Pairs of Complementary Unidirectionally Magnetic Rotor/Stator Assemblies

Abstract

Pairs of unidirectionally magnetic rotor/stator assemblies are mounted for synchronous rotation and complementary, so that one creates pulsating positive current flow and the other creates pulsating negative current flow, as the rotor and stator in each assembly are rotated with respect to each other. The pulsating positive current flow and pulsating negative current flow are combined at a desired phase angle to create alternating current, without power loss due to reversal of current flow.

Claims

1. A generator, comprising: a pair of complementary stator/rotor assemblies; wherein said stator/rotor assemblies are mounted for synchronous rotation; wherein each of said stator/rotor assemblies comprises: a stator; coils mounted on said stator in a stator ring region; a rotor; magnets having magnetic fields with north and south poles mounted on said rotor in a rotor ring region having a shape and size substantially identical to said stator ring region, with all said north poles oriented outward from a north face of said rotor disc and all said south poles oriented outward from a south face of said rotor disc; wherein said rotor is mounted for rotation around an axis of rotation centered in, and perpendicular to, said stator ring region; wherein said rotor is parallel to, and closely displaced from, said stator by a rotor/stator gap; whereby said magnetic fields of said magnets are axially aligned with said axis of rotation; and whereby said magnets overlay said coils, separated by said rotor/stator gap; whereby rotation of said rotor around said axis of rotation causes said poles of said magnets to travel towards and away from said coils to induce a pulsating current flow in only one direction through said coils; wherein said stator/rotor assemblies are separated from each other by a separation distance sufficiently great to avoid substantial drag from interaction of their magnetic fields; wherein said coils and magnets of a first of said pair of stator/rotor assemblies are configured to be complementary to said coils and magnets of the second of said pair of stator/rotor assemblies, so the first of said pair creates pulsating current in only one direction, and the second of said pair creates pulsating current in the opposite direction, and said coils are wired and wound so that said pulsating currents are combined at a desired phase angle to create alternating current; whereby power loss from reversal of current flow is avoided.

2. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said coils and magnets of said pair of stator/rotor assemblies are configured to be complementary by having said magnets of both of said stator/rotor assemblies aligned, with said north poles of both of said stator/rotor assemblies oriented in the same direction, and having coils of a first of said stator/rotor assemblies wound in a direction opposite said coils of the second of said stator/rotor assemblies.

3. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said coils and magnets of said pair of stator/rotor assemblies are configured to be complementary by having said magnets of both of said stator/rotor assemblies aligned, with said north poles of both of said stator/rotor assemblies oriented in opposite directions, and having said coils of the first of said stator/rotor assemblies wound in the same direction as said coils of the second of said stator/rotor assemblies.

4. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said coils and magnets of said pair of stator/rotor assemblies are configured to be complementary by having said magnets of both of said stator/rotor assemblies oriented in opposite directions, with coils of both said stator/rotor assemblies wound in the same direction.

5. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said rotors are discs.

6. A generator according to claim 1, wherein a first stator/rotor assembly is mounted on a bottom portion of a vertical axis wind turbine, and a second stator/rotor assembly is mounted on a top portion of said vertical axis wind turbine.

7. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said magnets are rare earth magnets.

8. A generator according to claim 6, wherein said rare earth magnets are neodymium magnets.

9. A generator according to claim 1, wherein said stator/rotor assemblies are coaxial.

10. A generator according to claim 1, further comprising a frame; wherein said stator/rotor assemblies are mounted for synchronous rotation within said frame by magnetic levitation magnets of opposite polarities mounted on said frame and on a bottom one of said rotors, respectively.

11. A generator, comprising: a first stator; a first rotor parallel to said first stator, mounted for rotation around a first rotor axis of rotation, closely displaced from said first stator by a first rotor/stator gap; a second stator; a second rotor parallel to said second stator, mounted for rotation around a second rotor axis of rotation, closely displaced from said second stator by a second rotor/stator gap; a plurality of blades drivably connected to said first rotor and said second rotor; whereby when said blades rotate, said blades drive said first rotor and said second rotor to synchronous rotation; wherein said first stator and said first rotor comprise a first stator/rotor assembly and said second stator and said second rotor comprise a second stator/rotor assembly; wherein each of said stator/rotor assemblies comprises: coils mounted on said stator in a stator ring region concentric with said rotor axis of rotation; magnets having magnetic fields with north and south poles mounted on said rotor in a rotor ring region having a shape and size substantially identical to said stator ring region, with all said north poles oriented outward from a north face of said rotor and all said south poles oriented outward from a south face of said rotor; whereby said magnetic fields of said magnets are axially aligned with said rotor axis of rotation; and whereby said magnets overlay said coils, separated by said rotor/stator gap; whereby rotation of said rotors around said rotor axes of rotation causes said poles of said magnets to travel towards and away from said coils to induce a pulsating current flow in only one direction through said coils; wherein said coils and magnets of said first stator/rotor assembly are configured to be complementary to said coils and magnets of said second stator/rotor assembly, so the first stator/rotor assembly induces a pulsating current in only one direction and the second stator/rotor creates a pulsating current flow in only the opposite direction, whereby the pulsating current flows from both stator/rotor assemblies can be combined to create alternating current; wherein said stator/rotor assemblies are separated from each other by a separation distance sufficiently great to avoid substantial drag from interaction of their magnetic fields; whereby power loss from reversal of current flow is avoided.

12. A generator, comprising: a pair of unidirectionally magnetic stator/rotor assemblies having coils and magnets mounted for synchronous rotation of said rotors; wherein coils and magnets of a first assembly are configured to be complementary to said coils and magnets of a second assembly; whereby the first assembly creates pulsating positive current flow, and the second assembly creates pulsating negative current flow; and phase angle means for controlling the phase angle between the pulsating positive current flow and the pulsating negative current flow to create alternating current; whereby power loss from reversal of current flow is avoided.

13. A generator according to claim 12, wherein said phase angle means is selected from the group consisting of angularly offsetting the coils and magnets of the first assembly from the coils and magnets of the second assembly, adding a resistive load to one assembly, and adding an inductive load to one assembly.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of a generator according to the present invention, installed in a vertical axis wind turbine.

[0022] FIG. 2 is an elevational view from the side of FIG. 1.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a plan view from the top of a top rotor according to a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a set of coils according to a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a plan view from the top or bottom of a set of coils according to the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a magnet 112 according to the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an optional levitation magnet according to the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION

[0028] Referring to FIG. 1, shown is an exploded perspective view of a presently preferred embodiment of the present invention 100, installed in a vertical axis wind turbine. A bottom stator 102 is mounted on a base (not shown). A set of coils 106 is installed in a ring shaped (annular) stator ring region 108 on the top face of the bottom stator 102. A bottom rotor 110 is rotatably mounted parallel to and closely separated from the bottom stator 102 by a rotor/stator gap. A plurality of blades 120 is mounted on top of the bottom rotor 110. A top rotor 130 is mounted on top of the blades 120, and also rotatably mounted from a top stator 140 that is parallel to and closely separated from the top rotor 130 by a rotor/stator gap. The top rotor and top stator, separated by the rotor/stator gap, are referred to collectively as the top rotor/stator assembly, and the bottom rotor and bottom stator, separated by the rotor/stator gap, are referred to collectively as the bottom rotor/stator assembly.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 2, shown is a side elevational view of the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention 100, showing the bottom stator 102, bottom rotor 110, blades 120, top rotor 130, and top stator 140. Preferably, the blades 120 are made from resin, like surfboards, with a titanium skeleton. Preferably the rotors 110 and 130 and the stators 102 and 140 are made of FR4 composite material, or lighter.

[0030] The top stator 140, top rotor 130, bottom rotor 110 and bottom stator 102 can all be retained in place and/or rotatably mounted with respect to each other by any means, such as a shaft joining them together, or a housing surrounding them, or any other structure or mechanism, now known or hereafter invented.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 3, shown is a plan view from the top of the top face of the top rotor 130. The plan view from the bottom of the bottom face of the bottom rotor 110 would be identical. As shown in FIG. 3, a series of magnets 112 is disposed on a ring shaped (annular) rotor ring region 133 on the top surface of the top rotor 130.

[0032] Returning to FIG. 1, the bottom face of the bottom rotor 110 preferably has a ring shaped (annular) rotor ring region 113 with a shape and size substantially identical to the stator ring region 108. Similarly, the bottom face of the top stator 140 has a ring shaped (annular) stator ring region 143 preferably with a shape and size substantially identical to the rotor ring region 133 of the top rotor. Thus, the magnets 112 overlay the coils 106, separated by a rotor/stator gap.

[0033] The magnets 112 are preferably rare earth magnets, and more preferably neodymium magnets, but any sufficiently powerful magnets can be used to practice the present invention. Optional cooling holes (not shown) extending radially like spokes can be provided. Optionally also, additional levitating magnets 118 can be provided, preferably interspersed between the cooling holes.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 4, shown is a perspective view of a set of coils 106 according to the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 5, as can be seen, the wires of the coils 106 are preferably wound in the shape of a parallelogram.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, shown is a perspective view of one of the magnets 112 in one of the rotors 110, 130 (see FIG. 1). The magnets must be oriented with all the north poles N aligned in the same direction, and all the south poles in the opposite direction.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 7, shown is a perspective view of an optional magnetic levitation magnet 118 according to the present invention.

[0038] Although the attached figures show that the magnets are in the rotors, and the coils are in the stators, the ordinary artisan would recognize that these could be reversed in either or both rotor/stator assemblies, so that the magnets are in either or both of the stators, and the coils are in either or both of the rotors.

[0039] The ordinary artisan would also recognize that, if the rotor/stators are coaxial, the magnets of the rotor/stator pairs could be oriented with their respective north poles pointing in the same direction, or in opposite directions, as long as the coils are appropriately wound and oriented. As noted below, the rotor/stators do not need to be coaxial, and need only be mounted for synchronous rotation.

[0040] Further, although the attached drawings show that the bottom rotor/stator pair is coaxial with the top rotor/stator pair, this is not necessary. The rotor/stator pairs only need to be in synchronous rotation, that is, they must rotate at the same rate. Thus, for example, the present invention could be practiced with pairs of rotor/stator assemblies that are not coaxial, but are mounted for synchronous rotation by each rotor/stator assembly being connected to a complementary rotor/stator assembly by gears.

[0041] Alternatively, the rotor/stator assemblies can be mounted for synchronized proportionate rotational velocity, that is, where the rotor and stator in an assembly may have different diameters from the rotor and stator in a different assembly, but the respective rotation rates of the assemblies are proportioned to compensate (by gears, pulleys, or other mechanisms), so that the magnets and coils in each rotor/stator assembly pass over each other at the same rate as in the other rotor/stator assemblies.

[0042] Preferably, the rotor/stator assemblies are separated from each other by a separation distance sufficiently great to avoid substantial drag from interaction of their magnetic fields.

[0043] By unidirectionally magnetic is meant that the magnetic fields of the magnets are all oriented in the same direction, preferably parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor/stator assembly in which those magnets are installed, with all the magnetic north poles oriented in the same direction, and all the magnetic south poles oriented in the opposite direction.

[0044] By complementary is meant that the pulsing electric current of one polarity from one rotor/stator assembly can be combined with the pulsing electric current of the opposite polarity from the other rotor/stator assembly to create alternating current. For example, one rotor/stator assembly may create pulsing electric current that is only positive in polarity, and the other rotor/stator assembly may create pulsing electric current that is only negative in polarity. Rotor/stator assemblies can be made complementary by changing the winding direction, orientation, or other characteristics, of the coils, by reversing the orientations of the magnetic poles of the magnets (as long as they remain unidirectionally magnetic), or by other means within the skill of the ordinary artisan, and adjusting the phase angle between the pulsing electric currents, to achieve alternating current. Adjusting the phase angle between the pulsing electric current of one polarity and the pulsing electric current of the opposite polarity can be accomplished by wiring, shaping, placement or orientation of the coils, connecting inductive or resistive loads to the coils, offsetting the magnets and coils in one rotor/stator pair from the magnets and coils of the other rotor/stator pair (so when the magnets and coils of one rotor/stator are closest to each other, the magnets and coils of the other rotor/stator are farthest away), or by other means within the skill of the ordinary artisan.

[0045] It would also be within the skill of the ordinary artisan to vary the coils and magnets, and to add or vary other components, to provide multiple phase alternating current, or alternating current with different wave forms or other characteristics, if desired.

[0046] It would be within the skill of the ordinary artisan to practice the present invention with devices of different scales and configurations, to meet desired market or technical or mass production goals, such as by providing appropriate generation capacity to qualify for favorable alternative energy subsidy rates, or providing devices of different generating capacities that can fit within the same size housing.

[0047] It is preferred that the coils and magnets be easily replaceable for repair or varying generation capacity or to use better permanent magnets that may be developed in the future, or for other reasons.

[0048] The ordinary artisan would recognize that, instead of permanent magnets, electromagnets of appropriate strength could be used, if desired.

[0049] In the embodiment illustrated in the attached drawings, as the bottom rotor 110 rotates, the wires in the coils 106 in the bottom stator 102 are mostly exposed to only the north magnetic poles of the magnets in the rotor ring region 113 in the bottom rotor, and mostly are not exposed to the south magnetic poles. As the magnets 112 approach a coil 106, pass over a coil, and move away from a coil, this creates pulses of electric current, but all in only one direction, so that the electric current either varies from zero to a positive voltage, or from zero to a negative voltage, depending on how the coils are wound: the pulsing electric current only has voltage of one polarity.

[0050] Extracting energy from a pulsing electric current of one polarity is not efficientthe energy can be extracted only from the potential between the electric current and ground (zero).

[0051] Preferably, the magnets 112 in the top rotor 130 and the coils in the top stator 140 are complementary to the magnets 112 in the bottom rotor 110 and bottom stator 102, so that the phase angle between the two currents is adjusted, preferably to 180 degrees (optionally to increments of up to 45 degrees), so they are out of phase, to result in the maximum voltage (of one polarity) of one coinciding with the zero voltage (of the other polarity) of the other, so that connecting the coils results in alternating current that ranges from the maximum voltage of a first polarity, through zero, to the maximum voltage of the other polarity, through zero, back to the maximum voltage of the first polarity, etc., resulting in alternating current.

[0052] The phase angle of the two currents can be adjusted using other methods that are within the skill of the ordinary artisan, such as different wirings or locations or orientations of the coils, or having the coils of one stator/rotor assembly angularly offset from the coils of the complementary stator/rotor assembly. The phase angle can also be adjusted to angles other than 180 degrees (such as increments of up to 45 degrees) using methods known to the ordinary artisan if other phase angles are desired.

[0053] A person of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that various different configurations of coils (including reversal of winding of coils), wires, magnets, and other components, could be used with this invention, including to change phasing, as long as complementary pairs of unidirectionally magnetic rotors/stators are used. All such configurations are within the scope of the claims of this patent.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0054] The present invention is applicable wherever it is desired to generate alternating current without power loss from reversal of current flow.