A bearingless hub assembly comprising a rim hollowed to receive a tube magnet, and magnets embedded around the circumference of the rim on both ends. The rim is capped by front and rear rim plates configured to hold the embedded magnets in place and fitted to receive respective circular magnets. Similar magnets in corresponding front or rear drive plate maintain space (i.e., levitation) vis-à-vis the front and rear rim caps by repelling each other, thus allowing the rim (and, as applied, a mechanically-attached tire assembly) to move freely with no friction. The front and rear drive plate carry forward and reverse electromagnetic actuators as well as forward and reverse levitation control units, power generators and speed sensors. These components mount 360 degrees around the circumference of the drive plates while the embedded magnets of the rim spin through when in motion.

A flywheel device includes a base, a cantilever mounted on the base, a bearing seat mounted on the base, first magnetic members mounted on the base, a rotation shaft arranged between the cantilever and the bearing seat, a magnetically floating seat mounted on the rotation shaft, second magnetic members mounted on the magnetically floating seat and corresponding to the first magnetic members, third magnetic members mounted on the magnetically floating seat, a repulsion driver locked on the base and surrounding the magnetically floating seat, fourth magnetic members mounted on the repulsion driver and corresponding to the third magnetic members, and a flywheel unit mounted on the rotation shaft. The second magnetic members have a polarity the same as that of the first magnetic members. The fourth magnetic members have a polarity the same as that of the third magnetic members.

A bearingless hub assembly comprising a rim hollowed to receive a tube magnet, and magnets embedded around the circumference of the rim on both ends. The rim is capped by front and rear rim plates configured to hold the embedded magnets in place and fitted to receive respective circular magnets. Similar magnets in corresponding front or rear drive plate maintain space (i.e., levitation) vis--vis the front and rear rim caps by repelling each other, thus allowing the rim (and, as applied, a mechanically-attached tire assembly) to move freely with no friction. The front and rear drive plate carry forward and reverse electromagnetic actuators as well as forward and reverse levitation control units, power generators and speed sensors. These components mount 360 degrees around the circumference of the drive plates while the embedded magnets of the rim spin through when in motion.

A magnet apparatus for generating a high gradient and/or high strength magnetic field, comprises: two main permanent magnets 2, 4 located side-by-side with oppositely oriented magnetic field polarities and end surfaces of opposite polarities next to one another, wherein the magnetic anisotropy of the magnets 2, 4 exceeds the magnetic induction of the material of the magnets 2, 4; and at least one mask 6 on a first end of each of the adjacent permanent magnets 2, 4, the masks 6 comprising a permanent magnet material covering adjacent end surfaces of the two permanent magnets 2, 4 with a gap 8 in the masks along a joining line between the two permanent magnets 2, 4 to form a zone of high-gradient magnetic field above the joining line; wherein the permanent magnet of each mask 6 is oriented with an opposite polarity to the main permanent magnet 2, 4 that it is attached to.

A bearingless hub assembly comprising a rim hollowed to receive a tube magnet, and magnets embedded around the circumference of the rim on both ends. The rim is capped by front and rear rim plates configured to hold the embedded magnets in place and fitted to receive respective circular magnets. Similar magnets in corresponding front or rear drive plate maintain space (i.e., levitation) vis--vis the front and rear rim caps by repelling each other, thus allowing the rim (and, as applied, a mechanically-attached tire assembly) to move freely with no friction. The front and rear drive plate carry forward and reverse electromagnetic actuators as well as forward and reverse levitation control units, power generators and speed sensors. These components mount 360 degrees around the circumference of the drive plates while the embedded magnets of the rim spin through when in motion.

In certain embodiments, apparatus for self-aligning elements of coupled platforms includes a radially repulsive magnetic bearing. The radially repulsive magnetic bearing includes a first axially polarized magnet and a second axially polarized magnet that is concentrically disposed around the first axially polarized magnet and radially repulsive to the first axially polarized magnet. The radially repulsive magnetic bearing is configured to align a first element of a first platform with a second element of a second platform when the first and second platforms are coupled together.

A vacuum pump for rotary driving a rotor by a motor to perform vacuum pumping, wherein a motor rotor of the motor includes a yoke fixed to a shaft of the rotor, and a permanent magnet held at the yoke, and the yoke includes a holding portion provided apart from the shaft and configured to hold the permanent magnet, and a pair of fitting portions provided respectively at both ends of the holding portion in an axial direction and bonded to the shaft by fitting, and a radial thickness dimension of each fitting portion is set less than that of the holding portion.

A flywheel (6) is provided that comprises a rotatable shaft (7). At least one end of the rotatable shaft (7) is provided with a recess (51) and two magnets (15, 20, 31, 36). The flywheel (6) is provided with support means (18, 23, 34, 39) with the support means comprising: a first arrangement (18, 34) of magnets (17, 33) for vertical stabilization of the shaft (7); and a second arrangement (23, 39) of magnets (22, 38) for horizontal stabilization of the shaft (7). The first of the two magnets (15, 31) of the shaft (7) interacts with the first arrangement (18, 34) and the second of the two magnets (20, 36) interacts with the second arrangement (23, 39).

A ferromagnetic shield in contact with a magnet bar at the opposite end from the working surfaces of the bar eliminates the field canceling effects that arise from the Amperian currents at that end. The optimum polarization direction for such bars is one that is parallel to the azimuthal coordinate of the bar. The field at the working surface of the bar approaches that of a bar of infinite length because the shield, located on the side opposite to that of the working surface, completely eliminates, or at least substantially reduces, the field cancellation effect that normally would occur. The magnet bars with shields can be assembled on rotors and stators in flywheel storage systems and other rotating machinery.

A magnet apparatus for generating a high gradient and/or high strength magnetic field, comprises: two main permanent magnets 2, 4 located side-by-side with oppositely oriented magnetic field polarities and end surfaces of opposite polarities next to one another, wherein the magnetic anisotropy of the magnets 2, 4 exceeds the magnetic induction of the material of the magnets 2, 4; and at least one mask 6 on a first end of each of the adjacent permanent magnets 2, 4, the masks 6 comprising a permanent magnet material covering adjacent end surfaces of the two permanent magnets 2, 4 with a gap 8 in the masks along a joining line between the two permanent magnets 2, 4 to form a zone of high-gradient magnetic field above the joining line; wherein the permanent magnet of each mask 6 is oriented with an opposite polarity to the main permanent magnet 2, 4 that it is attached to.