Thrust generation mechanism

Abstract

A thrust generating mechanism capable of rotating a rotating body is provided. [Solution] The rotating body 210 has a rotating side magnet 221 attached thereto, and a plate-shaped magnet 320, and when the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are separated from each other, the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located at a first position where the S pole end face of the plate-shaped magnet 320 faces the S pole end face of the rotating side magnet 221, and when the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are close to each other, the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located at a second position where the S pole end face of the plate-shaped magnet 320 faces the N pole end face of the rotating side magnet 221.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This relates to a thrust generating mechanism that rotates a rotor using magnetic force generated by a magnet. [Background technology]

[0002] A contactless propulsion device is known as a thrust generating mechanism that uses magnets to move a moving part (see, for example, Patent Document 1), but this device uses the magnetic field generated by the magnet to levitate the moving part, and the moving part cannot be moved sufficiently. For this reason, the inventor of the present application has developed the thrust generating mechanism according to Patent Document 2. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 62-264846 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 6985671 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The inventors of the present application have not only developed the thrust generating mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 2, but have also developed a new thrust generating mechanism.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a thrust generating mechanism capable of rotating a rotating body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The thrust generating mechanism according to the present invention comprises: a rotating magnet having one end surface with a first polarity and another end surface with a second polarity different from the first polarity; a fixed magnet having one end surface with the first polarity and another end surface with the second polarity, the second polarity being different from the first polarity; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with the rotation-side magnet is arranged such that a direction from the first polarity to the second polarity in the rotation-side magnet is aligned with a rotation axis direction of the rotor, The fixed magnet is The rotor is provided so as to be movable along the rotation axis direction of the rotor, The fixed magnet is the rotating-side magnet is configured to be capable of reciprocating between a first position where the other end face of the rotating-side magnet faces the other end face of the fixed-side magnet when the rotating-side magnet and the fixed-side magnet are facing each other, and a second position where one end face of the rotating-side magnet faces the other end face of the fixed-side magnet when the rotating-side magnet and the fixed-side magnet are facing each other, The rotating magnet The fixed magnet is located upstream in the rotation direction relative to In case, The fixed magnet is While being located in the first position, When the rotating body rotates, the rotating magnet moves closer to the fixed magnet than the upstream position. If they are close together, The fixed magnet is Located at the second position This is a thrust generating mechanism characterized by the above.

[0007] Further, the thrust generating mechanism according to the present invention comprises: a rotating magnet having one end surface with a first polarity and another end surface with a second polarity different from the first polarity; a fixed magnet having one end surface with the first polarity and another end surface with the second polarity, the second polarity being different from the first polarity; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed magnet is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed magnet is One end face of the fixed magnet is magnet Close to the other end of did The approach position and one end face of the fixed magnet From the close position toward the second direction separation did The actuator is configured to be capable of reciprocating between the movable position and the separated position, The rotating magnet The fixed magnet is located upstream in the rotation direction relative to In case, The fixed magnet is While being located at the spaced position, When the rotating body rotates, the rotating magnet moves closer to the fixed magnet than the upstream position. If they are close together, The fixed magnet is Located in the close position This is a thrust generating mechanism characterized by the above.

[0008] Further, the thrust generating mechanism according to the present invention comprises: A rotating magnet; a fixed-side member made of a magnetic material that is disposed in a position facing the rotation-side magnet and capable of receiving a magnetic force from the rotation-side magnet; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed member is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed member is The fixed member is Close to the rotating magnet did Proximity position and The fixed member moves from the adjacent position toward the second direction. separation did The actuator is configured to be capable of reciprocating between the movable position and the separated position, The rotating magnet The fixed member is located upstream in the rotation direction relative to In case, The fixed member is While being located at the spaced position, The rotation of the rotor causes the rotation-side magnet to move closer to the fixed-side member than the upstream position. If they are close together, The fixed member is Located in the close position This is a thrust generating mechanism characterized by the above.

[0009] Further, the thrust generating mechanism according to the present invention comprises: A fixed magnet; a rotating-side member made of a magnetic material that is provided at a position facing the fixed-side magnet and capable of receiving a magnetic force from the fixed-side magnet; a rotating body to which the rotating member is attached and which is rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed magnet is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed magnet is Fixed magnet One end face of is close to the rotating member did Close position and the fixed magnet one end surface of the separation did The actuator is configured to be capable of reciprocating between the movable position and the separated position, The rotating member The fixed magnet is located upstream in the rotation direction relative to In case, The fixed magnet is While being located at the spaced position, The rotation of the rotor causes the rotating member to move closer to the fixed magnet than the upstream position. If they are close together, The fixed magnet is Located in the close position This is a thrust generating mechanism characterized by the above. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thrust generating mechanism capable of rotating a rotating body. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2A and 2B are diagrams explaining the positional relationship of the thrust generating mechanism shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a plan view of the thrust generating mechanism shown in FIG. 1, (b) is a side view showing the left side of a plate-shaped third magnet associated with the thrust generating mechanism shown in (a), and (c) is a side view showing the right side of a plate-shaped second magnet associated with the thrust generating mechanism shown in (a). [Diagram 3] 2 is a rear view illustrating the relationship between the thrust generating mechanism and a moving part shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2A and 2B are diagrams for explaining the relationship between the thrust generating mechanism and the moving part shown in FIG. 1, in which (a) is a plan view showing the state in which the moving part is positioned between the plate-shaped second magnet that constitutes the linear first magnet part and the plate-shaped third magnet part that constitutes the linear second magnet part, (b) is a side view of the moving part shown in (a) as seen from the linear second magnet part, and (c) is a side view of the moving part shown in (a) as seen from the linear first magnet part side. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic state in which a moving part moves in the thrust generating mechanism shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 6] 5A and 5B are diagrams for typically explaining the thrust generating mechanism of the second embodiment, where (a) is a plan view of the thrust generating mechanism of the second embodiment, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the thrust generating mechanism shown in (a), and (c) is a side view for typically explaining the connection between the arc-shaped second magnets of the annular first magnet portion, the connection between the arc-shaped third magnets of the annular second magnet portion, and the connection between the arc-shaped fourth magnets of the annular third magnet portion in the thrust generating mechanism shown in (a). [Figure 7] 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams illustrating a thrust generating mechanism relating to variant example 1 of the first embodiment, where (a) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet overlap each other, (b) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet overlap each other, (c) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet do not overlap each other, (d) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet do not overlap each other, (e) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet are spaced apart from each other, and (f) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet are spaced apart from each other. [Figure 8] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating a thrust generating mechanism relating to variant example 1 of the second embodiment, where (a) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the arc-shaped second magnet and the arc-shaped third magnet overlap each other, (b) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the arc-shaped second magnet and the arc-shaped third magnet do not overlap each other, and (c) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the arc-shaped second magnet and the arc-shaped third magnet are spaced apart from each other. [Figure 9] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a thrust generating mechanism relating to variant 2 of the first embodiment, in which (a) is a plan view illustrating a state in which multiple magnets are provided downstream of each of the plate-shaped second magnet and the plate-shaped third magnet, (b) is a plan view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped first magnet, the plate-shaped second magnet, and the plate-shaped third magnet have thickness, and (c) is an oblique view showing another example of the plate-shaped first magnet. [Figure 10]1A and 1B are schematic diagrams illustrating variant example 1 of the plate-shaped first magnet, where (a) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped first magnet is inclined upward to the right relative to the plane, (b) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped first magnet is parallel to the plane, and (c) is a side view illustrating a state in which the plate-shaped first magnet is inclined upward to the left relative to the plane. [Figure 11] 1A and 1B are diagrams for typically explaining the configuration of a magnet body, and FIG. 1B is a diagram for typically explaining the polarity of the magnet body. [Figure 12] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a thrust generating mechanism according to a third embodiment, in which (a) is a rear view diagrammatically showing the thrust generating mechanism, and (b) is a plan view diagrammatically showing the thrust generating mechanism. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a thrust generating mechanism 100 according to a fourth embodiment, in which (a) is a side view illustrating the thrust generating mechanism, and (b) is a plan view illustrating the thrust generating mechanism. [Figure 14] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a thrust generating mechanism 100 according to a modified example of the fourth embodiment, in which (a) is a side view illustrating the thrust generating mechanism, and (b) is a plan view illustrating the thrust generating mechanism. [Figure 15] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a modified example using a tapered magnet, where (a) is a plan view showing the tapered magnet, (b) is a side view showing the tapered magnet, (c) is a side view showing a thrust generating mechanism using a tapered magnet, (d) is a plan view showing a thrust generating mechanism using a tapered magnet, and (e) is a side view showing a thrust generating mechanism using a tapered magnet. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic diagram of a thrust generating mechanism using a tapered magnet. [Figure 17] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a thrust generating mechanism using a tapered magnet. [Figure 18] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic representation of the positional relationship between a magnet body and an upright plate-shaped magnet, where (a) is a schematic rear view of the positional relationship, and (b) is a side view showing the positional relationship. [Figure 19]1A and 1B are diagrams showing a schematic positional relationship between a magnet body and a plate-shaped magnet in an upright state, where (a) is a schematic side view of said positional relationship, and (b) is a plan view showing said positional relationship. [Figure 20] FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a fixed-side magnet body. [Figure 21] 1A and 1B are diagrams for explaining modified examples of the moving part, where (a) is a rear view showing a state in which the moving part is provided at one end of the magnet body, and (b) is a rear view showing a state in which a moving part is provided at each end of the magnet body. [Figure 22] 22 is a rear view showing a schematic diagram of the moving part in FIG. 21 in a lying state. FIG. [Figure 23] FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing a thrust generating mechanism according to a fifth embodiment in a see-through state. [Figure 24] FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view showing a rocking mechanism of the thrust generating mechanism according to the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 25] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a displacement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 26] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a displacement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 27] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a displacement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 28] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a displacement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 29] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 30] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 31] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 32] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 33] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fixed side magnet according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 34]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fixed side magnet according to a modified example of the fifth embodiment. [Diagram 35] 13 is a diagram illustrating a vertical movement mechanism of a thrust generating mechanism according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 37-1] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a vertical movement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 37-2] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a vertical movement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 38] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a front-rear movement mechanism of a thrust generating mechanism according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 39] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a thrust generating mechanism according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 40-1] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a forward / backward movement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 40-2] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a forward / backward movement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a seventh embodiment. [Diagram 41] 13 is a diagram illustrating a restricting portion in a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the seventh embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 42] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a flow of operation of a forward / backward movement mechanism in a thrust generating mechanism according to a modified example of the seventh embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] 1 to 4, a thrust generating mechanism (thrust generating device) 1 according to the first embodiment has a moving part 3 that is movable on a plane G (see FIGS. 3 and 4) such as the ground or a floor and has a plate-shaped first magnet (first magnet) 9 attached thereto, and a linear first magnet part (one-side magnet part) 5 and a second magnet part (other-side magnet part) 7 that are placed on the plane G and positioned on both sides of the moving part 3. Note that there is only one moving part 3 in this embodiment, but in FIG. 2, two moving parts 3, one on the left and one on the right, are shown in order to show a state in which the moving part 3 moves from the rear side to the front side (from the right side to the left side as viewed in FIG. 2).

[0013] The moving part 3 has a plate-shaped first magnet 9 (see FIG. 2) which is a permanent magnet, a case 11 (see FIG. 1) made of a non-magnetic material such as resin that covers the periphery of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, and four wheels 13 (see FIG. 4(a)) provided at the front and rear of the lower part of both sides of the case 11 and placed on a plane G, and moves in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A (leftward in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4). For ease of explanation, the case 11 and wheels 13 of the moving part 3 are omitted in FIG. 2 (in other words, only the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is shown), and the case 11 of the moving part 3 is omitted in FIGS. 3 and 4 (in other words, only the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and wheels 13 are shown).

[0014] As shown in Fig. 2(a), the lower left side surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 as viewed in Fig. 2(a) has a magnetic N pole, and the upper right side surface (the other surface) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 as viewed in Fig. 2(a) has a magnetic S pole. When the moving part 3 is placed on a plane G, the left side surface 9a and the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 are each vertical surfaces perpendicular to the plane G (see Fig. 3).

[0015] Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the moving part 3 is placed on the plane G, when viewed from the front direction indicated by the arrow A and from a direction perpendicular to the height direction of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (the up-down direction in FIG. 4(b)) (the direction penetrating the paper surface in FIG. 4(b), hereinafter this direction will be referred to simply as the "vertical direction"), the first center line (moving side center line) C1 passing through the center of the height direction of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is parallel to the plane G.

[0016] 2 to 4, the N pole is the white part and the S pole is the black part. This also applies to the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 described later, and to Fig. 6 described later, as well as to each of the embodiments and modified examples described later. Note that in this embodiment, the white part is the N pole and the black part is the S pole, but it goes without saying that the white part may be the S pole and the black part the N pole.

[0017] The movement direction of the moving part 3 in this embodiment is restricted by each wheel 13 to either the forward direction (first direction) indicated by arrow A or the backward direction opposite to the first direction. In other words, the case 11 and the four wheels 13 on the front, rear, left and right sides constitute a movement direction restricting part that restricts the movement direction of the moving part 3 to the front-rear direction.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2(c), the linear first magnet section 5 is configured by arranging a plurality of plate-shaped second magnets (second magnets) 15, which are plate-shaped permanent magnets, along the front-rear direction, and these plate-shaped second magnets 15 have the same shape as each other. Specifically, the linear first magnet section 5 is configured by sequentially fixing the front and rear adjacent plate-shaped second magnets 15 to the upper half of the rear surface of the front plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the lower half of the front surface of the rear plate-shaped second magnet 15 in order to be connected to each other by adhesive or welding, and then covering the periphery of these plate-shaped second magnets 15 with a non-magnetic case (not shown). Note that in FIG. 2(c), for the sake of convenience of explanation, some of all the plate-shaped second magnets 15 constituting the linear first magnet section 5 are shown cut away.

[0019] The left side surface 15a of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 on the lower side as viewed in FIG. 2(a) has a magnetic pole of S pole, and the right side surface (other surface) 15b on the upper side as viewed in FIG. 2(a) has a magnetic pole of N pole, which is the same as the left side surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9. That is, the right side surface (one side facing surface) 15b of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 can face the left side surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3 that moves forward between the linear first magnet part 5 and the linear second magnet part 7, as shown in FIG. 3, and has the same polarity as this left side surface 9a. Therefore, a repulsive force CL is applied between the left side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the right side surface 15b of the plate-shaped second magnet 15. In addition, when the linear first magnet part 5 is placed on the plane G, the left side surface 15a and the right side surface 15b of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 are vertical surfaces perpendicular to the plane G.

[0020] As shown in Figs. 4(b) and (c), the lower end of the rear end of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 (for example, the lower right corner as viewed in Figs. 4(b) and (c)) is in contact with the plane G, while the lower end of the front end of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 (the lower left corner as viewed in Figs. 4(b) and (c)) is floating above the plane G. In other words, each plate-shaped second magnet 15 is inclined upward toward the front so that the inclination angle between the bottom surface of this plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plane G is a predetermined angle (acute angle). In addition, the inclination angles of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 are the same. Therefore, when the linear first magnet part 5 is placed on the plane G, the second center line (first center line on the stationary side) C2 passing through the center in the height direction of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 intersects with the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 at a predetermined angle as viewed from the vertical direction.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 2(b), the linear second magnet section 7 is configured by arranging a plurality of plate-shaped third magnets 17, which are plate-shaped permanent magnets, along the front-rear direction, in the same manner as the linear first magnet section 5 described above, and these plate-shaped third magnets 17 have the same shape as each other. Specifically, the linear second magnet section 7 is configured by sequentially fixing the front and rear adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17 to the upper half of the rear face of the front plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the lower half of the front face of the rear plate-shaped third magnet 17 so as to be connected to each other by adhesive or welding, and then covering the periphery of these third magnets 17 with a non-magnetic case (not shown). Note that, in FIG. 2(b), as in FIG. 2(c), for convenience of explanation, only a portion of all the plate-shaped third magnets 17 constituting the linear second magnet section 7 is shown.

[0022] The left side surface (opposing surface on the other side) 17a on the lower side as viewed in FIG. 2(a) of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 has the same magnetic pole of S as the right side surface (opposing surface on the other side) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, and the right side surface 17b on the upper side as viewed in FIG. 2(a) has a magnetic pole of N. That is, the left side surface (opposing surface on the other side) 17a of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 can face the right side surface (opposing surface on the other side) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3 that moves forward between the linear first magnet part 5 and the linear second magnet part 7 as shown in FIG. 3, and has the same polarity as this right side surface 9b. Therefore, a repulsive force CR acts between the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the left side surface 17a of the plate-shaped third magnet 17. In addition, when the linear second magnet part 7 is placed on the plane G, the left side surface 17a and the right side surface 17b of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 are vertical surfaces perpendicular to the plane G.

[0023] As shown in Figs. 4(b) and (c), the lower end of the rear end of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 (for example, the lower right corner as viewed in Figs. 3(b) and (c)) is in contact with the plane G, while the tip end of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 (the end on the left side as viewed in Figs. 3(b) and (c)) is floating above the plane G. In other words, each plate-shaped third magnet 17 is inclined upward toward the front so that the inclination angle between the bottom surface of this plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the plane G is the same predetermined angle as the inclination angle between the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plane G, and the inclination angles of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 are the same as each other. Therefore, when the linear second magnet portion 7 is placed on the plane G, the third center line (second center line on the stationary side) C3 passing through the center in the height direction of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 is parallel to the second center line C2 when viewed from the vertical direction, and intersects with the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 at a predetermined angle (acute angle).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, the linear first magnet portion 5 and the linear second magnet portion 7 are formed to have the same length. The linear first magnet portion 5 and the linear second magnet portion 7 are arranged at a predetermined interval so as to be parallel to each other and face each other on the plane G. In this state, the linear first magnet portion 5 and the linear second magnet portion 7 are arranged so that the tip of the linear second magnet portion 7 is located forward of the tip of the linear first magnet portion 5 by half the length in the front-rear direction of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 inclined at a predetermined angle (hereinafter simply referred to as the "front-rear length of the magnet"). In other words, the linear first magnet portion 5 and the linear second magnet portion 7 are positioned such that the respective plate-shaped second magnets 15 and plate-shaped third magnets 17 are shifted forward and backward by half the front-rear length of the magnets when viewed from the vertical direction (see FIG. 1).

[0025] Specifically, as can be seen from Fig. 1, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (the plate-shaped second magnet 15 on the left side in Fig. 1) located at the front among the (plurality) plate-shaped second magnets 15 constituting the linear first magnet section 5, and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 (the plate-shaped third magnet 17 on the left side in Fig. 1) located at the front among the plate-shaped third magnets 17 constituting the linear second magnet section 7, the linear first magnet section 5 and the linear second magnet section 7 are arranged so that the lower tip of the frontmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 is located at the center of the frontmost plate-shaped third magnet 17. Note that, as for the linear first magnet section 5 and the linear second magnet section 7, it is sufficient that the respective plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17 are shifted forward and backward from each other when viewed from the vertical direction (in other words, it is sufficient that the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are not overlapped so as to coincide when viewed from the vertical direction), and the degree of shift can be appropriately set according to the specifications, etc. In addition, in this embodiment, the linear second magnet portion 7 is shifted forward relative to the linear first magnet portion 5, but it goes without saying that instead, the linear first magnet portion 5 may be shifted forward relative to the linear second magnet portion 7.

[0026] In this embodiment, each plate-shaped second magnet 15 and each plate-shaped third magnet 17 have the same shape, so the plate-shaped second magnet 15 of the linear first magnet portion 5 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 of the linear second magnet portion 7 facing this plate-shaped second magnet 15 have the positional relationship described below.

[0027] That is, taking the frontmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 of the linear first magnet section 5 as an example, the front half (the left half in FIG. 1) of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 faces the rear half (the right half in FIG. 1) of the frontmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 of the linear second magnet section 7, and the rear half of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 faces the front half of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 (the second plate-shaped third magnet 17 from the left in FIG. 1) located behind the frontmost plate-shaped third magnet 17. In other words, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 faces two adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17 (in a state of overlapping positional relationship when viewed from the vertical direction), and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 also faces two adjacent plate-shaped second magnets 15.

[0028] In this embodiment, when the moving part 3 is placed between the linear first magnet part 5 and the linear second magnet part 7 on the plane G as shown in Figs. 4(b) and (c), the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3 is below the second center line C2 of each plate-shaped second magnet 15 of the linear first magnet part 5 (below the right end of the center line C2 in Fig. 4(c)) and below the third center line C3 of each plate-shaped third magnet 17 of the linear second magnet part 7 (below the right end of the center line C3 in Fig. 4(b)). In this case, as shown in Fig. 3, a repulsive force acts between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 in the direction indicated by the arrow D (diagonally downward to the right in Fig. 3), and a repulsive force acts between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 in the direction indicated by the arrow E (diagonally downward to the left in Fig. 3). As a result, the moving part 3 is pressed against the plane G as shown by the arrow B, and the moving part 3 does not rise up from the plane G, so that the moving part 3 is stably and horizontally placed on the plane G.

[0029] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described based on the above-mentioned configuration. First, as shown in Fig. 5, the moving part 3 is placed (disposed) at an appropriate first position between the linear first magnet part 5 and the linear second magnet part 7 on the plane G, for example, a position between the front and rear plate-shaped third magnets 17 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 located between them when viewed vertically (the position of the moving part 3 on the right side in Fig. 5). At this time, as described above, the moving part 3 is stably placed on the plane G, and the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of this moving part 3 is also perpendicular to the plane G (see Fig. 3).

[0030] The plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are inclined upward toward the front with respect to the plate-shaped first magnet 9, and are in a positional relationship in which they are shifted from each other in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the range where the left side surface 17a of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 faces the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (see FIG. 4(b)) is smaller than the range where the right side surface 15b of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 faces the left side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (see FIG. 4(c)) (in other words, the exposed range (exposed area) of the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 that does not overlap with the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is larger than the exposed range of the left side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 that does not overlap with the plate-shaped second magnet 15). As a result, the repulsive force CL between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is larger than the repulsive force CR between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 (CL>CR).

[0031] Furthermore, due to the fact that the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are inclined upwards toward the front with respect to the plate-shaped first magnet 9, as shown in FIG. 4(c), the area of ​​the left side 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 that faces the right side 15b of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (the area that the plate-shaped second magnet 15 covers of the left side 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 when viewed vertically) is larger on the rear side of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 than on the front side (in other words, the exposed area of ​​the left side 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is larger on the front side than on the rear side of the plate-shaped first magnet 9). 4(b), the area of ​​the right side 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 facing the left side 17a of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 (the area of ​​the plate-shaped third magnet 17 covering the right side 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 when viewed vertically) is larger on the rear side than on the front side of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (in other words, the exposed area of ​​the right side 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is larger on the front side than on the rear side of the plate-shaped first magnet 9). As a result, the repulsive force CL between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the repulsive force CR between the plate-shaped magnet 9 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are both stronger on the rear side than on the front side of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, so that the moving part 3 to which the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is attached moves in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0032] After that, when the moving part 3 reaches the second position (the position of the moving part 3 in the center in FIG. 5) between the front and rear plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 located between them, as in the first position, the moving part 3 is also stably placed on the plane G, and the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3 is also perpendicular to the plane G. In this second position, contrary to the first position, the range in which the right side surface 15b of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 faces the left side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is smaller than the range in which the left side surface 17a of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 faces the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (in other words, the exposed range of the left side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is larger than the exposed range of the right side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9). As a result, the repulsive force CR between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 becomes larger than the repulsive force CL between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (CR>CL).

[0033] Also, even in this second position, the area of ​​the left side surface 9a of the first plate-shaped magnet 9 facing the right side surface 15b of the second plate-shaped magnet 15 is larger on the rear side than on the front side of the first plate-shaped magnet 9, and the area of ​​the right side surface 9b of the first plate-shaped magnet 9 facing the left side surface 17a of the third plate-shaped magnet 17 is larger on the rear side than on the front side of the first plate-shaped magnet 9. As a result, the repulsive force CL between the first plate-shaped magnet 9 and the second plate-shaped magnet 15 and the repulsive force CR between the first plate-shaped magnet 9 and the third plate-shaped magnet 17 are both stronger on the rear side of the first plate-shaped magnet 9 than on the front side of the first plate-shaped magnet 9, so that the moving part 3 to which the first plate-shaped magnet 9 is attached moves in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0034] In this way, as shown in FIG. 5, the moving part 3 moves forward by repeating the process of moving from an initial first position (the position of the moving part 3 on the left side in FIG. 5) to an initial second position (the position of the moving part 3 in the center in FIG. 5) which is located further forward than the initial first position, and then moving to a second first position (the position of the moving part 3 on the left side in FIG. 5) which is located further forward than the second position, and then to a second second position (not shown) which is located forward of the second first position.

[0035] Here, the moving part 3 moves because the magnetic force generated from the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3, the magnetic force generated from each plate-shaped second magnet 15 of the linear first magnet part 5, and the magnetic force generated from each plate-shaped third magnet 17 of the linear second magnet part 7 are always working. For this reason, if at least one of these magnets 9, 15, and 17 loses its magnetic force (is demagnetized) due to, for example, being heated to a temperature exceeding the Curie point due to some factor, a long-lasting strong external impact, or a factor such as self-demagnetization, the factor (energy) for moving the moving part 3 disappears, and the moving part 3 cannot move. Therefore, it should be noted that the thrust generating mechanism 1 of this embodiment does not correspond to a so-called perpetual motion machine.

[0036] As described above, since each plate-shaped second magnet 15 of the linear first magnet section 5 and each plate-shaped third magnet 17 of the linear second magnet section 7 are inclined, the repulsive force CL between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the repulsive force CR between the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are both stronger in the rear portion of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 than in the front portion of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, so that a forward thrust can be generated in the moving section 3, and the moving section 3 can be moved sufficiently forward.

[0037] Moreover, the moving part 3 can be moved with a simple configuration of simply tilting each of the plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17. Moreover, by adjusting the tilt angles of each of the plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17, the momentum of the movement of the moving part 3, etc. can be adjusted.

[0038] Furthermore, since the linear first magnet portion 5 and the linear second magnet portion 7 are positioned with a shift from each other in the front-rear direction (the respective plate-shaped second magnets 15 constituting the linear first magnet portion 5 and the respective plate-shaped third magnets 17 constituting the linear second magnet portion 7 are positioned with a shift from each other in the front-rear direction), it is possible to prevent the repulsive forces CL and CR acting on both sides of the moving portion 3 moving forward between these magnet portions 5 and 7 from being balanced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the moving portion 3 from coming to a standstill due to the balance of magnetic forces (it is possible to prevent the balance of magnetic forces from acting as a brake on the moving portion 3), and it is possible to ensure smooth movement of the moving portion 3.

[0039] In addition, the plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17 are formed in the same shape and inclined at the same predetermined angle, and the plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17 of the linear first magnet section 5 and the linear second magnet section 7 are positioned such that they are shifted forward and backward by half the horizontal length of the magnets, so that the distance between the first first position and the first second position (hereinafter simply referred to as the "first period"), the distance between the first second position and the second first position (hereinafter simply referred to as the "second period"), and the distance between the second first position and the second second position (hereinafter simply referred to as the "third period") can be the same. In addition, the repulsive forces CL and CR acting on the moving section 3 in the first to third periods can be made to change at the same rate, so that the moving section 3 can be moved at a constant speed.

[0040] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In the description, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted or simplified. This also applies to the embodiments and modifications described hereinafter. In addition, in the description of the second embodiment, the differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. Note that Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a thrust generating mechanism 30 according to the second embodiment.

[0041] As shown in Figures 6(a) and (b), the thrust generating mechanism (thrust generating device) 30 of the second embodiment has a circular first magnet portion (one side magnet portion) 31, a circular second magnet portion (other side magnet portion or one side magnet portion) 33, and a circular third magnet portion (other side magnet portion) 35 which are placed on a plane G and form concentric rings with each other, moving portions 41, 42 located between the annular first magnet portion 31 and the annular second magnet portion 33, moving portions 43, 44 located between the annular second magnet portion 33 and the annular third magnet portion 35, and a moving direction regulating portion 51 which regulates the moving direction of these moving portions 41, 42, 43, 44 (hereinafter, these may be collectively referred to as "moving portion 41, etc.").

[0042] As shown in FIG. 6(b), the movement direction regulating unit 51 has a rotating shaft 53 rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) provided on the plane G, and a rod-shaped support unit 55 extending from the upper end of the rotating shaft 53 in parallel to the plane G. The center of the support unit 55 is attached to the rotating shaft 53, and both ends of the support unit 55 are located between the annular second magnet unit 33 and the annular third magnet unit 35. In addition, hanging parts 63, 64 are provided at both ends of the support unit 55, respectively, and hanging parts 61, 62 are provided at positions corresponding to the positions between the annular first magnet unit 31 and the annular second magnet unit 33, respectively, hanging down from these positions. The plate-shaped first magnet 9 described in the first embodiment is fixed to the lower ends of the hanging parts 61, 62, 63, 64 so as to have a predetermined gap from the plane G (so as to float above the plane G).

[0043] That is, hanging portion 61 and plate-shaped first magnet 9 form moving portion 41, hanging portion 62 and plate-shaped first magnet 9 form moving portion 42, hanging portion 63 and plate-shaped first magnet 9 form moving portion 43, and hanging portion 64 and plate-shaped first magnet 9 form moving portion 44. The movements of moving portions 41 and the like are restricted in the circumferential direction (rotational direction) about rotating shaft 53 by movement direction restricting portion 51 consisting of rotating shaft 53 and support portion 55. As will be described later, moving portions 41 and the like are adapted to move in a clockwise direction, which is a first direction indicated by arrow F when viewed in FIG. 6(a).

[0044] 6(a), the annular first magnet portion 31 is formed in a circular shape centered on the rotation axis 53 by connecting a plurality of arc-shaped second magnets 65, each of which is curved in an arc shape, in a circular shape. That is, the arc-shaped second magnets 65 are formed by bending the entire plate-shaped magnet into an arc shape that follows the annular first magnet portion 31, and each arc-shaped second magnet 65 constitutes a part of the ring of the annular first magnet portion 31. In this embodiment, each arc-shaped second magnet 65 has the same shape as each other.

[0045] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(c), the annular first magnet section 31 is configured by sequentially fixing the upper half of the front surface of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 on the upstream side (right side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) of the moving section 41 etc. in the moving direction to the upper half of the rear surface of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 on the downstream side (left side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) of the rotating direction of the moving section 41 etc. by gluing or welding, etc., so that they are connected to each other, and then covering the periphery of these arc-shaped second magnets 65 with a non-magnetic case (not shown). Note that Fig. 6(c) shows one pair of all the arc-shaped second magnets 65 constituting the annular first magnet section 31 for ease of explanation.

[0046] The outer surface (one-side facing surface) 65a of each arc-shaped second magnet 65, which is on the outside as viewed in Fig. 6(a), has the same magnetic pole of N as the inner surface (left side surface in the first embodiment) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41 and the inner surface (left side surface in the first embodiment) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 42, and the inner surface 65b on the inside as viewed in Fig. 6(a) has a magnetic pole of S. That is, the outer surface 65a of each arc-shaped second magnet 65 can face the inner surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41, which moves in the direction of arrow F between the annular first magnet section 31 and the annular second magnet section 33, and the inner surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 42, as shown in Fig. 6(b), and has the same polarity as these inner surfaces 9a, 9a. For this reason, a repulsive force acts between the inner side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41 and the inner side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 42 and the outer side surface 65a of the arc-shaped second magnet 65. In addition, when the annular first magnet section 31 is placed on the plane G, the outer side surface 65a and the inner side surface 65b of each arc-shaped second magnet 65 are vertical surfaces perpendicular to the plane G.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 6(c), the lower end of the rear end of each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 (the lower right corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is in contact with the plane G, while the lower end of the front end of each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 (the lower left corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is floating above the plane G. In other words, each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 is inclined upward toward the front so that the inclination angle between the bottom surface of each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 and the plane G is a predetermined angle (acute angle). In addition, the inclination angles of each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 are the same. Therefore, when the annular first magnet portion 31 is placed on the plane G, the fourth center line (the stationary side first center line) C4 passing through the center in the height direction of each of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 is inclined so as to intersect with the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 at a predetermined angle when viewed from the vertical direction. In other words, the fourth center line C4 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the plane G (the fourth center line C4 is not parallel to the first center line C1).

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6(a), the annular second magnet portion 33 is larger than the annular first magnet portion 31. The annular second magnet portion 33 is formed in an annular shape centered on the rotation axis 53 by connecting a plurality of arc-shaped third magnets 66 curved in an arc shape in an annular shape. That is, the arc-shaped third magnet 66 is formed by curving the entire arc-shaped magnet in an arc shape along the annular second magnet portion 33, and each arc-shaped third magnet 66 constitutes a part of the annular ring of the annular second magnet portion 33. In addition, in this embodiment, each arc-shaped third magnet 66 has the same height as the arc-shaped second magnet 65, but is longer than the arc-shaped second magnet 65. In addition, these arc-shaped third magnets 66 have the same shape as each other.

[0049] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(c), the annular second magnet section 33 is configured by sequentially fixing adjacent arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66 to each other by bonding, welding, or the like, the upper half of the front surface of the arc-shaped third magnet 66 on the upstream side (right side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) in the moving direction of the moving section 41, etc., and the lower half of the rear surface of the arc-shaped third magnet 66 on the downstream side (left side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) in the rotating direction of the moving section 41, etc., so that they are connected to each other, and then covering the periphery of these arc-shaped third magnets 66 with a non-magnetic case (not shown). Note that, for ease of explanation, Fig. 6(c) shows one pair of all the arc-shaped third magnets 66 that constitute the annular second magnet section 33.

[0050] The outer surface (one-side facing surface) 66a of each arc-shaped third magnet 66, as viewed in Figure 6(a), has the same N pole as the inner surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of moving section 43 and the inner surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of moving section 44, and the inner surface (the other-side facing surface) 66b, as viewed in Figure 6(a), has the same S pole as the outer surface (right side surface in the first embodiment) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of moving section 41 and the outer surface (right side surface in the first embodiment) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of moving section 42. That is, as shown in Fig. 6(b), the outer surface 66a of each arc-shaped third magnet 66 can face the inner surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 43 that moves in the direction of arrow F between the annular second magnet section 33 and the annular third magnet section 35 and the inner surface (one surface) 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 44, and has the same polarity as these inner surfaces 9a, 9a. Also, the inner surface 66b of each arc-shaped third magnet 66 can face the outer surface (the other surface) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41 that moves in the direction of arrow F between the annular first magnet section 31 and the annular second magnet section 33 and the outer surface (the other surface) 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 42, and has the same polarity as these outer surfaces 9b, 9b. For this reason, a repulsive force acts between the inner side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 43 and the inner side surface 9a of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 44 and the outer side surface 66a of the arc-shaped third magnet 66, and between the outer side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41 and the outer side surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 42 and the inner side surface 66b of the arc-shaped third magnet 66. In addition, when the annular second magnet section 33 is placed on the plane G, the outer side surface 66a and the inner side surface 66b of each arc-shaped third magnet 66 are vertical surfaces perpendicular to the plane G.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 6(c), the lower end of the rear end of each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 (the lower right corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is in contact with the plane G, while the lower end of the front end of each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 (the lower left corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is floating above the plane G. In other words, each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 is inclined upward toward the front so that the inclination angle between the bottom surface of each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 and the plane G is a predetermined angle (acute angle). In addition, the inclination angles of each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 are the same. Therefore, when the annular second magnet portion 33 is placed on the plane G, the fifth center line (the stationary side first center line or the stationary side second center line) C5 passing through the center in the height direction of each of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 is inclined so as to intersect with the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 at a predetermined angle when viewed from the vertical direction. In other words, the fourth center line C4 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the plane G (the fourth center line C4 is not parallel to the first center line C1). In this embodiment, the inclination angle of the arc-shaped third magnet 66 is the same as that of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 described above.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6(a), the annular third magnet portion 35 is larger than the annular second magnet portion 33. The annular third magnet portion 35 is formed in an annular shape centered on the rotation axis 53 by connecting a plurality of arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 curved in an arc shape in an annular shape. That is, the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 is formed by curving the entire arc-shaped magnet in an arc shape along the annular third magnet portion 35, and each arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 constitutes a part of the annular ring of the annular third magnet portion 35. In addition, in this embodiment, each arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 has the same height as the arc-shaped third magnet 66, but is longer than the arc-shaped third magnet 66. In addition, these arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 have the same shape as each other.

[0053] Specifically, as shown in Fig. 6(c), the annular third magnet section 35 is configured by sequentially fixing adjacent arc-shaped fourth magnets 67, 67 to each other by bonding, welding, or the like, the upper half of the rear face of the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 on the upstream side (right side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) in the moving direction of the moving section 41, etc., and the lower half of the front face of the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 on the downstream side (left side as viewed in Fig. 6(c)) in the rotating direction of the moving section 41, etc., so that they are connected to each other, and then covering the periphery of these arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 with a non-magnetic case (not shown). Note that Fig. 6(c) shows one pair of all the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 constituting the annular third magnet section 35 for ease of explanation. In addition, in Figure 6 (c), the arc-shaped second magnet 65, the arc-shaped third magnet 66, and the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 only differ in length as described above, so for ease of explanation, these magnets 65, 66, and 67 are illustrated in the same diagram.

[0054] The outer surface (one-side facing surface) 67a of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 on the outer side as viewed in FIG. 6(a) has a magnetic pole of N, and the inner surface (other-side facing surface) 67b on the inner side as viewed in FIG. 6(a) has a magnetic pole of S, which is the same as the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 43 and the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 44. That is, the inner surface 67b of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 can face the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 43 and the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 44, which move in the direction of the arrow F between the annular second magnet section 33 and the annular third magnet section 35, and has the same polarity as these outer surfaces 9b, 9b. Therefore, a repulsive force acts between the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 43 and the outer surface 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 44 and the inner surface 67b of the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67. In addition, in a state in which the annular third magnet portion 35 is placed on the plane G, the outer side surface 67a and the inner side surface 67b of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 are perpendicular to the plane G.

[0055] As shown in FIG. 6(c), the lower end of the rear end of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 (the lower right corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is in contact with the plane G, while the lower end of the front end of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 (the lower left corner as viewed in FIG. 6(c)) is floating above the plane G. In other words, each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 is inclined upward toward the front so that the inclination angle between the bottom surface of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 and the plane G is a predetermined angle (acute angle). In addition, the inclination angles of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 are the same. Therefore, when the annular third magnet portion 35 is placed on the plane G, the sixth center line (second center line on the stationary side) C6 passing through the center in the height direction of each of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 is inclined so as to intersect with the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 at a predetermined angle when viewed from the vertical direction. In other words, the fourth center line C4 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the plane G (the fourth center line C4 is not parallel to the first center line C1). In this embodiment, the inclination angle of the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 is the same as that of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 and the arc-shaped third magnet 66 described above.

[0056] Next, the relative positions of each arc-shaped second magnet 65 of the annular first magnet portion 31, each arc-shaped third magnet 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33, and each arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 of the annular third magnet portion 35 will be explained. For ease of explanation, in FIG. 6(a), a certain arc-shaped second magnet 65 is designated by the symbol X1, and the adjacent arc-shaped second magnet 65 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 in the direction of arrow F (hereinafter simply referred to as the "downstream side", and together with the upstream side in the direction of arrow F simply referred to as the "upstream side") is designated by the symbol X2. Furthermore, among the arc-shaped third magnets 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33, the arc-shaped third magnets 66 that overlap at least a portion of the arc-shaped second magnets X1 and X2 and are adjacent to each other when viewed in the vertical direction will be described as Y1, Y2, and Y3, respectively, and among the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 of the annular third magnet portion 35, the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 that overlap at least a portion of the arc-shaped third magnets Y1, Y2, and Y3 and are adjacent to each other when viewed in the vertical direction will be described as Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4, respectively.

[0057] 6(a), the annular first magnet portion 31 and the annular second magnet portion 33, which are concentric with each other, are arranged at a predetermined interval so as to face each other in parallel on a plane G. The annular second magnet portion 33 and the annular third magnet portion 35, which are concentric with each other, are also arranged at the same predetermined interval so as to face each other in parallel on a plane G.

[0058] In this state, the arc-shaped second magnet X1 of the annular first magnet portion 31 is arranged so that, when viewed vertically, the left end a of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is located between the left end e and right end f of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 of the annular second magnet portion 33 (approximately in the center between the left and right ends e, f), and the right end b of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is located between the left end g and right end h of the adjacent arc-shaped third magnet Y2 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 (approximately in the center between the left and right ends g, h). In addition, the adjacent arc-shaped second magnet X1 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is arranged so that, when viewed vertically, the left end c of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is located between the left end g and right end h of the adjacent arc-shaped third magnet Y2 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends g, h), and the right end d of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is located between the left end i and right end j of the adjacent arc-shaped third magnet Y3 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped third magnet Y2 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends i, j).

[0059] In addition, the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 of the annular second magnet portion 33 is arranged so that, when viewed in the vertical direction, the left end e of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 is located between the left end k and right end l of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z1 of the annular third magnet portion 37 (approximately in the center between the left and right ends k, l), and the right end f of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 is located between the left end m and right end n of the adjacent arc-shaped fourth magnet Z2 on the downstream side of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z1 (approximately in the center between the left and right ends m, n). In addition, the arc-shaped third magnet Y2 adjacent to the downstream side of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 is arranged so that, when viewed in the vertical direction, the left end g of the arc-shaped third magnet Y2 is located between the left end m and right end n of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z2 adjacent to the downstream side of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z1 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends m, n), and the right end h of the arc-shaped third magnet Y2 is located between the left end o and right end p of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z3 adjacent to the downstream side of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z2 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends o, p). Furthermore, the arc-shaped third magnet Y3 adjacent to the downstream side of the arc-shaped third magnet Y2 is arranged so that, when viewed in the vertical direction, the left end i of the arc-shaped third magnet Y3 is located between the left end o and right end p of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z3 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends o, p), and the right end j of the arc-shaped third magnet Y3 is located between the left end q and right end r of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z4 adjacent to the downstream side of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z3 (approximately in the center of the left and right ends q, r).

[0060] In this way, for example, the arc-shaped second magnet X1 is arranged to straddle between the arc-shaped third magnets Y1 and Y2 when viewed in the vertical direction, and the upstream portion of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 (the left half in FIG. 6(a)) faces the downstream portion of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 of the arrow F (the right half in FIG. 6(a)), and the downstream portion of the arc-shaped second magnet X1 faces the upstream portion of the arc-shaped third magnet Y2. Also, for example, the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 is arranged to straddle between the arc-shaped fourth magnets Z1 and Z2 when viewed in the vertical direction, and the upstream portion of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 faces the downstream portion of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z1, and the downstream portion of the arc-shaped third magnet Y1 faces the upstream portion of the arc-shaped fourth magnet Z2.

[0061] That is, the annular first magnet portion 31 and the annular second magnet portion 33 are arranged in a positional relationship such that, when viewed in the vertical direction, both ends of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33 are shifted in the circumferential direction relative to both ends of the arc-shaped second magnets 65 of the annular first magnet portion 31. Also, the annular second magnet portion 33 and the annular third magnet portion 35 are arranged in a positional relationship such that, when viewed in the vertical direction, both ends of the arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 of the annular third magnet portion 35 are shifted in the circumferential direction relative to both ends of the arc-shaped third magnets 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33. As in the first embodiment described above, the annular first magnet portion 31, the annular second magnet portion 33 and the annular third magnet portion 35 only need to have their respective arc-shaped second magnets 65, arc-shaped third magnets 66 and arc-shaped fourth magnets 67 shifted from each other in the circumferential direction when viewed from the vertical direction (in other words, only need to have at least one of the ends of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 and at least one of the ends of the arc-shaped third magnet 66 that face each other not overlap so that they coincide with each other when viewed from the vertical direction, and also only need to have at least one of the ends of the arc-shaped third magnet 66 and at least one of the ends of the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 that face each other not overlap so that they coincide with each other), and the degree to which they are shifted can be set appropriately depending on the specifications, etc.

[0062] Also, as shown in FIG. 6(c), in this embodiment, the first center line C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 41, etc., which is positioned to have a gap with respect to the plane G as described above, is arranged so that, as viewed in the vertical direction, it is equal to or less than the fourth center line C4 of each arc-shaped second magnet 65 of the annular first magnet part 31, equal to or less than the fifth center line C5 of each arc-shaped third magnet 66 of the annular second magnet part 33, and equal to or less than the sixth center line C6 of each arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 of the annular third magnet part 35, as in the first embodiment. Therefore, as described in FIG. 3 according to the first embodiment, a repulsive force acts on the moving parts 41 and 42 between the annular first magnet part 31 and the annular second magnet part 33 in a direction pressing them toward the plane G (see arrow B), and a repulsive force also acts on the moving parts 43 and 44 between the annular second magnet part 33 and the annular third magnet part 35 in a direction pressing them toward the plane G. As a result, the moving part 41, etc., is kept in a stable state in which it does not float up from the plane G.

[0063] In this embodiment having such a configuration, similarly to the first embodiment described above, the arc-shaped second magnet 65, the arc-shaped third magnet 66, and the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 are each inclined upward toward the front with respect to each plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving section 41, etc., and are in a positional relationship shifted from each other in the circumferential direction, which causes the magnets to move in the direction of arrow F shown in Fig. 6(a) (rotate around the rotating shaft 53), thereby achieving the same effect as the first embodiment. Also, in the second embodiment, since the rotating shaft 53 is rotated only by magnetic force (repulsive force), it is possible to generate power as long as the rotating shaft 53 continues to rotate by magnetic force by extracting electrical energy from the rotation of the rotating shaft 53 (making it possible to convert the energy due to the rotation into electrical energy). It should be noted that in this embodiment as well, similarly to the first embodiment described above, if at least one of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, the arc-shaped second magnet 65, the arc-shaped third magnet 66, and the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 loses magnetic force for some reason, the moving part 41 etc. cannot move, so the thrust generating mechanism 30 in this embodiment does not correspond to a so-called perpetual motion machine.

[0064] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0065] For example, in the first embodiment, the moving part 3 is moved by the linear first magnet part 5 consisting of a plurality of plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the linear second magnet part 7 consisting of a plurality of plate-shaped third magnets 17. Instead of this, the thrust generating mechanism 1 may be configured by a single plate-shaped second magnet 15, a single plate-shaped third magnet 17 arranged offset in either the front-rear direction with respect to the plate-shaped second magnet 15, and the moving part 3, and even in this case, the moving part 3 can be moved. In this case, the front-rear length of the magnets in the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is preferably at least twice the front-rear length of the magnet in the plate-shaped first magnet 9 of the moving part 3. The same can be said about the second embodiment.

[0066] In the above-described first embodiment, the plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the plate-shaped third magnets 17 are configured to be formed in the same shape and inclined at the same predetermined angle, but instead, it is possible to change the moving speed of the moving part 3 during movement by making the shape or size of some of the second magnets (or some of the third magnets) different from that of the other second magnets (or other third magnets), or by making the inclination angle of some of the second magnets (or third magnets) different from that of the other magnets. In other words, the behavior of the moving part 3 with respect to its movement may be adjusted by making the shape, size, and inclination angle of some of the second magnets or third magnets different. The same can be said about the second embodiment.

[0067] In addition, in the second embodiment described above, the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is used, but instead of this, an arc-shaped first magnet may be used in which the entire plate-shaped first magnet 9 is curved in an arc shape along the annular first magnet portion 31. In this case, no matter where this arc-shaped first magnet is located between the annular first magnet portion 31 and the annular second magnet portion 33 (between the annular second magnet portion 33 and the annular third magnet portion 35), the distance between the arc-shaped first magnet and the arc-shaped second magnet 65 of the annular first magnet portion 31 (the distance between the arc-shaped first magnet and the arc-shaped third magnet 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33) and the distance between the arc-shaped first magnet and the arc-shaped second magnet 66 of the annular second magnet portion 33 (the distance between the arc-shaped first magnet and the arc-shaped fourth magnet 67 of the annular third magnet portion 35) are always the same, so that the movement of the moving portion 41 and the like can be made smoother.

[0068] Next, a first modified example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The first modified example is different from the first embodiment mainly in that the plate-shaped second magnets 15 constituting the linear first magnet portion 5 are spaced apart from each other, and the plate-shaped third magnets 17 constituting the linear second magnet portion 7 are spaced apart from each other.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 7(a), the multiple plate-shaped second magnets 15 are arranged at equal intervals from one another, and the multiple plate-shaped third magnets 17 are also arranged at equal intervals from one another. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the positional relationship between the multiple plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the multiple plate-shaped third magnets 17 is such that, when viewed from the vertical direction, a plate-shaped second magnet 15 (for example, the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 15 in FIG. 7(a) , hereinafter simply referred to as the "leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17") is interposed between the downstream plate-shaped third magnet 17 (for example, the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 in FIG. 7(a) , hereinafter simply referred to as the "leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17") among the adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17, 17, and between the downstream plate-shaped third magnet 17 (for example, the central plate-shaped third magnet 17 to the right of the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17, hereinafter simply referred to as the "central plate-shaped third magnet 17") among the adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17, 17 (between adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17, 17). Based on this positional relationship, as shown in Fig. 7(b), when viewed from the vertical direction, the downstream end of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the upstream end of the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 overlap each other, and the upstream end of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the downstream end of the central plate-shaped third magnet 17 overlap each other, creating an "overlapping positional relationship". Even with this configuration, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved. It goes without saying that the multiple plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the multiple plate-shaped third magnets 17 may be arranged spaced apart from each other so as not to be equally spaced apart.

[0070] In Fig. 7(a) and (b), the positional relationship between the multiple plate-shaped second magnets 15 and the multiple plate-shaped third magnets 17 is described as "a positional relationship with overlap", but this is not limited thereto, and the positional relationship shown in Fig. 7(c) and (d) or Fig. 7(e) and (f) may be used, and these configurations will produce the same effects as the first embodiment. That is, as shown in Fig. 7(c) and (d), the rear end face of the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 (the right end face of the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 as viewed in Fig. 7(c)) and the front end face of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 (the left end face of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 as viewed in Fig. 7(c)) may be in surface contact when viewed from the vertical direction, and the front end face of the central plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the rear end face of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 may be in surface contact when viewed from the vertical direction, resulting in a "positional relationship without overlap". Furthermore, as shown in Figures 7(e) and (f), the rear end face of the leftmost plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the front end face of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 are spaced apart from each other, and the front end face of the central plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the rear end face of the leftmost plate-shaped second magnet 15 are spaced apart from each other; in other words, the adjacent plate-shaped third magnets 17, 17 and the plate-shaped second magnet 15 interposed between these plate-shaped third magnets 17, 17 when viewed vertically may be spaced apart from each other in a "spaced positional relationship" as shown in Figure 7(e) and (f).

[0071] Next, a first modified example of the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In the first modified example of the second embodiment, an example is shown in which the annular first magnet portion 31 and the annular second magnet portion 33 are provided, but the annular third magnet portion 35 shown in Fig. 6 is not provided. In addition, in the first modified example of the second embodiment, the "positional relationship with overlap", "positional relationship without overlap", and "positional relationship with space" according to the first modified example of the first embodiment described above are generally applied to the second embodiment, and the positional relationship between the multiple arc-shaped second magnets 65 associated with the first annular magnet portion 31 and the multiple arc-shaped third magnets 66 associated with the second annular magnet portion 33 will be mainly described.

[0072] 8(a) to 8(c), the multiple arc-shaped second magnets 65 are disposed at equal intervals from each other, the multiple arc-shaped third magnets 66 are also disposed at equal intervals from each other, and when viewed from the vertical direction (illustration of the vertical direction is omitted in FIG. 8), the arc-shaped second magnets 65 are interposed between adjacent arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66. As in the first modified example of the first embodiment, the types of positional relationships between the multiple arc-shaped second magnets 65 and the multiple arc-shaped third magnets 66 based on this positional relationship are the "positional relationship with overlap" shown in FIG. 8(a), the "positional relationship without overlap" shown in FIG. 8(b), and the "positional relationship with space" shown in FIG. 8(c).

[0073] That is, Fig. 8(a) shows an "overlapping positional relationship" in which the downstream end of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 overlaps with the upstream end of the downstream arc-shaped third magnet 66 of the adjacent arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66, and the upstream end of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 overlaps with the downstream end of the upstream arc-shaped third magnet 66 of the adjacent arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66. Fig. 8(b) shows a "non-overlapping positional relationship" in which the rear end surface of the downstream arc-shaped third magnet 66 and the front end surface of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 are in surface contact when viewed from the vertical direction, and the front end surface of the upstream arc-shaped third magnet 66 and the rear end surface of the arc-shaped second magnet 65 are in surface contact when viewed from the vertical direction. 8(c) shows a "positional relationship with a gap" in which the adjacent arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66 and the arc-shaped second magnet 65 interposed between these arc-shaped third magnets 66, 66 when viewed vertically are spaced apart from each other when viewed vertically. Even in this type of modified example 1 of the second embodiment, the same effects as those of the second embodiment are achieved.

[0074] Next, a second modified example of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9(a) and (b), the positional relationship between the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is the above-mentioned "positional relationship with overlap". The plate-shaped second magnet 15 is configured by fixing a plate-shaped first additional magnet 71, which is shorter than the plate-shaped second magnet 15, and a second additional magnet 73, which is shorter than the first additional magnet 71, to the downstream end of the left side surface 15a of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 so as to overlap in this order, so that the magnetic force of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is stronger on the downstream side than on the upstream side. The tip surfaces of the first additional magnet 71 and the second additional magnet 73 are flush with the tip surface of the plate-shaped second magnet 15. Similarly, the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is configured by fixing a plate-shaped third additional magnet 75, which is shorter than the plate-shaped third magnet 17, and a fourth additional magnet 77, which is shorter than the third additional magnet 75, in this order to the downstream end of the left side surface 17a of the plate-shaped third magnet 17, so that the magnetic force on the downstream side of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is stronger than the magnetic force on the upstream side. The respective tip surfaces of the third additional magnet 75 and the fourth additional magnet 77 are flush with the tip surface of the plate-shaped third magnet 17.

[0075] In this way, in the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 that are in an "overlapping positional relationship," the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is configured so that the magnetic force on the downstream side is stronger than the magnetic force on the upstream side, so that when the moving part 3 having the plate-shaped first magnet 9 reaches between the upstream end of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the downstream end of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (between the upstream end of the left plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the downstream end of the left plate-shaped second magnet 15 in FIG. 9(a)), the repulsive force that the plate-shaped first magnet 9 receives from the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is greater in the downstream part of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 than in the upstream part. In other words, in the moving part 3 whose moving direction is restricted to the arrow A, the repulsive force received by the rear end side in the moving direction is greater than the repulsive force received by the tip end side in the moving direction, so that the moving part 3 is pushed out in the direction of the arrow A where the movement is restricted, and can move more strongly in the direction of the arrow A.

[0076] In addition, strengthening the magnetic force at the downstream ends of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is not limited to providing the first additional magnet 71, the second additional magnet 73, the third additional magnet 75, and the fourth additional magnet 77 shown in FIG. 9(a). For example, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the magnetic force at the downstream ends of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 can be strengthened by changing the shapes of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17, such as by making the thickness of each downstream end of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 greater than the thickness of each upstream end.

[0077] Also, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the plate-shaped first magnet 9 may be made thicker at its upstream end than at its downstream end (by tapering) in the same manner as the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 shown in FIG. 9(a), thereby strengthening the magnetic force at the upstream end of the plate-shaped first magnet 9. In this way, the moving part 3 can be moved more strongly in the direction of the arrow A. In addition to the example shown in FIG. 9(b), the plate-shaped first magnet 9 may be configured to have additional magnets 91 to 97 shorter than the plate-shaped first magnet 9 stacked on the center of both sides of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, as shown in FIG. 9(c). In the example shown in Figure 9(c), the magnetic force at both ends of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is weaker than the magnetic force at its central portion, but the magnetic force at at least one of the ends of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 may also be weaker than the magnetic force at its central portion (in the case of the first magnet 9 shown in Figure 9(b), it can also be said that the magnetic force at the upstream end is weaker than the magnetic force at its central portion).

[0078] In the first and second embodiments and each modified example described above, the plate-shaped first magnet 9 is parallel to the plane G when the moving unit 3 is placed on the plane G as shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 4, Fig. 10(b), etc., but is not limited thereto, and the plate-shaped first magnet 9 may be inclined with respect to the plane G (the plate-shaped first magnet 9 may be inclined so as not to be parallel to the first direction). Specifically, as shown in Fig. 10(a), the size of the left wheel 13a in this figure may be made larger than the right wheel 13 in this figure, so that the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (moving unit 3) is inclined to the upper right in the figure, or as shown in Fig. 10(c), the size of the right wheel 13a in this figure may be made larger than the left wheel 13 in this figure, so that the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (moving unit 3) is inclined to the upper left in the figure.

[0079] As shown in FIG. 10(b), the first center line (moving side center line) C1 of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 parallel to the plane G passes through the center of the diagonal of the rectangular plate-shaped first magnet 9 in the figure. In other words, it passes through the center between the highest point and the lowest point of the plate-shaped first magnet 9. As shown in FIG. 10(a) and (c), in the case of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 tilted with respect to the plane G, like the parallel case described above, it passes through the center between the highest point of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 (the upper left corner of the first magnet 9 in FIG. 10(a) and the upper right corner of the first magnet 9 in FIG. 10(c)) and the lowest point (the lower right corner of the first magnet 9 in FIG. 10(a) and the lower left corner of the first magnet 9 in FIG. 10(c)). 10(a) to 10(c), the first center line C1 is the same whether the first magnet 9 is parallel to the plane G or inclined thereto, and the relationship between the first center line C1 and the second to sixth center lines described above remains unchanged. Even with this configuration, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments and modified examples can be achieved.

[0080] In each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modified examples, the first magnet is in an upright state standing up against the plane G, in other words, the peripheral surface of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 shown in Fig. 3 (e.g., the lower surface of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 in Fig. 3) faces parallel to the plane G, and both side surfaces 9a, 9b of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 face in a direction parallel to the plane G (e.g., left-right direction in Fig. 3), and the second and plate-shaped third magnets are also in an upright state. That is, the positional relationship of the first to third magnets is generally such that all of the first to third magnets are in an upright state (e.g., the positional relationship of the plate-shaped first magnet 9, the plate-shaped second magnet 15, and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 shown in Fig. 3), but instead of this, as shown in Fig. 11, the second and third magnets may be in an upright state while the first magnet is in a prostrate state.

[0081] For example, as shown in FIG. 11(a), a disk-shaped magnet 110 having a disk shape can be used as an example of the first magnet attached to the moving part 3, and a magnet body 120 formed by stacking a plurality of the disk-shaped magnets 110 can be used. The magnet body 120 is formed into a cylindrical shape by stacking a plurality of disk-shaped magnets 110 so that they are bonded to each other by magnetic force (adjacent disk-shaped magnets 110 are attracted to each other and are in close contact). In addition to the magnetic force between the plurality of disk-shaped magnets 110, the magnet body 120 may be bonded more firmly to each other by adhesive or by a fastener such as a screw. Also, instead of a disk-shaped magnet, the magnet body 120 may be formed into a columnar shape by stacking plate-shaped magnets, and the shape of the magnet body 120 can be changed as appropriate.

[0082] Of the multiple disk-shaped magnets 110 constituting this magnet body 120, one surface (upper end surface as viewed in FIG. 11(a)) 110a of the disk-shaped magnet 110 (the top disk-shaped magnet 110 as viewed in FIG. 11(a)) constituting one end of the magnet body 120 has a magnetic pole of N pole (first polarity), constituting one surface (one end surface) 120a of the magnet body 120. Of the multiple disk-shaped magnets 110 constituting the magnet body 120, the other surface (lower end surface as viewed in FIG. 11(a)) 110b of the disk-shaped magnet 110 (the bottom disk-shaped magnet 110 as viewed in FIG. 11(a)) constituting the other end of the magnet body 120 has a magnetic pole of S pole (second polarity), constituting the other surface (other end surface) 120b of the magnet body 120. The outer peripheral surfaces 110c of the multiple disk-shaped magnets 110 constitute the outer peripheral surface 120c of the magnet body 120. In the following description, the one end face and the other end face of the disk-shaped magnet 110 may be collectively referred to as both end faces.

[0083] 11(a) indicates the center line passing through the center of the magnet body 120 when viewed from a direction perpendicular (left-right direction in FIG. 11(a)) to the height direction of the magnet body 120 (up-down direction in FIG. 11(a)), in other words, the boundary line between the N pole and S pole of the central disc-shaped magnet 110 among the multiple disc-shaped magnets 110 that make up the magnet body 120 (hereinafter referred to as boundary line MC). Also, plane G in FIG. 11(a) is drawn to clearly show the state in which the disc-shaped magnet 110 is lying flat.

[0084] When the magnetic poles of the magnet body 120 were actually measured using a measuring device such as a magnetic checker for measuring magnetic poles, as shown in FIG. 11(b), the range R1 of the outer peripheral surface 120c of the magnet body 120 from one surface 120a of the magnet body 120 to the boundary line MC had a polarity of N pole, and the range R2 of the outer peripheral surface of the magnet body 120 from the other surface 120b of the magnet body 120 to the boundary line MC had a polarity of S pole. In other words, the upper half region R1 of the outer peripheral surface of the magnet body 120 was a N pole, and the lower half region R2 was a S pole. For this reason, by arranging the plate-shaped second magnet 15 shown in FIG. 1 etc. in the state shown in FIG. 1 in the region R1 of the outer peripheral surface of the magnet body 120, the moving part 3 moves in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1. Similarly, by arranging the plate-shaped third magnet 17 shown in FIG. 1 etc. in the region R2 of the outer peripheral surface of the magnet body 120 in the state shown in FIG. 1, the moving part 3 moves in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1. The same applies to the embodiments shown in Figures 6 to 10. That is, the magnet body 120 can be used in place of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 according to each of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, and even in this case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications can be obtained.

[0085] Next, other embodiments using the magnet body 120 will be described in sequence. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a thrust generating mechanism 100 according to a third embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the thrust generating mechanism 100 has a magnet body 120, a moving part 3 attached so that the magnet body 120 is perpendicular to the moving direction indicated by the arrow A (up and down direction as viewed in FIG. 11(a)), and a plate-shaped second magnet (fixed side magnet) 15 and a plate-shaped third magnet (fixed side magnet) 17 arranged on both sides of the magnet body 120. Note that the magnet body 120 may be attached so that it is not perpendicular to the moving direction indicated by the arrow A (in other words, both end faces of the disk-shaped magnet 110 face in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction), but is inclined, for example, to the left or right as viewed in FIG. 12(a) (in other words, both end faces of the disk-shaped magnet 110 face in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction). In short, the installation direction of the magnetic body 120 needs to be a direction different from the direction of movement indicated by the arrow A (in other words, a direction intersecting the direction of movement, and from the perspective of the disk-shaped magnet 110, both end faces of the magnetic body 120 are in different directions from the direction of movement), and can be changed as appropriate depending on the specifications.

[0086] The moving part 3 has a plate-shaped base member 11A made of a magnetic material such as iron, and four wheels 13 (see FIG. 12(b)) provided at the front and rear of the lower part of both sides of the base member 11A and placed on a plane G, and is movable in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A (upward direction in FIG. 12). A magnet body 120 is attached to the upper surface of the base member 11A by being adhered thereto using magnetic force. The base member 11A may be made of a non-magnetic material such as resin, like the above-mentioned case 11, and in this case, the magnet body 120 may be fixed to the base member 11A by adhesion with an adhesive, welding, or a fastener such as a screw.

[0087] As shown in Fig. 12(a), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are both fixed lying flat at positions spaced apart on both sides of the magnet body 120. The lower left side surface 15a of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 as viewed in Fig. 12(a) has a magnetic S pole and is parallel to the plane G. The upper right side surface 15b of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 as viewed in Fig. 12(a) has a magnetic N pole and is parallel to the plane G. Similarly, the left and right side surfaces 17a, 17b of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 have magnetic S and N poles, respectively, and are parallel to the plane G. The boundary lines of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 coincide with the boundary line MC of the magnet body 120.

[0088] As a result, the N-pole portions (the white portions which are the upper halves of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 in FIG. 12(a)) of the outer circumferential surfaces of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 face each other, and the N-pole portion of the outer circumferential surface of the magnetic body 120, region R1 (see FIG. 12(b)). Similarly, the S-pole portions (the black portions which are the lower half of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 in FIG. 12(a)) of the outer circumferential surfaces of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 face each other, and the S-pole portion of the outer circumferential surface of the magnetic body 120, region R2 (see FIG. 12(b)).

[0089] 12(b), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is fixed so as to be inclined upward and leftward in plan view with respect to the moving direction of the moving part 3 indicated by the arrow A (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the "moving direction"). In other words, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is fixed so that the distance between the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the magnet body 120 gradually increases toward the moving direction indicated by the arrow A. As a result, the distance between the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the magnet body 120 increases toward the downstream side (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the "downstream side") of the moving direction indicated by the arrow A, and the distance between the downstream part of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the magnet body 120 is greater than the distance between the upstream part of the plate-shaped second magnet 15 in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as the "upstream side") and the magnet body 120.

[0090] Similarly, the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is fixed so as to be inclined upward and to the right in a plan view with respect to the direction of movement. In other words, the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is fixed so that the distance between the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the magnet body 120 gradually increases toward the downstream side. As a result, the distance between the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the magnet body 120 increases toward the downstream side, and the distance between the downstream portion of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the magnet body 120 is greater than the distance between the upstream portion of the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the magnet body 120.

[0091] That is, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 are arranged so as to be inclined and twisted in a plan view with respect to the magnet body 120 that stands perpendicular to the moving direction of the moving part 3. With this configuration, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A due to the repulsive force generated between the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the magnet body 120 and the repulsive force generated between the plate-shaped third magnet 17 and the magnet body 120. Note that, although the left and right magnets 15 and 17 are arranged in FIG. 12, instead, only the plate-shaped second magnet 15 or only the plate-shaped third magnet 17 may be arranged, and even in this case, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0092] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a thrust generating mechanism 100 according to a fourth embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13(a), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 in a lying state is located within the range of region R1 (see FIG. 11(b)) on the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120 and above the boundary line MC (hereinafter, simply referred to as "above the boundary line MC"). In a side view (front view from FIG. 13(a)), this plate-shaped second magnet 15 is inclined to the upper left with respect to the boundary line MC, in other words, inclined so that the distance from the boundary line MC gradually increases toward the downstream side. In addition, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is arranged to be parallel to the moving direction as shown in FIG. 13(b).

[0093] That is, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is arranged so as to be inclined and twisted in a side view with respect to the magnet body 120 standing perpendicular to the direction of movement. Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A. In FIG. 13, an example is shown in which only the plate-shaped second magnet 15 is arranged above the boundary line MC, but as shown in FIG. 14, the prostrate plate-shaped third magnet 17 may be arranged to be located within the range of region R2 (see FIG. 11(b)) on the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120 and below the boundary line MC (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "below the boundary line MC").

[0094] As shown in Fig. 14(a), the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is inclined downward and leftward with respect to the boundary line MC in side view, in other words, inclined so that the distance from the boundary line MC gradually increases toward the downstream side. Also, as shown in Fig. 14(b), the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is arranged so as to be parallel to the moving direction of the moving part 3. That is, the plate-shaped third magnet 17 shown in Fig. 14 is arranged so as to be inclined and twisted in side view with respect to the magnet body 120 standing perpendicular to the moving direction. Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0095] In addition, in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 or the plate-shaped third magnet 17 is provided only on one of both sides of the magnet body 120 and either above or below the boundary line MC. However, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 may be provided above the boundary line MC of the magnet body 120 and on both sides of the magnet body 120. The plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 may be provided below the boundary line MC of the magnet body 120 and on both sides of the magnet body 120. In short, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 or the plate-shaped third magnet 17 may be provided on at least one of both sides of the magnet body 120 and at least one above and below the boundary line MC. Furthermore, these plate-shaped second magnets 15 and plate-shaped third magnets 17 may be arranged in a row along the moving direction (for example, see FIG. 4 and FIG. 7). In any of these cases, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0096] In addition, in Figs. 13 and 14, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (plate-shaped third magnet 17) is used. Instead of this, as shown in Figs. 15(a) and (b), a tapered magnet 130 can be used, which is tapered so that the diameter (thickness) gradually increases toward the moving direction indicated by the arrow A. By making the tapered magnet 130 tapered in this way, as explained in Fig. 9(b), the magnetic force of the downstream end of the tapered magnet 130 is stronger than that of the upstream end. Note that Fig. 15(a) is a plan view of the tapered magnet 130, and (b) is a side view. The tapered magnet 130 is in a prostrate state, and is arranged in a plurality of pieces along the moving direction indicated by the arrow A, for example, as shown in Figs. 15(c) and (d), on one of both sides of the magnet body 120 and above the boundary line MC. Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0097] 15(e), a plurality of tapered magnets 130 may be arranged on one of both sides of the magnetic body 120 and below the boundary line MC, along the moving direction indicated by the arrow A. Also, as shown in FIG. 16, the tapered magnets 130 may be arranged both above and below the boundary line MC on the magnetic body 120. In short, it is sufficient that the tapered magnets 130 are provided on at least one of both sides of the magnetic body 120 and at least one above and below the boundary line MC, and in either case, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0098] 17, the tapered magnet 130 may be arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the moving direction indicated by the arrow A in a plan view (arranged so as to have a twisted positional relationship with the magnet body 120), similar to the plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the plate-shaped third magnet 17 described in FIG. 12(b). Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A. Note that in FIG. 17, the multiple tapered magnets 130 are arranged side by side along the moving direction indicated by the arrow A on both sides of the magnet body 120.

[0099] 11 to 17, the fixed-side magnets, the plate-shaped second magnet 15, the plate-shaped third magnet 17, and the tapered magnet 130, are all in a prostrate position relative to the magnet body 120, which is formed by stacking a plurality of disk-shaped magnets 110 that are movable-side magnets and extends in a rod shape, but as described above, the fixed-side magnets arranged on both sides of the magnet body 120 may be in an upright position. Specifically, this is as shown in Figs. 18 and 19.

[0100] As shown in Fig. 18(a), the upright plate-shaped second magnet 15 and the upright plate-shaped third magnet 17 are disposed on both sides of the magnet body 120 and above and below the boundary line MC. Of the upper and lower plate-shaped second magnets 15, the upper plate-shaped second magnet 15 has one surface (the right surface as viewed in Fig. 18(a)) 15b having an N-pole polarity facing the upper half region R1 (see Fig. 11(b)) of the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120 having an N-pole magnetic pole. Of the upper and lower plate-shaped second magnets 15, the lower plate-shaped second magnet 15 has the other surface (the right surface as viewed in Fig. 18(a)) 15a having an S-pole magnetic pole facing the lower half region R2 (see Fig. 11(b)) of the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120 having an S-pole magnetic pole. Similarly, the plate-shaped third magnet 17 has one surface (left surface as viewed in FIG. 18(a)) 17b of the upper plate-shaped third magnet 17 having an N pole facing the upper half region R1 of the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120, and the other surface (left surface as viewed in FIG. 18(a)) 17a of the lower plate-shaped third magnet 17 having an S pole facing the lower half region R2 of the outer circumferential surface of the magnet body 120. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 18(b), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (plate-shaped third magnet 17) is inclined with respect to the boundary line MC in a side view (having a twisted positional relationship with respect to the magnet body 120). Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 (not shown in FIG. 18) moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0101] As shown in Fig. 19(a), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (plate-shaped third magnet 17) is parallel to the boundary line MC in side view, while as shown in Fig. 19(b), the plate-shaped second magnet 15 (plate-shaped third magnet 17) may be arranged so as to be inclined to the boundary line MC in plan view (having a twisted positional relationship with respect to the magnetic body 120). Even with this configuration, the moving part 3 (not shown in Fig. 19) moves in the moving direction indicated by the arrow A.

[0102] Although plate-shaped second magnet 15 and plate-shaped third magnet 17 are used as the fixed side magnets, it is also possible to use a fixed side magnet body 135 formed by stacking plate-shaped second magnets 15 (plate-shaped third magnets 17) as shown in Figure 20, and even in this case, the moving part 3 (not shown in Figure 20) moves in the moving direction indicated by arrow A.

[0103] 12 to 14, 18 and 19, the positional relationships between the magnetic body 120 and the second plate-shaped magnet 15 and third plate-shaped magnet 17 can be generally summarized as follows (1) to (4). In the following explanation, for simplicity, the second plate-shaped magnet 15 is referred to as the "left" and the third plate-shaped magnet 17 is referred to as the "right". (1) Both sides are prostrate and inclined when viewed from above (see Figure 12). (2) Both sides are in a prostrate position, and both sides are inclined when viewed from the side (see Figure 13). (3) Both sides are in an upright position, and both sides are inclined when viewed from above (see Figure 19). (4) Both the left and right are in an upright position, and both are inclined when viewed from the side (see Figure 18).

[0104] Furthermore, the positional relationship between the magnetic body 120 and the second and third plate-shaped magnets 15 and 17 may be not only the above (1) to (4) but also the following (5) to (9). What is important is that the second and third plate-shaped magnets 15 and 17 are in a twisted positional relationship with respect to the magnetic body 120. The same can be said about the tapered magnet 130 shown in Figs. 15 to 17. (5) Either the left or right side is in a prostrate position and the other is in an upright position, and both sides are inclined in a plan view. (6) Either the left or right side is lying flat and the other side is standing, and both sides are inclined when viewed from the side. (7) Either the left or right side is in a prostrate position and the other is in an upright position, and either the left or right side is inclined in plan view and the other is inclined in side view (8) In any of the above-mentioned lying-flat states, at least one of the left and right sides is slightly inclined in a direction intersecting the boundary line MC when viewed from the rear (front) (for example, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 in FIG. 12(a) is inclined with respect to the boundary line MC, etc.) (9) In any of the above upright states, at least one of the left and right sides is slightly inclined in a direction intersecting the boundary line MC when viewed from behind (when viewed from the front) (for example, the plate-shaped second magnet 15 shown in FIG. 18(a) is inclined with respect to the central axis of the magnet body 120 (not shown; the up-down direction perpendicular to the boundary line MC when viewed in FIG. 18(a))).

[0105] In the above-mentioned embodiment shown in FIG. 11 to FIG. 17, the magnetic body 120 is formed by stacking a plurality of disk-shaped magnets 110 as the moving-side magnets, and extends in a rod shape. Instead of this, a single moving-side magnet may be used. Specifically, a bar-shaped magnet (a single bar-shaped magnet having the shape of the magnetic body 120 shown in FIG. 11(b)) may be used in which the disk-shaped magnet 110 shown in FIG. 11(b) is made into a long and thin rod shape. This bar-shaped magnet may extend perpendicular to the movement shown by the arrow A, or may extend in a direction intersecting the direction of the movement. In addition, the magnetic body may be formed by assembling the above-mentioned bar-shaped magnets into, for example, an E-shape or a square shape. In any of these cases, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiments and modified examples are obtained. This also applies to the following embodiments and modified examples.

[0106] In the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the case 11 and the wheels 13 are used as the movement direction regulating part for regulating the movement direction of the moving part 3. However, this movement direction regulating part is not limited to the case 11 and the wheels 13. Although not shown, for example, the movement direction regulating part may be constituted by a groove rail part formed on the plane G and a protrusion part formed on the bottom surface of the plate-shaped first magnet 9 and inserted into the groove rail part, or a groove into which the bottom of the case 11 of the moving part 3 can be inserted into the plane G may be used as the movement direction regulating part. In addition, the movement direction regulating part may be one that regulates movement not only in the front-rear direction but also in the front direction only, and it is sufficient that the movement direction of the moving part 3 that moves by the magnetic force (repulsive force) from the linear first magnet part 5 and the linear second magnet part 7 can be regulated. A specific example of the moving part 3 having this movement direction regulating part is shown in FIG. 21.

[0107] 21(a), the moving section 3 is provided with a rail body 140 placed on a plane G and extending along the moving direction of the moving section 3, and a moving body 150 that moves (slides) along the rail body 140. The rail body 140 is formed in a substantially H-shape by a plate-like first plate-like portion 141 placed on the plane G (including cases where it is attached to a floor or a wall of a structure), a plate-like second plate-like portion 142 parallel to the first plate-like portion 141, and a connecting portion 143 that connects these plate-like portions 141, 142. The moving body 150 has a plate-shaped mounting portion 151 to which the magnet body 120 is attached, first restricting portions 152, 152 extending from both ends of the mounting portion 151 toward the plane G and restricting the moving body 150 from moving to the left and right as viewed in Fig. 21(a) in Fig. 21(a), second restricting portions 153, 153 extending from the inner surfaces of the first restricting portions 152, 152 toward the connecting portion 143 and restricting the moving body 150 from moving to the upward direction as viewed in Fig. 21(a) in Fig. 21(a), and wheels 13, 13 attached to these second restricting portions 153, 153, respectively. By configuring the moving body 3 in this way, the moving of the moving portion 3 is restricted from moving to the left, right, up and down as viewed in Fig. 21(a), and the moving direction is described as either forward or backward.

[0108] In Fig. 21(a), the moving part 3 is attached to the other end of the magnetic body 120, but as shown in Fig. 21(b), the moving parts 3, 3 may be attached to both ends of the magnetic body 120, respectively. Also, in Fig. 21, the magnetic body 120 is attached so as to extend in the up-down direction as viewed in Fig. 21, but this is not limited thereto, and for example, as shown in Fig. 22, the magnetic body 120 may be attached so as to extend in the left-right direction as viewed in Fig. 22, and the installation direction is not particularly limited.

[0109] Fig. 23 is a schematic view showing a see-through state of the thrust generating mechanism according to the fifth embodiment. Fig. 24 is an enlarged side view showing a rocking mechanism of the thrust generating mechanism according to the fifth embodiment. Figs. 25 to 28 are schematic views showing the flow of operation of the displacement mechanism in the thrust generating mechanism according to the fifth embodiment.

[0110] 23 and 24, the thrust generating mechanism 200 according to the fifth embodiment has a rotor 210 supported by a rotating shaft 202 fixed in an upright state (vertical direction) to a base 201 placed on a mounting surface, three rotation-side magnets 221, 222, 223 fixed to the rotor 210 so as to extend in the same direction as and parallel to the rotating shaft 202, three oscillation mechanisms (displacement mechanisms) 231, 232, 233 (not shown in FIG. 23, see FIG. 27(a) which shows a schematic diagram) arranged around the rotor 210, and three fixed-side magnets 241 oscillated by the oscillation mechanisms 231, 232, 233, etc. Note that only the fixed-side magnet 241 is shown as the fixed-side magnet, and the other two fixed-side magnets are not shown and are not designated by reference numerals. Here, the three rotation-side magnets 221, 222, 223 may be collectively referred to as rotation-side magnets 221, etc. Also, the three fixed-side magnets will be collectively referred to as fixed-side magnets 241, etc., as described above.

[0111] As shown in Fig. 25, the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. each have a similar configuration to the magnet body 120 shown in Fig. 11(a) described above, and as shown in Fig. 11(b), the circumferential surface (end face) above the boundary line MC has a north polarity, and the circumferential surface (end face) below the boundary line MC has a south polarity. Note that the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. are depicted in Fig. 23 as a schematic rectangular parallelepiped shape. Note that it goes without saying that the rotation-side magnet 221 may be a single elongated rod-shaped magnet instead of the magnet body 120 shown in Fig. 11(b).

[0112] 26, the fixed-side magnets 241 etc. are tapered such that the diameter (thickness) gradually increases in the direction of rotation of the rotor 210, as indicated by the arrow G. By making the fixed-side magnet 241 tapered in this manner, the magnetic force of the downstream end of the fixed-side magnet 241 is stronger than the magnetic force of the upstream end, as explained in FIG. 9(b) above.

[0113] Rotating body 210 has disk-shaped upper support portion 211 and lower support portion 212 made of resin or the like, and three magnet fixing portions 213 and the like (see FIG. 25(a)) provided so as to hang down from the lower surface of upper support portion 211. Note that as the magnet fixing portion, only magnet fixing portion 213 is shown, and the other two magnet fixing portions are not shown or given reference numerals. Here, the three magnet fixing portions will be collectively referred to as magnet fixing portion 213, etc., as described above.

[0114] The upper support part 211 and the lower support part 212 are each rotatably supported at their centers by the rotation shaft 202. The magnet fixing parts 213 etc. are provided so as to be equally spaced from each other along the rotation direction of the upper support part 211 (see arrow G shown in FIG. 27(a) ; counterclockwise direction in plan view). In other words, the magnet fixing parts 213 etc. are positioned so as to form angles of 120 degrees from each other when viewed from the center (axis core) of the upper support part 211. Rotation-side magnets 221 etc. are fixed to the magnet fixing parts 213 etc. As a result, the rotation-side magnets 221 etc. are also positioned so as to be equally spaced from each other (so as to form angles of 120 degrees from each other) along the rotation direction of the upper support part 211, as shown in FIG. 27(a).

[0115] 23, 25, and 26, on the lower surface of the outer periphery of the upper support part 211, protrusions 214, 215, 216 each having a semi-elliptical shape protruding downward in a side view are provided at positions corresponding to the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. (Hereinafter, these protrusions 214, 215, 216 may be collectively referred to as protrusions 214, etc.). Also, on the upper surface of the outer periphery of the lower support part 212, protrusions 217, 218, 219 each having a semi-elliptical shape protruding upward in a side view are provided directly below the protrusions 214, etc. (Hereinafter, these protrusions 217, 218, 219 may be collectively referred to as protrusions 217, etc.).

[0116] As shown in FIG. 27, the rocking mechanism 231, etc. are disposed on the outer side of the rotating body 210 in the circumferential direction and in the vicinity of the rotating body 210. The rocking mechanisms 231, etc. are disposed so as to be equally spaced from each other along the rotation direction of the rotating body 210. In other words, the rocking mechanisms 231, etc. are also disposed so as to form an angle of 120 degrees with each other as viewed from the center (axial core) of the rotating body 210. The rocking mechanisms 231, etc. are configured separately from the rotating body 210 and their positions are adjustable, but the rocking mechanisms 231, etc. may be provided integrally with the rotating body 210. Since the rocking mechanisms 231, etc. are all configured in the same manner, only the rocking mechanism 231 will be described, and descriptions of the other rocking mechanisms 232 and 233 will be omitted.

[0117] As shown in FIG. 24, the oscillating mechanism 231 has a support column portion 252 fixed in an upright state (vertical direction) to a base portion 251 placed on a support surface, an upper support portion 253 extending horizontally from the upper end of the support column portion 252 toward the rotating shaft 202, a first oscillating shaft portion 254 provided at the tip of the upper support portion 253 and having a fixed side magnet 241 fixed thereto, and an interlocking portion 255 which oscillates (rotates) the fixed side magnet 241 in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating body 210. The interlocking portion 255 has a bottomed box-shaped holder portion 256, a second oscillating shaft portion 257 which is provided on the upper end surface of the fixed side magnet 241 and to which the holder portion 256 is fixed, a rotating shaft 258 which is arranged so as to horizontally penetrate (in the left and right direction as seen in Figure 24) the side surface of the holder portion 256 (the left and right side surface as seen in Figure 24), and a disk-shaped rotating plate 259 which is rotatably supported on this rotating shaft 258.

[0118] In the fifth embodiment, the fixed-side magnet 241 is provided so as to be in a twisted position with respect to the rotation-side magnet 221, etc., as in the above-mentioned embodiments. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 25(a) and Fig. 26(a), the fixed-side magnet 241 is provided so as to be inclined (inclined upward to the left as viewed in Fig. 25(a)) so that the upper end of the fixed-side magnet 241 is closer to the rotation-side magnet 221, etc., than the lower end thereof, and so as to be inclined (inclined upward to the right as viewed in Fig. 26(a)) so that the downstream end of the fixed-side magnet 241 (right end as viewed in Fig. 26(a)) is at a higher position than the upstream end of the fixed-side magnet 241 (left end as viewed in Fig. 26(a)). As also shown in FIG. 25(a), the fixed side magnet 241 is positioned so that its upper end (the upper right end shown in FIG. 26(a)) is at a position below a line segment HC that is horizontal to the upper surface of the rotating side magnets 221, etc., and in this embodiment, the fixed side magnets 241, etc. are positioned between the center line MC and the line segment HC, with the upper end of the fixed side magnet 241 tangent to the line segment HC.

[0119] The first oscillation shaft portion 254 causes the fixed-side magnet 241 fixed to the first oscillation shaft portion 254 to oscillate up and down. The first oscillation shaft portion 254 is constantly biased by a spring or the like (not shown) so that the fixed-side magnet 241 faces upward. As a result, in a state in which the rotation-side magnet 221 and the like are separated from the fixed-side magnet 241 (for example, in a state in which the fixed-side magnet 241 is positioned between the rotation-side magnets 221 and 222 as shown in FIG. 26(a) and FIG. 27(a)), the rotating plate 259 is in contact with the lower surface of the upper support portion 211. In other words, this position (the position shown in FIG. 25(a)) can be said to be the initial position of the fixed-side magnet 241. In this state, the fixed-side magnet 241 stands tilted diagonally upward to the left as viewed in Fig. 25(a), and as shown in Fig. 28(a), the end face with S polarity (the left end face as viewed in Fig. 25(a)) faces the circumferential surface with N polarity of the rotation-side magnet 221, etc. In this case, as shown in Fig. 28(a), a strong attractive force between opposite poles acts between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, etc.

[0120] In this state, when the rotating plate 259 hits the convex portion 214, the rotating plate 259 is pushed down by the convex portion 214 as shown in FIG. 25(b) and FIG. 26(b). In response to this, when the holder portion 256 is pushed down, the fixed-side magnet 241 rotates toward the lower left as viewed in FIG. 25(b) about the first oscillation shaft portion 254 against the biasing force of the spring. In other words, this position (the position shown in FIG. 25(b)) can be said to be the intermediate position of the fixed-side magnet 241. In this state, the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotating-side magnet 221 are in close proximity to each other as shown in FIG. 26(b) and FIG. 27(b), and the fixed-side magnet 241 tilts toward the lower left. Accordingly, the end face having N polarity of the fixed-side magnet 241 (the right end face as viewed in FIG. 25(a)) gradually faces the peripheral surface having N polarity of the rotation-side magnet 221, etc., as shown in FIG. 25(b). In this case, between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, etc., both an attractive force between opposite poles and a repulsive force between the same poles act in approximately equal amounts, as shown in FIG. 28(b).

[0121] Then, when the rotating plate 259 hits the apex of the convex portion 214, as shown in FIG. 25(c) and FIG. 26(c), the rotating plate 259 is further pushed down by the convex portion 214, and the fixed-side magnet 241 is further tilted diagonally downward. In other words, this position (the position shown in FIG. 25(c)) can be said to be the final position of the fixed-side magnet 241. Accordingly, the end face having the N-pole polarity of the fixed-side magnet 241 faces further toward the circumferential surface having the N-pole polarity of the rotation-side magnet 221, etc. In this case, a strong repulsive force between the same poles acts between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, etc., as shown in FIG. 28(c).

[0122] Next, the operation of the thrust generating mechanism of the fifth embodiment will be described based on the above-mentioned configuration. As shown in Fig. 25(a), Fig. 26(a), and Fig. 27(a), the fixed-side magnet 241 is located between the rotation-side magnets 221 and 222 (Fig. 26(a) shows the state where the rotation-side magnet 221 has reached the upstream end of the fixed-side magnet 241), and in a state where the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221 are separated from each other, as shown in Fig. 28(a), the end face of the fixed-side magnet 241 having the S-pole polarity faces the circumferential surface of the rotation-side magnet 221 having the N-pole polarity (the circumferential surface of the upper half of the rotation-side magnet 221), and between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, as shown in Fig. 28(a), a strong attractive force between opposite poles (in this case, an attractive force between the S-pole of the fixed-side magnet 241 and the N-pole of the rotation-side magnet 221) works. Therefore, the rotating-side magnet 221 is attracted to the fixed-side magnet 241 by the attractive force between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotating-side magnet 221, and a rotational force in the rotation direction indicated by the arrow G is applied to the rotating body 210, causing the rotating body 210 to rotate. Also, in this state, the rotating plate 259 of the swing mechanism 231 rotates while contacting the lower surface of the upper support part 211 of the rotating body 210.

[0123] 25(b), 26(b), and 27(b), when the fixed-side magnet 241 is in the intermediate position (where the rotating-side magnet 221 has reached a position facing approximately the center of the fixed-side magnet 241), both the attractive force between opposite poles and the repulsive force between same poles act between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotating-side magnet 221, as shown in Fig. 28(b), reducing the effect on the rotating body 210. For this reason, it is difficult for the magnet to brake the rotating body 210 (because the rotational momentum of the rotating body 210 is greater), and the rotating body 210 continues to rotate.

[0124] 25(c), 26(c), and 27(c), when the fixed-side magnet 241 is in the final position (the position where the rotation-side magnet 221 has reached the downstream end of the fixed-side magnet 241), a strong repulsive force between the same poles acts between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, as shown in Fig. 28(c). For this reason, the rotation-side magnet 221 repels the fixed-side magnet 241 due to the repulsive force between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, and a rotational force in the rotational direction indicated by arrow G is applied to the rotating body 210, causing the rotating body 210 to rotate.

[0125] This rotation of the rotor 210 positions the fixed-side magnet 241 between the rotation-side magnets 221 and 223, and thereafter, the same action is repeated, thereby continuing the rotation of the rotor 210. This also applies to between fixed-side magnets other than the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotation-side magnet 221, etc.

[0126] As described above, the fixed-side magnets 241 of the swing mechanism 231, etc. are swung with respect to the rotating-side magnets 221, etc. fixed to the rotating body 210, and the attractive force between opposite poles and the repulsive force between the same poles are switched, so that the rotating body 210 can be rotated smoothly. In addition, in the swing mechanism 231, etc., a rotatable rotating plate 259 is provided as a member that contacts the upper support part 211, so that the resistance to the rotating body 210 during rotation can be reduced and the rotation of the rotating body 210 can be prevented from being hindered. For this reason, it is preferable to use a resin or metal with a low friction coefficient for the rotating plate 259. Furthermore, since the fixed-side magnet 241 has a tapered shape that increases in thickness toward the downstream side, the repulsive force between the fixed-side magnet 241 and the rotating-side magnets 221, etc. when the fixed-side magnet 241 is located at the final position can be made stronger, and the rotating force of the rotating body 210 can be applied more.

[0127] In this embodiment, the fixed-side magnet 241 is provided between the center line MC and the line segment HC and at a position where the upper end of the fixed-side magnet 241 contacts the line segment HC, but the position of the fixed-side magnet 241 may be, for example, as shown in Figures 29(a) to (c), such that the fixed-side magnet 241 is located approximately in the center between the center line MC and the line segment HC. Also, as shown in Figures 30(a) to (c), the fixed-side magnet 241 may be provided between the center line MC and the line segment LC that is horizontal to the lower surface of the rotation-side magnet 221. In the example shown in Figures 30(a) to (c), the rotation-side magnet 221 is disposed at a position where the lower end of the rotation-side magnet 221 contacts the line segment LC. In this case, since the peripheral surface of the lower half of the rotation-side magnet 221 has an S-pole polarity (see FIG. 11(b)), the fixed-side magnet 241 is fixed to the first oscillation shaft portion so that, in the initial position, the end face having an N-pole polarity faces the rotation-side magnet 221 and the end face having an S-pole polarity faces the opposite side. Also, the rotating plate 259 of the oscillation mechanism 231 comes into contact with the upper surface of the lower support portion 212 or the protruding portion 217, etc. In short, the position of the fixed-side magnet 241 may be anywhere within the range between the line segment HC and the line segment LC, and the same effect as described above can be obtained regardless of the position. Of course, it goes without saying that the fixed-side magnet 241 positioned in the position of FIG. 25(a) and the fixed-side magnet 241 positioned in the position of FIG. 30(a) may be provided at the same time.

[0128] In this embodiment, the fixed-side magnet 241 is disposed on the outside of the rotating body 210, but instead, the fixed-side magnet 241 may be disposed on the inside of the rotating body 210, in other words, between the rotating shaft 202 and the rotating-side magnet 221, etc., or the fixed-side magnet 241 may be provided on both the outside and inside of the rotating body 210. Even in such a case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

[0129] In this embodiment, three rotation-side magnets 221 etc. are provided, but the number of rotation-side magnets may be one or more than three. When multiple rotation-side magnets 221 are provided, they may be arranged so that the distance between them varies rather than being equally spaced. In short, the number of rotation-side magnets and the spacing between them can be set appropriately according to the specifications. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment are achieved.

[0130] In this embodiment, the swing mechanism 231 is provided to swing the fixed magnet 241 mechanically, but for example, the fixed magnet 241 may be swung electrically using a solenoid or the like, or the fixed magnet 241 may be swung by a motor or the like. The fixed magnet 241 may be rotated instead of swinging. Specifically, in the state of FIG. 28(a), the end face of the S pole of the fixed magnet 241 may be positioned in a position facing the circumferential surface of the N pole of the rotation-side magnet 221, and in the state of FIG. 28(c), the fixed magnet 241 may be rotated 180 degrees to a position where the end face of the N pole of the fixed magnet 241 faces the circumferential surface of the N pole of the rotation-side magnet 221. In short, it is sufficient if the position of the fixed magnet 241 can be displaced either mechanically or electrically.

[0131] In this embodiment, the rotating body 210 shown in FIG. 23 is applied, but is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIG. 31 and FIG. 32, a rotating body 300 may be provided in which a plurality of support members 250 rotatably supported on the rotating shaft 202 and extending in the radial direction are provided, and a rotation-side magnet 221 is fixed to the tip of each of the support members 250. Also, a rotation-side magnet 221A (same as the rotation-side magnet 221, but with the alphabet "A" added to the end for easy identification) may be attached to the side of the support member 250. In this case, a fixed-side magnet is disposed on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the rotation-side magnet 221A. This also provides the same effects as the above-mentioned embodiment.

[0132] 31 and 32, the fixed-side magnet may be a plate-like magnet extending in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 202, with the downstream end in the direction of rotation bent at a predetermined angle (e.g., 30 degrees) toward the rotation-side magnet 221. In this case, for example, if the fixed-side magnet 241 in FIG. 28(c) is replaced with the fixed-side magnet 260, the right end of the fixed-side magnet 260 in FIG. 28(c) is bent toward the rotation-side magnet 221, so that the end face having the N-pole polarity of the fixed-side magnet 241 approaches the rotation-side magnet and the end face and the N-pole circumferential surface of the rotation-side magnet 221 face each other more closely, so that the repulsive force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the fixed-side magnet 241 can be made stronger. The fixed-side magnet 260 may extend not only in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis 202, but also in an inclined direction. In short, the fixed-side magnets need only be arranged so as to extend in a direction intersecting the rotation axis 202 (so as to have a twisted positional relationship with respect to the rotation-side magnets).

[0133] The fixed side magnet 260 shown in Figures 31 and 32 is bent at an angle of 30 degrees with respect to the plane, but instead of this, a fixed side magnet 261 bent at 90 degrees as shown in Figure 33(a), a fixed side magnet 262 bent at 120 degrees as shown in Figure 33(b), or a fixed side magnet 263 bent at 45 degrees as shown in Figure 34(a) may be used, and the bending angle can be set appropriately according to the specifications. In addition, the plate-shaped fixed side magnet may be bent so that a part of the plate-shaped fixed side magnet is raised as shown in Figures 32(b), 33(a) and (b), or may be bent so that the left and right sides of the fixed side magnet are twisted as shown in Figure 34(b).

[0134] Next, a sixth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 35 to Fig. 37-2. In addition, in describing the sixth embodiment, differences from the fifth embodiment will be mainly described. The sixth embodiment differs mainly in that the swing mechanisms 231, 232, and 233 in the thrust generating mechanism shown in Fig. 27(a) are replaced with thrust generating mechanism 300 shown in Fig. 35 in place of the vertical movement mechanism 310.

[0135] As shown in Fig. 35 to Fig. 37-2, the vertical movement mechanism 310 has a plate-shaped magnet (fixed side magnet) 320, which is a permanent magnet, and a regulating part 330 that regulates the movement of the plate-shaped magnet 320 only in the vertical direction. The regulating part 330 has a storage part 333 fixed to a support shaft 332 that is fixed in an upright state (vertical direction) to a base part 331 placed on a flat surface (mounting surface) G (see Fig. 37-1 (A)). As shown in Fig. 35 (a), the storage part 333 is made of a non-magnetic material such as resin and has a box shape with a rectangular parallelepiped internal space NK. The plate-shaped magnet 320 is stored in this internal space NK so that it can move up and down (reciprocate up and down). As shown in Fig. 35 (b), a pair of rails RL that extend up and down and are parallel to each other are provided on the inner surface of the rear wall of the storage part 333. Further, a spring SP capable of biasing the plate-shaped magnet 320 in the storage section 333 downward is provided on the lower surface of the upper wall of the storage section 333.

[0136] As shown in FIG. 35(a), the front end surface 320a of the plate-shaped magnet 320 (the other end surface, which is the left end surface as viewed in FIG. 35(a)) has an S polarity, and the rear end surface 320b of the plate-shaped magnet 320 (the one end surface, which is the right end surface as viewed in FIG. 35(a)) has an N polarity. When the base portion 331 of the plate-shaped magnet 320 is placed on a plane G, both end surfaces 320a, 320b of the plate-shaped magnet 320 are perpendicular to the plane G and face the rotating-side magnets 221 and the like in parallel. Wheels SR1 are provided on the top and bottom of both side surfaces of the plate-shaped magnet 320. Wheels SR2 are also provided on the top and bottom of the center of the rear end surface of the plate-shaped magnet 320. These wheels SR2 are interposed between a pair of rails RL and move along the pair of rails RL to guide the up and down movement of the plate-shaped magnet 320. By providing these wheels SR1 and SR2, the plate-shaped magnet 320 can move up and down within the storage section 333 smoothly and reliably.

[0137] 36, the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. are arranged along the axial direction of the rotation shaft 202 as described above, with the circumferential surface (one end face) above the boundary line MC having a polarity of N pole, and the circumferential surface (the other end face) below the boundary line MC having a polarity of S pole (see also FIG. 11(b)). The plate-shaped magnet 320 stored in the storage section 333 reciprocates up and down between a first position (see FIG. 36(a)) where the other end face (S pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 faces the front end face (the other end face of the S pole) 320a of the plate-shaped magnet 320 when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 face each other (the state shown in FIG. 37-1(c)), and a second position (see FIG. 36(c)) where the one end face (N pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 faces the front end face (the other end face of the S pole) 320a of the plate-shaped magnet 320. In the first position, a repulsive force due to like poles acts between the rotation-side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320, and in the second position, an attractive force due to different poles acts between the rotation-side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320. Note that the first position may be any position where the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located between the center line MC and the line segment HC, and the second position may be any position where the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located between the center line MC and the line segment LC.

[0138] Next, based on the above-mentioned configuration, the operation of the thrust generating mechanism of the sixth embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 37-1(a), when the rotation-side magnet 221 is located upstream of the plate-shaped magnet 320 in the rotation direction and the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are separated from each other (in other words, the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located between the rotation-side magnets 221 and 222, and the fixed-side magnet 241 in FIG. 27(a) is replaced with the plate-shaped magnet 320. Note that the illustration of the rotation-side magnet 222 is omitted in FIG. 37), the plate-shaped magnet 320 is located at a first position due to its own weight, etc., as shown in FIG. 37-1(A). In this first position, as shown in FIG. 36(a), the rotation-side magnet 221 is attracted to the plate-shaped magnet 320 by the attractive force acting between one end face (N pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 and the front end face (S pole) of the plate-shaped magnet 320, and the rotor 210 rotates.

[0139] The magnetic force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 rotates the rotor 210 (rotation of the rotor 210 continues), and when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are in close proximity as shown in Fig. 37-1(b), a repulsive force acts between the front end face (S pole) of the plate-shaped magnet 320 located at the first position and the other end face (S pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221, and an attractive force acts between the front end face (S pole) of the plate-shaped magnet 320 and one end face (N pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221, so that the plate-shaped magnet 320 moves upward as shown in Fig. 36(b) and Fig. 37-1(B). Note that Fig. 36(b) and Fig. 37-1(B) show a state in which the center in the vertical direction of the plate-shaped magnet 320 located at the first position has moved to a central position that coincides with the center line MC.

[0140] Thereafter, the rotating body 210 rotates further (rotation of the rotating body 210 continues) due to the action of the magnetic force between the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320, and when the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 face each other as shown in Figure 37-1(c), in other words, when the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are closest to each other and the attractive force between them is at its greatest, as shown in Figures 36(c) and 37-1(C), the plate-shaped magnet 320 moves further upward against the force of the spring SP in the storage section 333 due to the attractive force between itself and the rotating side magnet 221, and is positioned at the second position.

[0141] After that, the rotating body 210 rotates further due to the momentum of its rotation (the rotation of the rotating body 210 continues), and as shown in Figure 37-2 (d), the rotating side magnet 221 moves downstream in the rotation direction relative to the plate-shaped magnet 320, so that when the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are in close proximity to each other (in other words, the plate-shaped magnet 320 is positioned between the rotating side magnets 221 and 223. Note that the rotating side magnet 223 is not shown in Figure 37), the attractive force between the magnets 221, 320 is weaker than in the position where the rotating side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 face each other as shown in Figure 37-1 (c), and therefore the plate-shaped magnet 320 moves downward due to the spring force of the spring SP and its own weight, etc., as shown in Figure 37-2 (D).

[0142] After that, the rotor 210 rotates further (rotation of the rotor 210 continues), and as shown in Fig. 37-2(e), the rotation-side magnet 221 moves further downstream in the rotation direction relative to the plate-shaped magnet 320, so that in a state in which the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are separated from each other, the magnetic force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 is further weakened, and the plate-shaped magnet 320 is positioned at the first position, as shown in Fig. 36(a) and Fig. 37-2(E). Thereafter, the same action is repeated (in other words, the same action is repeated between the rotation-side magnets 222, 223 and the plate-shaped magnet 320), and the rotor 210 continues to rotate.

[0143] As described above, in the sixth embodiment, the rotating body 210 rotates due to the magnetic attraction between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320, while the magnetic force between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320 causes the plate-shaped magnet 320 to move up and down, thereby allowing the rotating body 210 to rotate smoothly due to the interaction between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320.

[0144] In this embodiment, the fixed-side magnet 241 is disposed on the outside of the rotating body 210, but instead, the fixed-side magnet 241 may be disposed on the inside of the rotating body 210, in other words, between the rotating shaft 202 and the rotating-side magnet 221, etc., or the fixed-side magnet 241 may be provided on both the outside and inside of the rotating body 210. Even in such a case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

[0145] In this embodiment, three rotation-side magnets 221 etc. are provided, but the number of rotation-side magnets may be one or more than three. When multiple rotation-side magnets 221 are provided, they may be arranged so that the distance between them varies rather than being equally spaced. In short, the number of rotation-side magnets and the spacing between them can be set appropriately according to the specifications. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment are achieved.

[0146] In this embodiment, the plate-shaped magnet 320 is moved up and down by the interaction between the rotation-side magnets 221 etc. and the plate-shaped magnet 320, but for example, the plate-shaped magnet 320 may be moved up and down mechanically using a link mechanism etc., or the plate-shaped magnet 320 may be moved up and down electrically using a solenoid, a motor etc. In short, it is sufficient if the plate-shaped magnet 320 can be moved up and down either mechanically or electrically.

[0147] Next, a seventh embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 38 to Fig. 40-2. In addition, in describing the seventh embodiment, differences from the fifth embodiment will be mainly described. The seventh embodiment differs mainly in that the swing mechanisms 231, 232, and 233 in the thrust generating mechanism shown in Fig. 27(a) are replaced with thrust generating mechanisms 400 shown in Fig. 38, each of which is a forward / rearward moving mechanism 410.

[0148] As shown in Figures 38 to 40-2, the forward / backward movement mechanism 410 has a first fixed side magnet 420 and a second fixed side magnet 421 having a configuration similar to that of the rotating side magnet 221, etc., and a regulating section 430 that regulates the movement of these fixed side magnets 420, 421 only in the forward / backward direction.

[0149] 38(c), the first fixed-side magnet 420 has a circumferential surface (one end face) above the boundary line MC that has a polarity of N pole, and a circumferential surface (the other end face) below the boundary line MC that has a polarity of S pole, similar to the rotation-side magnet 221, etc. (See also FIG. 11(b)). The second fixed-side magnet 421 is similar to the first fixed-side magnet 420, except that the orientation of the first fixed-side magnet 420 is changed by 180 degrees, and the circumferential surface (one end face) above the boundary line MC has a polarity of S pole, and the circumferential surface (the other end face) below the boundary line MC has a polarity of N pole.

[0150] The regulating portion 430 has a lower support portion 431 placed on the placement surface G, an upper support portion 432 extending above the lower support portion 431 and parallel to the lower support portion 431, a connecting portion 433 connecting the support portions 431 and 432, a swing shaft 434 supported by the upper and lower support portions 431 and 432, and a case CS made of a non-magnetic material such as resin that entirely covers the fixed side magnets 420 and 421. The case CS is attached to the swing shaft 434 so as to be freely swingable. Inside the case CS, the first and second fixed side magnets 420 and 421 are arranged on the left and right of the swing shaft 434 in an upright state along the swing shaft 434. In addition, on the back surface of the case CS, a spring SP1 (a so-called push spring) is provided behind the first fixed side magnet 420, which urges the first fixed side magnet 420 forward (to the left in Figure 38(b)), and a spring SP2 (a so-called pull spring) is provided behind the second fixed side magnet 421, which urges the second fixed side magnet 421 backward (to the right in Figure 38(b)).

[0151] 39, the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421 are the same size. When the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 face each other, one end face (N pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 and one end face (S pole) of the second fixed-side magnet 421 facing this end face are of different poles, and the other end face (S pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 and the other end face (N pole) of the second fixed-side magnet 421 facing this other end face are of different poles, so that an attractive force acts between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421. On the other hand, when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first fixed-side magnet 420 face each other, contrary to the case where the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first fixed-side magnet 421 face each other, one end face (N pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 and one end face (N pole) of the second fixed-side magnet 421 facing this end face are of the same pole, and the other end face (S pole) of the rotation-side magnet 221 and the other end face (S pole) of the second fixed-side magnet 421 facing this other end face are of the same pole, so a repulsive force acts between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421. Note that in Fig. 39, only the state where the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 face each other is shown, and the state where the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first fixed-side magnet 420 face each other is omitted.

[0152] The first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421 can move back and forth by the swinging of the case CS. Specifically, when the magnetic force between the second fixed-side magnet 421 and the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. is absent or small, in other words, when the attractive force between the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. and the second fixed-side magnet 421 is smaller than the biasing force of the spring SP2, the second fixed-side magnet 421 is located at a first initial position (in other words, it can be said to be a first separated position separated from the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. 40-1(a)). From this state, the case CS swings about the swing shaft 434, causing the second fixed-side magnet 421 to move forward. In other words, as the case CS tilts clockwise as viewed in Figure 38(b) against the force of the spring SP2, the second fixed side magnet 421 moves forward (to the left as viewed in Figure 38(b)) and takes up a position close to the rotating side magnet 221 etc. (see Figures 40-1(a) to (c)).

[0153] On the other hand, when the magnetic force between the first fixed-side magnet 420 and the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. is absent or small, in other words, when the repulsive force between the rotation-side magnets 221, etc. and the first fixed-side magnet 420 is smaller than the biasing force of the spring SP1, the first fixed-side magnet 420 is located in the second initial position shown in Fig. 38 and Fig. 40-1(a). From this state, the case CS swings about the swing shaft 434, causing the first fixed-side magnet 420 to move rearward. That is, the case CS tilts clockwise against the biasing force of the spring SP1 as viewed in Fig. 38(b), causing the second fixed-side magnet 421 to move rearward (to the right as viewed in Fig. 38(b)) and to be located in a rearward position that is further rearward than the second initial position (see Figs. 40-1(a) to (c)).

[0154] Next, based on the above-mentioned configuration, the operation of the thrust generating mechanism of the seventh embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 40-1(a), in a state where the rotation-side magnet 221 is located upstream of the second fixed-side magnet 421 in the rotation direction and the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 are separated (in other words, a state where the second fixed-side magnet 421 is located between the rotation-side magnets 221 and 222, and the fixed-side magnet 241 in FIG. 27(a) is replaced with the second fixed-side magnet 421. Note that the rotation-side magnet 222 is not shown in FIG. 40), the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421 are located at their first and second initial positions by the biasing forces of the springs SP1, SP2, respectively. In this state, the rotation-side magnet 221 is attracted to the second fixed-side magnet 421 by the action of the attractive force between the second fixed-side magnet 421 and the rotation-side magnet 221, causing the rotor 210 to rotate.

[0155] When the rotating body 210 rotates (rotating body 210 continues) due to the attractive force between the rotating-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 and the rotating-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are in close proximity, as shown in Fig. 40-1(b), the attractive force between the rotating-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 becomes greater than the biasing force of the spring SP1, causing the case CS to swing and the second fixed-side magnet 421 to move forward. On the other hand, the first fixed-side magnet 420 moves backward due to the swinging of the case CS.

[0156] Thereafter, the rotating body 210 further rotates (rotation of the rotating body 210 continues) due to the attractive force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421, and as shown in Fig. 40-1(c), when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 face each other, in other words, when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 are closest to each other and the attractive force between them is at a maximum, the second fixed-side magnet 421 moves further forward and to a close position due to the attractive force between the rotation-side magnet 221. Meanwhile, the first fixed-side magnet 420 moves further backward and to a rear position.

[0157] After that, the rotating body 210 rotates further due to the momentum of the rotation (rotating body 210 continues to rotate), and as shown in Fig. 40-2(d), the rotation-side magnet 221 moves downstream in the rotation direction relative to the second fixed-side magnet 421, and the attractive force between these magnets 221, 421 becomes weaker than the position where the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 face each other as shown in Fig. 40-1(c), so the second fixed-side magnet 421 moves toward the first initial position due to the biasing force of the spring SP2. Meanwhile, the first fixed-side magnet 420 also moves toward the second initial position.

[0158] After that, the rotating body 210 rotates further (rotation of the rotating body 210 continues), and as shown in Fig. 40-2(e), a repulsive force acts between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first fixed-side magnet 420 at a position where they face each other (in other words, the position where the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first fixed-side magnet 420 are closest to each other). As a result, the rotation of the rotation-side magnet 221 is pushed in the rotational direction by the repulsive force, and the rotating body 210 rotates further.

[0159] After that, the rotating body 210 further rotates (rotation of the rotating body 210 continues), and as shown in FIG. 40-2(f), the rotation-side magnet 221 moves further downstream in the rotation direction relative to the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421, so that the rotation-side magnet 221 and the plate-shaped magnet 320 are separated from each other. In this state, the magnetic force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421 is further weakened, so that the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421 return to their first and second initial positions. Thereafter, the same action is repeated (in other words, the same action is repeated between the rotation-side magnets 222, 223 and the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421), and the rotation of the rotating body 210 continues.

[0160] As described above, in the seventh embodiment, the rotating body 210 rotates due to the magnetic attraction between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the second fixed side magnet 421, while the second fixed side magnet 421 moves back and forth depending on the strength of the attractive force between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the second fixed side magnet 421, and the rotating body 210 can be rotated smoothly due to the interaction between the rotating side magnets 221 etc. and the second fixed side magnet 421, and the rotation is pushed forward by the repulsive force between the first fixed side magnet 420 and the rotating side magnet 221 etc.

[0161] In this embodiment, two fixed-side magnets, the first and second fixed-side magnets 420 and 421, are used, but it is also possible to use only a single fixed-side magnet. Even in this case, the same effects as in this embodiment are achieved.

[0162] Specifically, as a modified example using only this single fixed-side magnet, a plate-shaped third fixed-side magnet 440 similar to the plate-shaped magnet 320 of the sixth embodiment is used instead of the first and second fixed-side magnets 420, 421, as shown in Fig. 41. Also, a regulating section 430A that regulates the movement of the third fixed-side magnet 440 only forward and backward and that is applied in place of the regulating section 430 of the forward and backward movement mechanism 410 described above generally includes an outer cylinder section 450 fixed to a connecting section 433, an inner cylinder section 451 that can move forward and backward within the outer cylinder section 450, and a spring SP3 (so-called tension spring) that urges the third fixed-side magnet 440 backward. The third fixed-side magnet 440 can move forward and backward by the forward and backward movement of the inner cylinder section 451. That is, when the repulsive force between the rotation-side magnet 221 etc. and the third fixed-side magnet 440 is smaller than the biasing force of the spring SP3, the third fixed-side magnet 440 is located at the third initial position shown in Fig. 42(a). From this state, the inner cylinder portion 451 advances against the biasing force of the spring SP3, so that the third fixed-side magnet 440 moves forward, and moves further forward than the third initial position to a position close to the rotation-side magnet 221. It should be noted that in Fig. 42, the third fixed-side magnet 440 is drawn as a black circle to make the relationship between the magnetic poles easier to understand.

[0163] 42(a), in a state in which the rotation-side magnet 221 is located upstream of the third fixed-side magnet 440 in the rotation direction and the rotation-side magnet 221 and the second fixed-side magnet 421 are separated from each other, the third fixed-side magnet 440 is located in the third initial position by the biasing force of the spring SP3. In this state, the rotation-side magnet 221 is attracted to the third fixed-side magnet 440 by the action of the attractive force between the third fixed-side magnet 440 and the rotation-side magnet 221, causing the rotor 210 to rotate.

[0164] Thereafter, when the rotating side magnet 221 and the third fixed side magnet 440 are in close proximity to each other, as shown in FIG. 42(b), the attractive force between the rotating side magnet 221 and the third fixed side magnet 440 becomes greater than the biasing force of the spring SP3, causing the third fixed side magnet 440 to move forward.

[0165] 42(c), when the rotation-side magnet 221 and the third fixed-side magnet 440 are closest to each other and the attractive force between them is at a maximum, the third fixed-side magnet 440 moves further forward and to a close position due to the attractive force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the third fixed-side magnet 440. After that, the rotating body 210 rotates further due to the momentum of its rotation (rotation of the rotating body 210 continues), and as shown in FIG. 42(d), the rotation-side magnet 221 moves downstream in the rotation direction relative to the third fixed-side magnet 440, weakening the attractive force between these magnets 221, 440, and the third fixed-side magnet 440 moves toward the third initial position due to the biasing force of the spring SP3.

[0166] Thereafter, the rotation-side magnet 221 moves further downstream in the rotation direction relative to the third fixed-side magnet 440, so that the rotation-side magnet 221 and the third fixed-side magnet 440 are separated from each other. In this state, the magnetic force between the rotation-side magnet 221 and the third fixed-side magnet 440 is further weakened, so that the third fixed-side magnet 440 returns to the third initial position. Thereafter, the same action is repeated (in other words, the same action is also repeated between the rotation-side magnets 222, 223 and the third fixed-side magnet 440), so that the rotation of the rotating body 210 continues.

[0167] In this embodiment and the modified examples, permanent magnets are used on both the rotating side and the fixed side, such as the rotating side magnet 221 etc. and the fixed side magnets 420, 421, 440 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "fixed side magnets 420 etc."), but instead of this, as shown in (1) or (2) below, either the rotating side or the fixed side may be a rotating side member or a fixed side member made of a magnetic material capable of receiving a magnetic force from a magnet such as iron or steel. Even in this case, the same effects as those of this embodiment and the modified examples are achieved. (1) Combination of a rotating member having a rotating magnet 221 and the like as a magnetic material with each fixed magnet 420 and the like (2) Combination of the rotating magnet 221 and the fixed magnets 420 and other fixed members made of magnetic material

[0168] In this embodiment and the modified example, the fixed-side magnet 241 is disposed on the outside of the rotating body 210, but instead, the fixed-side magnet 241 may be disposed on the inside of the rotating body 210, in other words, between the rotating shaft 202 and the rotating-side magnet 221, etc., or the fixed-side magnet 241 may be provided on both the outside and inside of the rotating body 210. Even in such a case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained.

[0169] In this embodiment and the modified example, three rotation-side magnets 221 etc. are provided, but the number of rotation-side magnets may be one or more than three. Furthermore, when multiple rotation-side magnets 221 are provided, they may be arranged so that the distance between them varies rather than being equally spaced. In short, the number of rotation-side magnets and the spacing between them can be set appropriately according to the specifications. Even in this case, the same effects as those of the above-mentioned embodiment are achieved.

[0170] In this embodiment and the modified example, the fixed side magnets 420 etc. are advanced and retreated (moved back and forth) by a mechanical structure using a biasing member such as a spring, but it is also possible to use other mechanical structures such as a link mechanism, or to electrically advance and retreat the fixed side magnets 420 etc. using a solenoid, a motor, etc. In short, it is sufficient if the fixed side magnets 420 etc. can be advanced and retreated either mechanically or electrically. [Explanation of symbols]

[0171] 210 Rotating Body 221 Rotating magnet 320 Plate magnet (fixed magnet) 421 Second fixed side magnet (fixed side magnet) 440 Third fixed side magnet (fixed side magnet)

Claims

1. a rotating magnet having one end surface with a first polarity and another end surface with a second polarity different from the first polarity; a fixed magnet having one end surface with the first polarity and another end surface with the second polarity, the second polarity being different from the first polarity; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with the rotation-side magnet is arranged such that a direction from the first polarity to the second polarity in the rotation-side magnet is aligned with a rotation axis direction of the rotor, The fixed magnet is The rotor is provided so as to be movable along the rotation axis direction of the rotor, The fixed magnet is the rotating-side magnet is configured to be capable of reciprocating between a first position where the other end face of the rotating-side magnet faces the other end face of the fixed-side magnet when the rotating-side magnet and the fixed-side magnet are facing each other, and a second position where one end face of the rotating-side magnet faces the other end face of the fixed-side magnet when the rotating-side magnet and the fixed-side magnet are facing each other, When the rotating magnet is located at an upstream position that is upstream of the fixed magnet in the direction of rotation, the fixed magnet is located at the first position, whereas when the rotating magnet is closer to the fixed magnet than the upstream position due to the rotation of the rotor, the fixed magnet is located at the second position. A thrust generating mechanism characterized by:

2. a rotating magnet having one end surface with a first polarity and another end surface with a second polarity different from the first polarity; a fixed magnet having one end surface with the first polarity and another end surface with the second polarity, the second polarity being different from the first polarity; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed magnet is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed magnet is the fixed-side magnet is configured to be capable of reciprocating between a close position where one end face of the fixed-side magnet is close to the other end face of the rotation-side magnet and a separated position where one end face of the fixed-side magnet is separated from the close position in the second direction, When the rotating-side magnet is located at an upstream position that is upstream of the fixed-side magnet in the direction of rotation, the fixed-side magnet is located at the separated position, whereas when the rotating body rotates so that the rotating-side magnet is closer to the fixed-side magnet than the upstream position, the fixed-side magnet is located at the close position. A thrust generating mechanism characterized by:

3. A rotating magnet; a fixed-side member made of a magnetic material that is disposed in a position facing the rotation-side magnet and capable of receiving a magnetic force from the rotation-side magnet; A rotor having the rotating magnet attached thereto and rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed member is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed member is the fixed-side member is configured to be able to reciprocate between a close position where the fixed-side member is close to the rotation-side magnet and a distant position where the fixed-side member is distant from the close position in the second direction, When the rotating magnet is located at an upstream position that is upstream of the fixed member in the rotation direction, the fixed member is located at the separated position, whereas when the rotating magnet is closer to the fixed member than the upstream position due to the rotation of the rotor, the fixed member is located at the close position. A thrust generating mechanism characterized by:

4. A fixed magnet; a rotating-side member made of a magnetic material that is provided at a position facing the fixed-side magnet and capable of receiving a magnetic force from the fixed-side magnet; a rotating body to which the rotating member is attached and which is rotatably supported on a rotating shaft; Equipped with The fixed magnet is the movable member is provided so as to be movable in a first direction from a side of a rotation shaft of the rotating body toward the rotation shaft and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, The fixed magnet is the fixed-side magnet is configured to be capable of reciprocating between a close position where one end face of the fixed-side magnet is close to the rotating-side member and a separated position where one end face of the fixed-side magnet is separated from the close position in the second direction, When the rotating member is located at an upstream position that is upstream of the fixed magnet in the rotation direction, the fixed magnet is located at the separated position, whereas when the rotating member is closer to the fixed magnet than the upstream position due to the rotation of the rotor, the fixed magnet is located at the close position. A thrust generating mechanism characterized by:

Images