A propulsion system for a vehicle includes a supporting structure and a plurality of propellers carried by the supporting structure. Each propeller is associated to an electric motor with a toroid geometry, having an annular rotor rotatable within an annular stator and defining therewithin a central aperture. The blades of the propeller, which are carried by the rotor, extend to the central aperture.

A tangential flow machine can be operated both as electric propulsion and as a generator, having a jacket housing which can have flow passing around it on an outer side, the profile of which is formed on a first front-side opening, and tapers to a second front side, on which a second front-side opening is formed. Between the two front-side openings, there extends a flow path along a main axis, and with an electrical machine, which on the jacket housing has a stator and a rotor that is supported so as to rotate within the stator. The rotor defines a free rotary axis and has a rotor ring and an arrangement of rotor blades which each extend from the rotor ring, radially to a free edge and the free edges of the rotor blades, in the projection direction parallel to the main axis.

A vessel propulsion apparatus includes a cylindrical duct including a stator and a propeller. The propeller includes a rim including a rotor disposed at a position facing the stator and defining an electric motor in combination with the stator, and blades on an inner side in a radial direction of the rim. A fluid bearing is provided on the duct and defines a gap into which surrounding water is introduced between the fluid bearing and the rim, and is water-lubricated with respect to the rim due to water introduced into the gap from the surroundings. The vessel propulsion apparatus further includes a motor controller that drives the electric motor by rotation speed control in a rotation speed control region in which an output command is not more than a predetermined value, and drives the electric motor by torque control in a torque control region in which an output command is more than the predetermined value.

A self-contained marine propulsion impeller system, whereby, the impeller is driven from an outer perimeter of a cylinder, thereby, creating thrust. The impeller is connected to an inner wall of the cylinder. The cylinder has a primary end located opposite a secondary end. The primary end of the cylinder has a primary sealing member and a primary bearing member. The secondary end of the cylinder has a secondary sealing member and a secondary bearing member. A plurality of magnets are connected to an outer perimeter wall of the cylinder. The plurality of magnets are located between the first bearing member and the second bearing member. The cylinder is surrounded by a housing. At least one coil winding is connected to an inner wall surface of the housing. The rotating cylinder is suspended within the housing by the first bearing member and the secondary bearing member.

The present invention relates to rotating equipment, and more specifically, to high efficiency rotating equipment which generates thrust through contra-rotating or produces electricity. The rotating equipment includes: a plurality of propeller modules (10, 20) including a plurality of blades (11, 21) installed inside along a circumferential direction; and a rotary module (40) which rotates the plurality of propeller modules (10, 20) or is rotated.

A marine propulsion unit includes a duct including a stator, a propeller including a rim including a rotor disposed at a position that faces the stator and a blade provided radially inward of the rim, a steering shaft that supports the duct such that the duct is steerable, a casing provided separately from the steering shaft and that extends along a rotation axis of the propeller, and a motor controller disposed in the casing and configured or programmed to control rotational driving of the propeller.

A vessel propulsion apparatus includes a propulsive force generator including a duct and a propeller. The duct includes a stator. The propeller includes a rim that includes a rotor disposed at a position facing the stator, and a blade on an inner side in a radial direction of the rim. The vessel propulsion apparatus further includes a steering shaft that turnably supports the duct, a motor controller that rotationally drives an electric motor including the stator and the propeller in forward and reverse rotation directions, a turning mechanism that turns the duct in a full turning angle range including a range of180 degrees, and a turning angle range limiter that limits a turning angle range of the turning mechanism to a reduced turning angle range narrower than the full turning angle range, and when a predetermined limitation cancellation condition is met, cancels the limitation and allows turning in a turning angle range wider than the reduced turning angle range.

A propulsion system for a vessel includes an engine propulsion unit that provides a propulsive force to a hull by using an engine as a power source, an electric propulsion unit that provides a propulsive force to the hull by using an electric motor as a power source, a storing mechanism that is displaced from an actuating position to actuate the electric propulsion unit to a storing position to store the electric propulsion unit and performs a storing operation to store the electric propulsion unit, and an interlock controller that interlocks a storing operation of the storing mechanism with generation of a propulsive force by the engine propulsion unit.

A vessel propulsion apparatus includes a cylindrical duct including a stator and a propeller. The propeller includes a rim including a rotor disposed at a position facing the stator and defining an electric motor in combination with the stator, and blades on an inner side in a radial direction of the rim. A fluid bearing is provided on the duct and defines a gap into which surrounding water is introduced between the fluid bearing and the rim, and is water-lubricated with respect to the rim due to water introduced into the gap from the surroundings. The vessel propulsion apparatus further includes a motor controller that drives the electric motor by rotation speed control in a rotation speed control region in which an output command is not more than a predetermined value, and drives the electric motor by torque control in a torque control region in which an output command is more than the predetermined value.

A tangential flow machine can be operated both as electric propulsion and as a generator, having a jacket housing which can have flow passing around it on an outer side, the profile of which is formed on a first front-side opening, and tapers to a second front side, on which a second front-side opening is formed. Between the two front-side openings, there extends a flow path along a main axis, and with an electrical machine, which on the jacket housing has a stator and a rotor that is supported so as to rotate within the stator. The rotor defines a free rotary axis and has a rotor ring and an arrangement of rotor blades which each extend from the rotor ring, radially to a free edge and the free edges of the rotor blades, in the projection direction parallel to the main axis, delimit a free circular surface. With this, provision is made that the rotor blades are formed by baffle plates, which extend in the direction of the main axis over the entire axial length of the rotor ring.