A segment for supporting electromagnetic coupling elements of a stator or rotor of an electrical machine comprises a plurality of elongate laminations which are stacked in a first direction to form a lamination stack with elongate edges of the laminations defining opposite first and second major faces of the lamination stack. The segment comprises a plurality of elongate compression devices passing internally through the lamination stack in the first direction and arranged to compress together the laminations in the lamination stack.

A wind turbine is provided including at least one electric generator having at least one winding system, each winding system including a plurality of sub-winding systems, and a power converter system for connecting the plurality of winding systems to a fixed frequency AC or DC system, the power converter system including a plurality of power converter channels. Each of the sub-winding systems is galvanically isolated from the other sub-winding systems and is connected to at least one respective power converter channel. Each winding system includes at least one breaker for connecting one sub-winding system to another sub-winding system.

A power generation apparatus comprising at least one magnet, the magnet or magnets being arranged to form a substantially cylindrical rotor about an axle; at least one electrically-conductive pickup arranged, in use, such that rotation of the magnet or magnets about the axle induces an electrical current in the pickup; a guide or drive means along which, in use, the axle rolls to rotate the magnet; and means for moving the guide means to cause the axle to roll along it; and wherein the at least one electrically-conductive pickup is fixed relative to a stator, which stator at least partially surrounds the rotor and is rotatably connected to the axle such that the rotor and stator move in unison relative to the guide means.

A non-contact power generator includes: a magnet disposed at a distance to a main surface of a moving body that moves in one direction and the opposite direction, and the magnet generating a magnetic flux passing the main surface; a coil being separated from a surface of the magnet that faces away from the main surface, the coil being linked with the magnetic flux from the magnet; and a magnetic flux guide member disposed in a part of a magnetic path of the magnetic flux linked with the coil. The magnet is moved along the shaft in the moving direction of the moving body at a speed lower than the speed of the moving body by a reaction force acting on the magnet on a basis of eddy currents generated in the main surface in such a direction as to hinder a change of the magnetic flux from the magnet.

A power generation assembly for use in generating electrical power from air or water currents includes a rail system including at least one rail and a vane assembly, drivable by the air or water currents. A car assembly is slidably mounted to the rail and coupled to the vane assembly: wherein movement of vanes of the vane assembly generates linear movement of the car assembly. An electrical energy generating system includes two or more independent sets of stator windings carried by the rail system, and a piston, carried by the car assembly, wherein linear movement of the piston relative to the stator windings generates electrical energy. A switching system is operable to controllably and individually activate each of the two or more independent sets of stator windings.

A vibration motor includes a housing; a vibration unit accommodated and suspended in the housing, the vibration unit including a first vibrator having a first resonant frequency, and a second vibrator having a second resonant frequency; a first elastic member having one end fixed to the first vibrator and another end fixed to the housing for suspending the first vibrator in the housing; and a second elastic member having one end fixed to the second vibrator and another end fixed to the housing for suspending the second vibrator in the housing. By virtue of the configuration, the vibration motor is capable of working at two different resonant frequencies.

A segment for supporting electromagnetic coupling elements of a stator or rotor of an electrical machine comprises a plurality of elongate laminations which are stacked in a first direction to form a lamination stack with elongate edges of the laminations defining opposite first and second major faces of the lamination stack. The segment comprises a plurality of elongate compression devices passing internally through the lamination stack in the first direction and arranged to compress together the laminations in the lamination stack.

A power generation assembly for use in generating electrical power from air or water currents includes a rail system including at least one rail and a vane assembly, drivable by the air or water currents. A car assembly is slidably mounted to the rail and coupled to the vane assembly: wherein movement of vanes of the vane assembly generates linear movement of the car assembly. An electrical energy generating system includes two or more independent sets of stator windings carried by the rail system, and a piston, carried by the car assembly, wherein linear movement of the piston relative to the stator windings generates electrical energy. A switching system is operable to controllably and individually activate each of the two or more independent sets of stator windings.

A direct-drive wind turbine comprises a wind turbine rotor and a generator mounted on a frame. The wind turbine rotor comprises a hub carrying blades and the generator comprises a generator stator comprising a track structure and a stator surface connected to the track structure, wherein the stator surface has coil windings, and carriages connected one after the other and adapted to run on the track structure, wherein the carriages carry an electrically magnetically active material facing the stator surface such that when the carriages run along the track structure a magnetic field is generated across an air gap provided between the carriages active materials and the stator coil windings, wherein one or more carriages are directly coupled to the wind turbine rotor by rigid connectors such that rotation of the wind turbine rotor causes displacement of the carriages along the track.

An improved machine (MC) for physical exercise is described. To simplify the structure it comprises an object (14) displaceable by a user through muscular effort and connected to a device (M1, M8) for generating a resistance force, wherein the device comprises a magnet (36; 92) and a piece (38; 90) responsive to the magnetic field of the magnet which have facing surfaces (U1, U2, U3, U4), each of which extend respectively along two parallel axes, and are mounted to slide relatively along one of said parallel axes overlapping progressively and, through mutual magnetic interaction, to develop a mutual attractive repulsive force (Fm).