assembly of a larger number of types of magnetic pieces, which may make those known designs more difficult and expensive to manufacture.

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