A high torque density permanent magnet switched reluctance apparatus with a structure similar to a switched reluctance motor. The apparatus has an inner stator having a plurality of poles, and a rotor disposed radially outward of the inner stator and having a plurality of segments serving as poles. A respective winding is disposed between every pair of adjacent poles of the stator. The apparatus operates with a plurality of separately excitable phases, a given phase being excited by energizing the windings corresponding to the given phase. Excitation of a given phase causes induction of magnetic fluxes traversing a region substantially confined to the region of the stators and rotor segments corresponding to the given phase, and causes a substantial amount of flux to enter rotor segments not in the radial direction but perpendicular to the radial direction.

A 2-phase outer ring switched reluctance motor is suitable for use as a low-speed and high-flow rate fan, causes a difference in electrical angle of 180 when two armatures are fitted and coupled along an axial direction at the upper and lower sides thereof one by one and eliminates the difference in electrical angle when two outer ring rotors are fitted and coupled along an axial direction at the upper and lower sides thereof one by one, so as to enable the same to be easily assembled into a 2-phase motor and ensure a firm assembled state, simplifies a structure for detecting an excitation section by modularization in which sensors are provided at each armature and objects to be sensed are provided for each outer ring rotor, and escapes from an unstartable state by using a forward rotation sensor and a reverse rotation sensor.

A 2-phase outer ring switched reluctance motor is suitable for use as a low-speed and high-flow rate fan, causes a difference in electrical angle of 180 when two armatures are fitted and coupled along an axial direction at the upper and lower sides thereof one by one and eliminates the difference in electrical angle when two outer ring rotors are fitted and coupled along an axial direction at the upper and lower sides thereof one by one, so as to enable the same to be easily assembled into a 2-phase motor and ensure a firm assembled state, simplifies a structure for detecting an excitation section by modularization in which sensors are provided at each armature and objects to be sensed are provided for each outer ring rotor, and escapes from an unstartable state by using a forward rotation sensor and a reverse rotation sensor.

Various embodiments are described herein for switched reluctance machine configurations. In at least one embodiment, a switched reluctance machine configured according to the teachings herein comprises an axially extending shaft, an axially extending rotor mounted to the shaft, the rotor having a plurality of salient rotor poles, an axially extending stator disposed coaxially and concentrically with the rotor, the stator having a plurality of salient stator poles protruding radially from the stator towards the rotor poles, and a plurality of electrical coils wound about the stator poles to define a plurality of phases of the switched reluctance machine, where a number of rotor poles can be determined according to the following equation and at least one constraint condition: $N_r=\frac{\mathrm{LCM}\left(N_s,N_r\right)}{2N_{\mathrm{ph}}}.$

Various embodiments are described herein for switched reluctance machine configurations. In at least one embodiment, a switched reluctance machine configured according to the teachings herein comprises an axially extending shaft, an axially extending rotor mounted to the shaft, the rotor having a plurality of salient rotor poles, an axially extending stator disposed coaxially and concentrically with the rotor, the stator having a plurality of salient stator poles protruding radially from the stator towards the rotor poles, and a plurality of electrical coils wound about the stator poles to define a plurality of phases of the switched reluctance machine, where a number of rotor poles can be determined according to the following equation and at least one constraint condition: $N_r=\frac{\mathrm{LCM}\left(N_s,N_r\right)}{2N_{\mathrm{ph}}}.$

A motor control device includes a table in which a motor torque generated from a reluctance torque utilizing motor is stored with respect to a combination of an armature current command value and a current phase angle command value at which the motor torque is maximized for the armature current command value, a first setting portion that sets a motor torque command value that is a command value of a motor torque to be generated by the reluctance torque utilizing motor, and a second setting portion that sets, based on the table, an armature current command value and a current phase angle command value for making a motor torque that is in accordance with the motor torque command value set by the first setting portion be generated from the reluctance torque utilizing motor.

A motor control device includes a table in which a motor torque generated from a reluctance torque utilizing motor is stored with respect to a combination of an armature current command value and a current phase angle command value at which the motor torque is maximized for the armature current command value, a first setting portion that sets a motor torque command value that is a command value of a motor torque to be generated by the reluctance torque utilizing motor, and a second setting portion that sets, based on the table, an armature current command value and a current phase angle command value for making a motor torque that is in accordance with the motor torque command value set by the first setting portion be generated from the reluctance torque utilizing motor.

A switched reluctance machine exhibiting reduced noise and vibration, the machine comprising at least one rotor arranged to rotate about a central axis, the at least one rotor comprising a set of rotor poles arranged about the central axis; at least one stator positioned concentric to and radially outward from both the central axis and the at least one rotor, the at least one stator having an outer surface and an outer surface active zone; a housing having a sleeve positioned only radially outward from the stator outer surface active zone; at least one housing endplate coupled to an end of said housing; and wherein said stator has no direct connection to said housing.

The present embodiment is a high rotor pole switched reluctance machine (HRSRM) which provides a plurality of combinations of the number of rotor poles R.sub.n and number of stator poles S.sub.n utilizing a numerical relationship defined by a mathematical formula, R.sub.n=2S.sub.nF.sub.p, when S.sub.n=mF.sub.p, wherein F.sub.p is the maximum number of independent flux paths in the stator when stator and rotor poles are fully aligned, and m is the number of phases. The mathematical formulation provides an improved noise performance and design flexibility to the machine. The mathematical formulation further provides a specific number of stator and rotor poles for a chosen m and Fp. The HRSRM can be designed with varying number of phases. The HRSRM provides a smoother torque profile due to a high number of strokes per revolution.

The present embodiment is a high rotor pole switched reluctance machine (HRSRM) which provides a plurality of combinations of the number of rotor poles R.sub.n and number of stator poles S.sub.n utilizing a numerical relationship defined by a mathematical formula, R.sub.n=2S.sub.nF.sub.p, when S.sub.n=mF.sub.p, wherein F.sub.p is the maximum number of independent flux paths in the stator when stator and rotor poles are fully aligned, and m is the number of phases. The mathematical formulation provides an improved noise performance and design flexibility to the machine. The mathematical formulation further provides a specific number of stator and rotor poles for a chosen m and Fp. The HRSRM can be designed with varying number of phases. The HRSRM provides a smoother torque profile due to a high number of strokes per revolution.