Compact direct-drive actuator generating a constant force

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electromagnetic actuator of the type producing a force due to the current that remains substantially constant over the entirety of its useful travel Y and that has a low force in the absence of current, including at least one stator structure, at least one electrical supply coil, and a moving member, the stator structure having, on the one hand, a central pole running perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y and having a width Y.sub.C1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at its end in a width Y.sub.C2 that is greater than or equal to the travel Y of the moving member, Y.sub.C2 being greater than Y.sub.C1, and, on the other hand, two lateral poles having widths Y.sub.L1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at their end in a width Y.sub.L2 greater than Y.sub.L1.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic actuator operably producing a force due to current that remains substantially constant over an entirety of its useful travel Y, the actuator comprising: at least one stator structure; at least one electrical supply coil; and a moving member; the stator structure having, on the one hand, a central pole running perpendicular to a direction of the travel Y and having a width Y.sub.C1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at its end in a width Y.sub.C2 that is greater than or equal to the travel Y of the moving member, with Y.sub.C2 being greater than Y.sub.C1, and, on the other hand, two lateral poles having widths Y.sub.L1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at their end in a width Y.sub.L2 greater than Y.sub.L1, with the lateral poles and the central pole being separated by a distance Y.sub.G; the moving member that is able to move relative to the stator structure comprising an armature supporting at least two adjacent thin permanent magnets each having a width Y.sub.A; the coil having a width Y.sub.B, the width Y.sub.L2 of the lateral poles being equal to (2Y.sub.L1+2Y.sub.B+Y.sub.C12Y.sub.GY.sub.C2)/2 and less than the width Y.sub.C2 of the central pole; the thin permanent magnets being directly adjacent to each other without any gap therebetween; and a width of each of the coils Y.sub.B being greater than the width of bases of all of the poles Y.sub.C1+Y.sub.L1+Y.sub.L1.

2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the moving member and the stator structure defines a mechanical clearance and the lateral poles have a variable thickness, considered as perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y and in that the thickness, defined in the thinnest part thereof, is of the order of magnitude of the mechanical clearance.

3. The actuator according to claim 2, wherein the thickness of the lateral poles, considered as perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y and defined, in the thickest part thereof, is at most equal to the thickness of the thin magnets.

4. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the thin magnets have a magnetization the direction of which is mainly perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y.

5. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the thin magnets have a magnetization the direction of which is perpendicular to the travel Y in the central area of the thin magnets and forms, with such direction, a non-constant angle at the ends thereof.

6. The actuator according to claim 5, wherein the armature supports four adjacent magnets.

7. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the travel Y is a rotary stroke.

8. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the travel is linear and the stator structure and the moving member are in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y.

9. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the travel is linear and the moving member revolves around an axis co-linear with the direction of the travel Y.

10. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the lateral poles have different widths Y.sub.L1.

11. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the lateral poles have axial protrusions oriented opposite the extensions of the lateral poles.

12. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the armature has a substantially constant force over an entirety of its travel including at its ends of travel, even if current in the coil is high.

13. An electromagnetic actuator operably producing a force due to current that remains substantially constant over an entirety of its useful travel Y, the actuator comprising: at least one stator structure; at least one electrical supply coil; and a moving member; the stator structure having, on the one hand, a central pole running perpendicular to a direction of the travel Y and having a width Y.sub.C1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at its end in a width Y.sub.C2 that is greater than or equal to the travel Y of the moving member, with Y.sub.C2 being greater than Y.sub.C1, and, on the other hand, two lateral poles having widths Y.sub.L1 in the direction of the travel and terminating at their end in a width Y.sub.L2 greater than Y.sub.L1, with the lateral poles and the central pole being separated by a distance Y.sub.G; the moving member that is able to move relative to the stator structure comprising an armature supporting at least two adjacent thin permanent magnets each having a width Y.sub.A; the coil having a width Y.sub.B, the width Y.sub.L2 of the lateral poles being equal to (2Y.sub.L1+2Y.sub.B+Y.sub.C12Y.sub.GY.sub.C2)/2 and less than the width Y.sub.C2 of the central pole; the thin permanent magnets being directly adjacent to each other without any gap therebetween; and the width Y.sub.B of the coil being equal to the width Y.sub.A of the magnets, in the direction of the travel Y.

14. The actuator according to claim 13, wherein the armature has a substantially constant force over an entirety of its travel including at its ends of travel, even if current in the coil is high.

15. An electromagnetic actuator operably producing a force due to current that remains substantially constant over the entirety of its useful travel direction Y, the actuator comprising (a) at least one stator; (b) at least one electrical supply coil; (c) a moving member; (d) the stator comprising: on the one hand, a central pole running perpendicular to the direction of travel Y and having a width Y.sub.C1 in the direction of travel and terminating at its end in a width Y.sub.C2 that is greater than or equal to the travel Y of the moving member, with Y.sub.C2 being greater than Y.sub.C1, and on the other hand, two lateral poles having widths Y.sub.L1 in the direction of travel and terminating at their end in a width Y.sub.L2 greater than Y.sub.L1, with the lateral poles and the central pole being separated by a distance Y.sub.G; (e) the moving member adapted to move relative to the stator; (f) the moving member comprising an armature supporting at least two adjacent permanent magnets each having a width Y.sub.A, the at least two permanent magnets being directly adjacent to each other, without any air or pole gap between the front surface of a consecutive pair of the permanent magnets; (g) the moving member and the stator delimiting an air gap E; (h) the coil having a width Y.sub.B, the width Y.sub.L2 of the lateral poles being equal to (2Y.sub.L1+2Y.sub.B+Y.sub.C12Y.sub.GY.sub.C2)/2 and less than the width Y.sub.C2 of the central pole; and (i) the width Y.sub.B of the coil is equal to the width Y.sub.A of the magnets in the direction of travel Y.

16. The actuator according to claim 15, wherein the thin magnets have a magnetization the direction of which is mainly perpendicular to the direction of travel Y.

17. The actuator according to claim 15, wherein the armature supports the permanent magnets which are four adjacent thin magnets.

18. The actuator according to claim 15, wherein the direction of travel Y is a rotary stroke.

19. The actuator according to claim 15, wherein the lateral poles have axial protrusions oriented opposite the extensions of the lateral poles.

20. The actuator according to claim 15, wherein the armature has a substantially constant force over an entirety of its travel including at its ends of travel, regardless of an intensity level of the current in the coil.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) The invention will be better understood when reading the description of an exemplary non restricting embodiment, while referring to the appended drawings, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to the preferred embodiment defining the main geometric parameters.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to the preferred embodiment defining the main dimensions.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to the preferred embodiment, with the moving member being in a position, over its travel, which makes it possible to view one of the dimensional rules of the invention.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the actuator according to the preferred embodiment, with the moving member being at the end of its travel.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a detailed cross-sectional view of the actuator according to the preferred embodiment.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a schematic curve of the evolution of the force vs. the position and the power.

(8) FIG. 7 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to a secondary embodiment.

(9) FIG. 8 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to an angular embodiment.

(10) FIG. 9 shows a schematic sectional view of the actuator according to another linear embodiment.

(11) FIG. 10 shows a schematic view of an actuator according to a peripheral embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

(12) FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show an actuator according to a preferred embodiment. This actuator has an axi-symmetric geometry around the axis 10 and is composed of a stator structure 1 composed of a central pole 4 having an axial width Y.sub.C1 and two lateral poles 5a, 5b, having a width Y.sub.L1. Two electric power coils 3a, 3b, having an axial width Y.sub.B, are positioned between the central pole 4 and the lateral poles 5a, 5b. Such width Y.sub.B takes into account the body of a coil supporting said coil 3a, 3b, if any. The central pole 4 runs in a direction perpendicular to the axis 10 and is terminated by an axial extension 9 having a greater width than the basis of the central pole 4 and extending axially on either side of the central pole 4 defining an extreme width Y.sub.C2.

(13) The lateral poles 5a, 5b are preferably identical but may be asymmetrical so that one lateral pole can be wider than the other one. They have an axial extension 8 which runs toward the central pole 4, thus defining an extreme width Y.sub.L2. The lateral poles 5a, 5b and the central pole 4 are made of a soft ferromagnetic material and are connected together by a yoke 12, which is also made of a soft ferromagnetic material. The lateral poles 5a, 5b are separated from the central pole 4 by a distance Y.sub.G.

(14) The actuator also has a moving member 2, composed of two adjacent magnets 6, 7 having identical widths Y.sub.A. Such moving member 2 moves over a travel Y. They are preferably alternately (incoming and outgoing flux) and radially magnetized so that the magnetic flux produced is oriented towards the poles. Any other magnetization than a radial one may be considered according to the known techniques of the prior art, more particularly in order to locally increase the force level.

(15) The magnets 6, 7 have a tubular thin shape. They are directly adjacent to each other, without any air or pole gap between the front surfaces of two consecutive magnets 6, 7. The magnetization of the thin magnets 6, 7 is perpendicular to the direction of the travel Y in the central area of the thin magnets 6, 7. It may be radial or diametral.

(16) This magnetization direction is not necessarily constant. It may be oriented in a direction which varies near the ends of the magnetized area. End of the magnetized area means the annular segment extending on either side of the magnetized area of the moving member, over less than 5% of the total length of the magnetized area. In the two segments, the direction of magnetization gradually varies between an orientation perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the moving member and a direction forming an angle of less than 90 relative to the direction of displacement of the moving member. The magnets 6, 7 are carried by an armature 11, ideally made of a soft ferromagnetic material so as to close the magnetic flux.

(17) Depending on the current running through the loaded coils 3a, 3b, the moving member thus moves relative to the stator structure 1 according to the direction defined by the axis 10, by defining an air gap E delimited by the radial distancei.e. perpendicularly to the axis 10separating the armature 11 and the stator assembly 1 and a mechanical clearance j delimited by the radial distance between the magnets 6, 7 and the stator structure 1. Ideally, the air gap E and the mechanical clearance j are constant over the travel Y of the actuator. Depending on the direction of the current through the coils 3a, 3b, North and South poles are created at the extensions 8, 9 which thus try to be aligned with the respective South and North poles of the magnets 6, 7.

(18) The height of the lateral poles Y.sub.L2 is more particularly defined as having the axial width:
Y.sub.L2=(2Y.sub.L1+2Y.sub.B+Y.sub.C12Y.sub.GY.sub.C2)/2
Such width Y.sub.L2 of the lateral poles is smaller than the width Y.sub.C2 of the central pole 4, with the widths Y.sub.L2 and Y.sub.C2 being measured at the central periphery of the yoke facing the moving member. The width Y.sub.L2 matches the height of the first polar zone between the front end and the first notch, as measured at the internal annular surface facing the moving member. The width Y.sub.C2 matches the height of the intermediate polar zones, or shoe, as measured at the internal annular surface facing the moving member.

(19) Advantageously, the width Y.sub.A of the magnets 6, 7 is equal to the width Y.sub.B of the coil 3a, 3b. Both characteristics enable the desaturation of the circuit over the second part of the travel as shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 shows the moving member 2 close to the three-quarters of the travel. The transition 16 separating the two opposite polarities leave the area opposite the section having a width Y.sub.C1 of the central pole, whereas the end 14 of the magnet 6 comes opposite the section having a width Y.sub.L1 of the lateral pole 5a. This essential geometric configuration makes it possible to give the actuator this surprising characteristic having a constant force at the end of the travel, even though the current in the coils 3a, 3b is high, with the major part of the magnetic flux no longer having to pass through the extensions 8 and thus avoiding a loss in magnetic potential.

(20) The central pole Y.sub.C2 is of the order of magnitude of the travel Y. When the moving member 2 has moved along the travel Y, the axial end 14 of the magnet 6 is axially aligned with the end of the lateral pole 13 as shown in FIG. 4.

(21) FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a lateral pole 5b, which has a minimum thickness Ep1 at the axial end of the extension 8 and a maximum thickness Ep2 at the basis of the extension 8. Preferably, the thickness Ep1 is of the order of magnitude of the mechanical clearance j and the thickness Ep2 is of the order of magnitude of the magnet radial thickness EpA 7. The actuator according to the invention has unusually thin shoes. The poles cause a local saturation making it possible to prevent the fading of the main magnetic flux by restoring a favorite path for the passage of the magnetic flux through the air gap.

(22) The reduction in the sections of the central 4 and lateral 5a, 5b poles shoes is provided with a view, not to simply reducing the leakage flux between the poles, but to reducing it to a quasi-null value when the actuator is supplied with the maximum electric power. With a low electric power, the useful flux is not sufficient to cause a global desaturation of the magnetic circuit at the end of the travel, thus making it possible to generate a constant force over the entirety of the travel.

(23) When the maximum electric power is supplied to the actuator, the local saturation of the teeth results in drastically reducing the leakage flux which, to the specialists' surprise, results in the global desaturation of the magnetic circuit, more specifically at the end of the travel. As a matter of fact, this results in lowering the working point of the magnetically soft material of the magnetic circuit which finds a medium with a higher relative permeability. The useful magnetic flux circulating in this more permeable medium is thus increased.

(24) FIG. 6 shows the curve of the force as measured versus the position. The beginning of the travel is on the left of the curve and the end of the travel is on the right of the curve. FIG. 6 is interesting in that it emphasizes that the force at the end of the travel and the force at the beginning of the travel are substantially at the same level whether the power is low or high, i.e. respectively the current is weak or intense. Power is called high when it is much higher than that the actuator can continuously bear, without being damaged by too high a temperature. The curve marked 0 is the one corresponding to the force without current. Such force is almost null over the entirety of the useful travel as defined by the whole position [mm] window shown. At the end of the travel, the end of the magnet is positioned opposite the full section of the upper lateral pole, which makes it possible to take advantage of the magnetic circuit desaturation effect ensuring a force linear characteristic as a function of the position and which more particularly makes it possible to obtain an identical force at the beginning of the travel and at the end of the travel.

(25) FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment using all the elements of the actuator of FIG. 1 whereto two additional magnets 15, 17 adjacent to the two magnets 6, 7 have been added. Such addition makes it possible to generate an additional force factor for a given current without modifying the previously disclosed advantages which make up the invention and enable to de-saturate the circuit, even though the overall dimension has globally increased.

(26) FIG. 8 shows another alternative embodiment consisting in providing an actuator with an angular travel. In the left part, the actuator is shown in a three-quarter bottom view and in the right part, the same actuator is shown in an exploded view making it possible to see the moving member 2 carrying two thin magnets 6, 7, with the moving member 2 moving in rotation with respect to the stator structure 1 whereon a coil 3 is positioned, here around the central pole 4. The two lateral poles 5a, 5b have, like in every other embodiment of the invention, the same geometrical relationships, making it possible to keep a constant force law on the travel even with a high power.

(27) FIG. 9 shows an alternative embodiment wherein the stator structure 1 shows, at the lateral poles 5a, 5b, protrusions 18a, 18b which extend the lateral poles 5a, 5b in a direction opposite the extensions 8. Such protrusions make it possible to take account of the positioning tolerance for the moving member 2 relative to the stator structure 1 by shifting the travel Y on one side or another side in the direction of the travel.

(28) FIG. 10 shows an alternative embodiment showing an actuator having a peripheral geometry, wherein the same elements as previously described for the other embodiments can be found, more specifically the moving member 2 carrying the magnets 6, 7 and the stator structure 1 carrying the coil 3, and made of a central pole 4 and two extended lateral poles 5a, 5b. According to this geometry, the stator structure does not totally enclose the moving member 2, but runs on a part only of the tubular surface thereof, to form a groove which runs on approximately one third of the tubular surface of the moving member.