ROTATING MASS ENERGY STORE

Abstract

A rotating mass energy store includes a rotor that contains conductors and a magnet arrangement. The rotating mass is symmetrical about axis of rotation and is hollow with a cavity, wherein an electrical stator is located in the cavity. All components of the energy store are enclosed in a housing that has a fitting/connection for a vacuum pump and or seal, and wire connection seals for conductive wire to pass through. The rotor is permanently magnetically levitated axially and radially. Electrical energy is exchanged and stored as kinetic energy in a rotating mass, otherwise known as a rotor.

Claims

1. A rotary energy store comprising at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor.

2. The rotary energy store according to claim 1, wherein the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor is part of an integrated motor-generator unit.

3. The rotary energy store according to claim 2, wherein the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor comprises radial permanent magnetic bearings and axial permanent magnetic bearings.

4. The rotary energy store according to claim 3, wherein the radial permanent magnetic bearings are electrodynamic bearings and the axial permanent magnetic bearings use Halbach array magnet arrangements to produce levitation forces.

5. The rotary energy store according to claim 4, wherein the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor is in a sealed housing that can have a connected vacuum pump to form a vacuum environment in which the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor rotates during operation.

6. The rotary energy store according to claim 5, wherein the housing secures a stator of the integrated motor-generator unit and the magnets of the radial electrodynamic bearings and the axial permanent magnetic bearings.

7. The rotary energy store according to claim 6, wherein the stator is located equidistant between both axial permanent magnetic bearings.

8. The rotary energy store according to claim 7, wherein the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor is a hollow symmetrical body that contains embedded magnets in its wall that form part of the integrated motor-generator unit and also contains embedded conductors that form part of complete radial electrodynamic bearings and part of complete axial permanent magnetic bearings.

9. The rotary energy store according to claim 8, wherein the magnets embedded in the at least one permanently magnetically levitated rotor rotate about the stator and are also equidistant between both axial permanent magnetic bearings.

10. The rotary energy store according to claim 9, wherein the conductors for the radial electrodynamic bearings are located such that the conductors are aligned with the radial bearing magnets, so the conductor within a wall rotates about the radial bearing magnets secured by the housing.

11. The rotary energy store according to claim 10, wherein the conductors for the axial permanent magnetic bearings are located such that the conductor is embedded in the rotor at the rotor's open end, so the sequence of arrangement is: rotor with embedded conductor, a gap, the axial permanent magnet arrangement, which is secured in place by the housing.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described solely by way of example and reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0035] FIG. 1 is an array sequence according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electrodynamic bearing according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0037] FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate the axial permanent magnetic bearing according to one embodiment of this disclosure with FIG. 3A being a cross-sectional view and FIG. 3B being a top view;

[0038] FIG. 3C is a top view of the torus conductor of FIG. 3A according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a rotor with its embedded magnets and conductors according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 4B is a top view of the rotor magnets of FIG. 4A illustrating their polarization direction according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 5A shows the top view of the electrical stator according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 5B illustrates the conductive wire of FIG. 5A wrapped around the pole piece according to one embodiment of this disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 5C illustrates the pole piece of FIG. 5A with the conductive wire of FIG. 5A wrapped around it according to one embodiment of this disclosure; and

[0044] FIG. 6 illustrates the rotary energy store with a majority of its components according to one embodiment of this disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] FIG. 1 shows a Halbach array sequence wherein an augmented magnetic field 5 includes longitudinally polarized magnets 2 and 4, alternating in direction, and laterally polarized magnets 1 and 3, alternating in direction. The magnets 1-4 are equal in size.

[0046] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electrodynamic bearing that provides radial stability and levitation. The interacting conductor and securing shaft/bracket are also shown in cross-sectional view, as if they were cut in half down the center. (1) Iron pole shoes are ring shape and show (2) ring magnets, with a (3) securing shaft that is attached to or part of the housing, (4) with conductor embedded in the rotor wall, (5) of the rotor.

[0047] FIGS. 3A and 3B show the axial permanent magnetic bearing with its interacting conductor and securing method, shown in cross-sectional view. In FIG. 3A, a cross-sectional view of the axial permanent magnetic bearing and the securing method is shown, where (5) is the cross section for the magnet ring which comprises small ring magnet segments, (6) a part of the housing partially enclosing the axial permanent magnetic bearing that comprises magnet segments, (7) the shaft attached to or part of the housing that leads to securing other components, (4) is the torus conductor, which can be solid or coil shaped, and (8) the rotor wall. The housing section (6) is of a geometry that partially encloses the axial permanent magnetic bearing (5), (7) is a section which can be part of the same body of (6) which can lead to securing the electrodynamic bearing and stator. The torus conductor (4) is embedded in the rotor wall (8). The rotor (8) includes the embedded torus conductor (4) to levitate about the axial permanent magnetic bearing (5) which is secured in place by (6).

[0048] FIG. 3B shows the top view of the axial permanent magnetic bearing of (5, FIG. 3A). The segments that form the ring are shown with their polarization directions.

[0049] Every other magnet is polarized tangentially, and every other magnet is polarized either into or out of the paper, labelled as (2) and (1) respectively. The tangentially polarized magnets (3) alternate in the tangential direction. The magnets with polarization direction into the paper are labelled (2). The magnets with polarization direction out of the paper are labelled (1).

[0050] FIG. 3C shows the top view of the torus conductor (4).

[0051] FIG. 4A represents a rotor with its embedded magnets and conductors. Torus conductor (1) and radial conductor (2) are embedded in the rotor wall (3), rotor magnets (4) are embedded in the wall of the rotor near the inner surface of the rotor cavity (5) where the electrical stator would be located.

[0052] FIG. 4B shows the top view of the rotor magnets and their polarization direction. The polarization pattern comprises tangentially polarized magnets and radially polarized magnets. The pattern alternates between tangentially and radially polarized magnets, and these alternate too. (1) and (2) are both radially polarized but are in opposing directions, where (1) is polarized toward the circumference of the ring, and (2) is polarized toward the center of the ring. (3) and (4) are both tangentially polarized magnets, but are polarized in opposite directions. The base sequence comprises of (1), (2), (3) and (4) which repeats to form the pattern. The polarization pattern of magnets creates an augmented magnetic field on the inside of the ring, labelled (5).

[0053] FIG. 5A is a top view of an electrical stator. (1), the pole head, (2), electrically conductive wire, (3) pole piece, (4) the stator core. The stator has more than one pole, usually five or six. The poles are equally spaced around the stator core (4). Each pole piece (3) has a pole head (l), the conductive wire (2) is wrapped around the pole piece (3) for at least one complete turn, but can have multiple turns.

[0054] FIG. 5B illustrates how the conductive wire (2 of FIG. 5 A) is wrapped around the pole piece (3 of FIG. 5A). In FIG. 5B, (1) is the pole head, (4) is the pole piece, and (2) and (3) show the coil tails. The coil tails (2) and (3) are extensions of the conductive wire that extend from where the coil starts and where the coil ends, in other words, where the coil leads to the coil and leaves the pole piece (4).

[0055] FIG. 5C shows the pole piece (3 of FIG. 5 A) and how the conductive wire (2 of FIG. 5A) wraps around it. In FIG. 5C, (1) is the pole head, (4) is the pole piece and (2) and (3) are the coil tails. The conductive wire wraps around the pole piece (4) for two whole turns and leaves the pole piece with the coil tail extension (3).

[0056] FIG. 6 shows the rotary energy store with the majority of its components. (1) the housing, can have a fitting or connection (2) that can connect with a vacuum pump and or seal (not shown) that is able to create a vacuum environment within the cavity of the housing (14).

[0057] The housing (1) also has at least one seal that holds a wire through the housing and does not allow air leakage to occur to or from the energy store. FIG. 6 shows the housing with two wire seals (3) and (15).

[0058] The housing (1) has a cavity (14) where most of the components go, and where the vacuum environment is created.

[0059] The housing (1) has a shaft (22) that is through its center, with a channel (4), and at either end of the shaft are two wire seals (3) and (15).

[0060] The shaft (22) has additional small channels (13) and (21) that allow the coil tails of (2 and 3 of FIG. 5B) to go from the poles of the stator (12) through to the center channel (4) of the shaft (22) and to the wire seals (3) and (15), that then leave the energy store for energy exchange.

[0061] The shaft (22) secures the stator (12) in place.

[0062] The stator (12) is located on the shaft (22) in the housing (1) so that it is equidistant from either axial magnetic bearing.

[0063] The housing (1) secures the location of the axial magnet bearing rings (5) and (16) by means of geometry of the housing.

[0064] The rotor (10) is levitated within the housing cavity (14) about the shaft (22), between the axial magnets (5) and (16) and about the electrodynamic bearings, which comprises multiple iron pole shoes (8) and (19) and multiple ring magnets (9) and (20), which are stacked alternatively, and explained with reference to FIG. 2. The electrodynamic bearings are secured in place on the shaft (22).

[0065] The rotor (10) has components embedded in its wall. The rotor (10) has open ends so that it can rotate about the electrodynamic bearing that is secured by a shaft. Two torus conductors (6) and (17) are embedded in the rotor wall at the extremities of the rotor (10). Two conductors (7) and (18) are embedded in the rotor wall for each radial electrodynamic bearing, and are embedded so that they are aligned with the electrodynamic bearing. The rotor (10) also has magnets (11) embedded in its main bulk near the inner surface (23) of the rotor cavity (24). The rotor magnets (11) are located such that they are aligned with the stator (12) for interaction to occur.