Detailed Description

The present invention is related to a Force Redirection Electric Engine. In particular, the present invention is related to propulsion of vehicles and objects in low-gravity environments such as deep space.

As is well known, satellites and space shuttles are usually propelled by rocket engines which make use of chemically stored energy. In particular by oxidizing rocket fuel, these engines produce thrust in order to move the space shuttle or starship. This prior art concept has proven to work generally flawlessly, however, is connected to several disadvantages: On the one hand, availability of fuel in space is limited and refueling options are non-existent for the time being. On the other hand, environmental pollution of the earth's upper atmosphere in particular when satellites and vehicles burn propellant to maintain low earth orbit presents a problem. One further aspect is that prior art propulsion systems requiring chemical fuels are effectively bombs which control their explosion over time, meaning those systems will always have an inherent safety flaw of uncontrolled explosions, presenting constant danger to any onboard occupants or equipment as well as other objects in space through creating many pieces of high speed debris.

Summarizing, there is a need for an efficient, safe and environmentally conscience way of producing thrust.

This object is solved by a Force Redirection Electric Engine according to the independent claims. The dependent defines advantageous embodiments of the present invention.

Accordingly, a Force Redirection Electric Engine is provided which can also be described as an “engine”, a “driving means”, an “apparatus for producing thrust” or a “propulsion means”. It comprises one piece of mass which is also referred to as a propellant or a projectile. Further, a closed loop guidance for the piece of mass is provided in the engine. The closed loop guidance guides the piece of mass in a closed loop within the engine. The closed loop can be understood as means for engaging with the piece of mass and forcing it to travel on a closed path within the Force Redirection Electric Engine. The closed loop guidance is preferably and primarily made out of a non-magnetic material, while the piece of mass is preferably and primarily made out of a preferably magnetized ferro-magnetic material. For driving the piece of mass, an electric acceleration unit is provided. The electric acceleration unit is adapted for providing thrust for the piece of mass with respect to the closed loop guidance. In other words, the electric acceleration unit can be tied or fixed to the closed loop guidance and being adapted for interacting with the piece of mass in order to accelerate the piece of mass. Finally, a deceleration unit which is preferably and primarily made out of a paramagnetic material is provided in order to decelerate the piece of mass within a different segment or section of the closed loop guidance with respect to the closed loop guidance. In other words, also the deceleration unit is tied to or attached I fixed to the closed loop guidance in order to reduce its velocity when travelling within the closed loop guidance. This way, the piece of mass is adapted for circulating guided on a path predefined by the closed loop guidance. In a first section of the closed loop guidance the acceleration unit electrically and/or magnetically accelerates the piece of mass, wherein in a different section of the closed loop guidance the deceleration unit is adapted for decelerating the piece of mass with respect to the closed loop guidance. The person skilled in the art immediately recognizes that the recoil of acceleration and deceleration of the piece of mass, as well as re-directing the angle of momentum of the piece of mass between acceleration and deceleration, will exert forces on the loop guidance and/or the acceleration unit and/or the deceleration unit which are in particular first oppositely directed and second similarly directed with respect to the forces exerted on the piece of mass. In this way, the Force Redirection Electric Engine is capable of also exerting forces on a periphery or vehicle that it is attached to. Depending on the geometry of the Force Redirection Electric Engine, in particular the closed loop guidance, number and placement of acceleration and deceleration units, and the number of Force Redirection Electric Engines provided in a vehicle and their relative orientation with respect to each other, various motions can possibly be provoked by the technology disclosed herein and specified as well as elucidated in greater detail below. For example, a linear motion and/or a reciprocating motion and/or a tumbling motion and/or a superposition of the aforementioned and/or more complex motion or trajectory are possible. In doing so, nothing is exhausted to the atmosphere and/or deep space since no parts are lost or exhausted by the Force Redirection Electric Engine. In contrast, only electric energy is consumed by the acceleration unit and/or deceleration unit. This electric energy can be stored within the Force Redirection Electric Engine and/or supplied from an external device such as photovoltaic cells or fuel cells or photovoltaic panels and/or reactors like nuclear reactors, fusion reactors and the like.

Preferably, the piece of mass is a compact projectile with a high density, that is mass per volume. The piece of mass can have a predefined (man-made) shape, such as a ball-shape and may freely travel within the guidance. Therefore, the closed-loop guidance can comprise a tube or tubular shape. The piece of mass is preferably and primarily made out of a ferromagnetic material such as Neodymium, Iron, Nickel or Cobalt or an alloy of said materials, and preferably magnetized into a permanent magnet. The higher the mass of the piece of mass, the higher the redirected force by accelerating/decelerating the piece of mass. This increases the thrust the Force Redirection Electric Engine is able to produce per cycle. A further requirement is that the piece of mass must maintain a lower total mass than the engine and all its connected parts, including any vehicle its attached to and anything else attached to said vehicle.

In order to improve efficiency of the technology, the closed loop guidance can be adapted for being evacuated such that the piece of mass travels within the vacuum. This reduces friction, lowers the electric power consumed by the electric acceleration unit and avoids waste heat by friction within the Force Redirection Electric Engine. For evacuating the closed loop guidance, the Force Redirection Electric Engine can comprise a corresponding vacuum pump and the closed loop guidance can provide a valve connected to said pump, or said pump can be externally provided. The pump can be operated electrically and optionally can use the same electric power source as the electric acceleration unit. The pump can also be bypassed for direct evacuation into the vacuum of space when the engine is operated outside of an atmosphere.

The guidance can comprise a circular shape. That is, the guidance can force the piece of mass to travel on a circular route (a circle, in particular within a plane). Alternatively, the guidance can comprise an oval shape having sections with a larger diameter with respect to a common center and sections with a smaller diameter (curvature) with respect to the common center. That is, the piece of mass travels on an oval trajectory. Preferably, the guidance can comprise different sections with different shapes. For example, two parallel linear sections can at their ends be connected by circular shaped sections such that the piece of mass travels linearly, followed by a half circle, followed by a further linear segment (trajectory) and finally travels a second half circle for arriving at its starting point. In particular, the electric acceleration unit can be arranged at a first segment of the guidance and the deceleration unit can be arranged at an opposite section of the guidance. In particular, the electric acceleration unit is arranged at a first linear segment and the deceleration unit is provided at a second linear segment, in particular the opposite linear segment of the guidance. This reduces wear within the closed loop guidance and no energy is wasted accelerating in unwanted directions.

Preferably, the electric acceleration unit comprises electromagnetic coils wound around the trajectory of the piece of mass. For example, the electromagnetic coils can be wound around a segment of the closed loop guidance. Similar considerations can apply for the deceleration unit. Generally, in order to interact with the electromagnetic field of the electromagnetic coils of the acceleration I deceleration unit, the piece of mass comprises of a ferro-magnetic material, which is generally magnetized into a permanent magnet to vastly increase efficiency of the engine. Even without making contact to the closed loop guidance or the acceleration I deceleration unit, the piece of mass is accelerated I decelerated by the electromagnetic field extending through the closed loop guidance and the trajectory of the piece of mass. This reduces wear of the acceleration I deceleration units, the closed loop guidance and the piece of mass. This in turn enhances availability of the Force Redirection Electric Engine and improves mobility of the vehicle.

Alternatively or additionally, the electric acceleration unit comprises a driving wheel being adapted for directly making contact with the piece of mass. In other words, at least a section or sector of the driving wheel extends within the closed loop guidance in order to making contact with the piece of mass if same arrives at the acceleration unit. By electrically driving the driving wheel or decelerating the driving wheel the piece of mass can be accelerated or decelerated. The driving wheel can be provided with certain features in order to enhance friction between the piece of mass and the driving wheel or even can provide cavities in order to "collect" the piece of mass when arriving at the acceleration unit I the deceleration unit. Preferably, the direction of acceleration and the direction of deceleration are oriented anti-parallel with respect to each other. That is, the first segment comprising the acceleration unit and the second segment comprising the deceleration unit are provided substantially parallel with respect to each other and the respective direction of motion of the piece of mass are oriented opposite with respect to each other. Such an arrangement provides a small or thin form factor of the Force Redirection Electric Engine in particular if the curves connecting both segments have a small radius.

Preferably, the Force Redirection Electric Engine can have a detection unit which is adapted for detecting a predefined position of the piece of mass within the closed loop guidance. In other words, the detection unit provides a signal as soon as the piece of mass has a predefined spatial relationship with respect to the detection unit. For example, a hall sensor can detect the pieces of masses magnetic field and provide this signal to a control unit. Depending on the time the piece of mass spends in range of the detector, its relative speed can be calculated by the control unit, which can provide control signals to the acceleration unit and/or the deceleration unit. For example, the acceleration unit can reduce power to the electromagnetic coils in order to attract the piece of mass slower or switch off the electromagnetic coils sooner in order to reduce the total acceleration of the piece of mass.

Should the variant of the engine work with a non-magnetized piece of mass, a sensor is used instead which emits its own small magnetic field that can measure when it’s disturbed and for how long, similar to how traffic lights for pedestrians with contactless buttons work, in order to track the position and speed of the piece of mass.

In particular, if the piece of mass comprises of a magnetized ferro-magnetic material, the guidance has to lack materials which would attract the electromagnetic field of the piece of mass. In this case the guidance can be made of or comprise non-magnetic and/or non-metallic materials, such as polymer or other plastic I wooden I ceramic material. This also applies to the guidance in the vicinity of the acceleration and deceleration units at least if same use electromagnetic fields for accelerating and decelerating the piece of mass.

While the dimensions and ratios of the guidance and other elements of the Force Redirection Electric Engine logically depend on its purpose, the following exemplary details have proven to being suitable for several exemplary applications. The shape of the closed loop guidance compromises of two parallel straight parts, which are as long as are needed to accommodate the acceleration and/or deceleration units required to impart/reduce the velocity on the piece of mass as required. It further comprises of two perfect semi-circle segments, connecting the linear parts of the guidance via a path that follows the bend of a circle with a surface area calculated via Pi times the radius squared, I.E. a perfect circle. The inner diameter of the guidance is at least minimally bigger than the piece of mass, so the piece of mass is capable of rolling around its own axis but nothing more, to minimize the gap between the acceleration/deceleration unit and the piece of mass as well as any vibrations. Any other limitation on dimensions comes purely from the availability of electricity to convert into kinetic linear motion, and the strength of the material of the guidance which has to withstand the centrifugal forces generated by the piece of mass rolling around the guidance.

For increasing the thrust of the Force Redirection Electric Engine or in order to reduce the average velocity of the piece of mass, several pieces of mass can travel within the Force Redirection Electric Engine. For example several pieces of mass can travel within the (single) closed loop guidance. These pieces of mass sequentially pass the acceleration unit, the curve, the deceleration unit and the second curve with a phase shift or time shift with respect to each other however basically on the same trajectory. The several pieces of mass can preferably be identically shaped and dimensioned as well as being from identical materials and/or of identical mass in order to avoid unwanted imbalance.

Alternatively, in case several pieces of mass are provided, each of these pieces of mass can be provided in a separate closed loop guidance in order to shape the nature and direction of thrust(s) of the Force Redirection Electric Engine. It goes without saying, that each of the several closed loop guidances can comprise one or two or an arbitrary higher number of pieces of mass in order to increase the thrust or lower the velocities of the pieces of mass as discussed above, though it’s important for two guidances configured to counter each other’s lateral forces to be identical in nature, as described below.

In case several closed loop guidances are provided and being arranged for circulating respective pieces of mass, certain components of the forces exerted on the closed loop guidances can compensate each other between the closed loop guidances. In particular an even number of closed loop guidances can compensate the redirecting forces into the connective structure such that only linear motions or trajectories of the closed loop guidances or the Force Redirection Electric Engine occur when powering the acceleration I deceleration units or when the pieces of mass travel around the circular parts of the guidance. If more than two guidances are provided, these can be arranged in star, block or other configurations, where forces other than the forwards and backwards traveling directions of the frame are compensated for by directing them into the center connecting frame with a common center point.

As discussed above, the Force Redirection Electric Engine only needs electric power for being operated, though it always requires input of power to achieve motion. It can comprise an electrochemical power cell (battery), accumulator or being capable of transforming external power/energy into electrical power (e.g. by means of photovoltaic panels).

All of the above-mentioned components can be comprised in a common housing of the Force Redirection Electric Engine (complex). The housing can in particular have an external electric power supply and/or being provided with photovoltaic panels at its outside. In particular, means for attaching the housing to a vehicle or other periphery can be provided for screwing or welding or gluing the housing to the periphery, provided any additional parts and materials such as nuts and bolts or glue adhere to the non-magnetic material standards as laid out in this document, should they come in range of a magnetized piece of mass’s magnetic field at any point.

According to a second aspect of the present invention a connective frame is provided, designed to house multiple Force Redirection Electric Engine “cores” of standardized design. This center frame can have multiple shape configurations such as a “block” configuration where Force Redirection Electric Engine cores are arranged side by side horizontally or vertically, or “star” configurations where Force Redirection Electric Engine cores are equally spaced and oriented within a 360 degree circle, providing a star-like shape. The center frame provides guiderails and all types of connections for the Force Redirection Electric Engine cores to be fixed tightly but not permanently to the frame, and any Force Redirection Electric Engine cores can be removed from and returned to the frame during maintenance. The center frame further provides connections to fix itself and the connected Force Redirection Electric Engines and their connections to a vehicle in an internal or external fashion, to provide both connectivity and resources as well as waste heat disposal capability to the connected Force Redirection Electric Engines. The center frame furthermore compromises a central control unit, to which the control units of the Force Redirection Electric Engines connect and which provides synchronization between these engines and their respective control units. It also compromises a maintenance hatch and space for easy access the central control unit electronics. The central frame control unit furthermore connects to any vehicle connected to the frame in order to receive control commands.

The invention will be disclosed in greater detail by way of reference to the enclosed figures showing exemplary embodiments of the present invention. In the figures:

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a Force Redirection Electric Engine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 shows a sideway view of supports which can be used for the embodiment depicted in Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 shows an exemplary rotary electric acceleration unit;

Fig. 4 shows a principle plan view on an alternative embodiment of an electric acceleration unit having storage capacity;

Fig. 5 shows a different embodiment for a deceleration unit;

Fig. 6 shows a principle view on an exemplary acceleration I deceleration unit;

Fig. 7 shows a principle plan view on a support for multiple Force Redirection Electric Engines to form a multidimensional thrust device.

Embodiments of the invention

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of a force redirection electric engine in a basically symmetric design. The closed loop guidance 1 is evacuated if needed by means of valve 101 in order to reduce friction for a ball-shaped piece of mass 2. The piece of mass 2 is a permanent magnet. Since the closed loop guidance 1 is made of a non-magnetic material, meaning a material that doesn't interact with magnetic fields, the magnetic field produced by a plurality of magnetic coils as an electric acceleration unit 3 can accelerate the piece of mass 2 like known from coil guns or magnetic rail vehicles. The permanently magnetic "propellant" (piece of mass 2) is shaped like a sphere and made as smooth as possible with nearly the same diameter as the inside of the tube (closed loop guidance 1). The mass of the piece of mass 2 must be lower than the sum of the masses of all the other connected parts of the depicted force redirection electric engine 100. The coils of the acceleration unit 3 form electromagnets that can be individually switched on and off in sequence by means of wiring 4, 6 forming a drive mechanism for the piece of mass 2. The wiring 4, 6 is connected to the central control unit 7, which in turn is connected to magnetic sensors 5 that output a signal if they detect a magnetic field (of the piece of mass 2). By means of the magnetic sensors 5 the speed of the propellant is calculated from the size of the magnetic field of the piece of mass 2 in light of the duration of the signal output by the sensors 5. This information can be used for estimating the time for the piece of mass 2 to pass the respective magnetic sensor(s) 5. The central control unit 7 contains electronics and software to drive and power the engine's various parts. It draws power from a battery 102 which can in turn be connected to a (not depicted) photovoltaic array as is well known in the art. An external connection 8 of the central control unit extends to a port on the housing 103 for an (additional) external power source and further control mechanisms. By means of direct connection of the external control 8 and/or the center frame control unit 16, the control unit 7 of the upper part of the drive mechanism is connected to the control unit 7 of the lower counter part of the drive mechanism. By means of the external control 8 both drive mechanisms can be synchronized in order to compensate forces in a first direction and positively interfere with respect to forces in another direction (horizontally or from left to right in the depicted orientation). Opposite to the acceleration unit 3 a deceleration 12 is provided in a second linear segment of the closed loop guidance 1. The deceleration unit 12 comprises solid paramagnetic material attached to the outside of the hollow tube and might be understood as a paramagnetic brake for braking down the speed or decelerating the piece of mass 2. The paramagnetic material of the deceleration unit 12 can comprise copper and/or aluminum or another paramagnetic material. The paramagnetic material can also consist of an alloy of such material. Deceleration unit 12 is not depicted to accurate length/thickness on figure 1 as that varies per design depending on multiple factors, including the intended traveling speed of the piece of mass 2. Cooling ducts 9 are provided for disposing waste feed produced in the acceleration unit 3 and/or the deceleration unit 12. The cooling ducts 9 are externally supplied at external connections 13. The external connections 13 may be connected to a vehicle's internal cooling systems and/or radiators and/or the central frame 15 to reroute and centrally collect, reuse or dispose of waste heat if so required. The linear segments of the closed loop guidance 1 are connected by means of curves 10 which form perfect semi-circles in order to reduce wear and vibrations. The curves 10 and the linear segments of the closed loop guidance 1 are supported by supports 11 holding the tube in place and angled in such a way as to optimally transfer the force of the spherical piece of mass 2 rolling through the tube into the housing 103 of the engine 100 at a minimum cost of extra mass. Also the supports 11 are made from a non-magnetic material in order not to interfere with the magnetic field of the piece of mass 2 or the acceleration unit 3 I deceleration unit 12. As is the case for the supports 11 , also the engine housing 103 and center frame 15 are made from a non-magnetic material wherever the magnetic field of the piece of mass 2 could interfere. The upper engine 100 and the lower engine 100 are mounted to each other by means of a center frame 15 to which both engines 100 are fixed. This means that both engines 100 are stiffly connected to each other and always move as a unit. A center frame control unit 16 is mounted to the center frame 15 which links up and synchronizes all engines 100 contained within frame 15 to be run in unison or in a predefined pattern. For example, the center frame control unit 16 synchronizes the upper and the lower acceleration units 3 and deceleration units 12 if possible in order to negate forces in an upward I downward direction and in order to zoom up the horizontal (from left to right and from right to left) forces. Connections 17 in the center frame 15 are provided for connecting the external controls 8 to the center frame control unit 16. A maintenance hatch 18 in the center frame control unit 16 is provided in order to access the center frame control unit 16 and provides an external power I data connection in order to connect the engine casings 103 to the data-periphery of the vehicle. By running the two engines 100 in a mirrored setup, the sideways forces generated by circulating the pieces of mass 2 cancel each other out and are converted to structural forces instead (summed up). The spacing between the engines 100 should be enough in order to make sure the magnetic fields of both pieces of mass 2 never interact. The travel path is depicted by arrows wherein the direction of arrows corresponds to the direction of travel and the number or arrows and length of arrows qualitatively depicts the relative speed of the pieces of mass 2 as they are accelerated and decelerated in the respective sections. By driving the electric coils of the electric acceleration unit 3 in an opposite manner, the pieces of mass 2 can move in the opposite direction as well ("reverse gear"). The pieces of mass 2 can move freely within the tube of the closed loop guidance 1 wherein a considered starting position is at the drive mechanism (acceleration unit 3). The multiple electromagnets are switched on and off before the pieces of mass 2 reach the respective middle of the coils, hence accelerating the pieces of mass 2 backwards "down" the tube or away from the intended direction of movement of the engine 100 and whatever (vehicle) it is attached to. By switching the electromagnet off before the piece of masses magnetic field reaches the center, the conservation of momentum will ensure the propellant continues to move in range to the next electromagnet if it is not already within said field. Here, the process repeats and the piece of mass picks up more speed. This continues for as many electromagnets as are required in order to bring the piece of mass to the desired speed. Bigger electromagnets that can handle more current generate stronger fields and thus attraction. This switching sequence of the electromagnets can be determined by the initial speed of the piece of mass itself, as the switching speed of the sequence will always be the same at the same speed of the propellant as the strength of the magnetic fields doesn't change at equal current delivered.

Because the Force Redirection Electric Engine 100 is primarily meant to operate in a microgravity environment, as the drive mechanism attached to the tube accelerates the mass of the propellant backwards, the tube itself starts moving forward in the intended movement direction of the device. After the piece of mass 2 leaves the electric acceleration unit 3, it continues on its path under its own energy thanks to inertia. Once the piece of mass 2 reaches the first corner (curve 10 in Fig. 1), the pieces of mass 2 push against the sides of the tube which in turn push back on the propellant again with equal force. Because the tube and all its attached parts are of much higher mass than the propellant itself, the tube will "win" the pushing contest, the propellant will have its angular vector changed and starts travelling around the corner. Because of friction and the spherical nature of the pieces of mass 2, the pieces of mass 2 will start rolling around the tube, conserving linear momentum. As the pieces of mass 2 roll around the tube, they still produce angular forces as they push against various sections of the curve 10. This is why a device identical in every way is running synchronized in a mirror set up as depicted in Fig. 1. In this way, these forces are countered and redirected into the respective housings 103 and center frame 15 leaving only forces in the forward and backward vectors. Naturally the respective housings 103, center frame 15, structural supports 11 and the closed loop guidance 1 are all constructed of sufficient material to withstand these structural forces without failure.

Some forward speed is lost as the pieces of mass 2 roll around the first half of the curve 10 of the tube and centrifugal forces push against the tube while it pushes on the pieces of mass 2. This kinetic energy (speed) lost can never be more than the energy put into the piece of mass 2, as if the energy from the piece of mass 2 were completely drained by the tube, both the pieces of mass 2 and the closed-loop guidance would come to a complete stop. Due to the substantial larger mass of the closed-loop guidance and its attached parts, from the propellant's perspective, it is nearly as good as running into a solid stationary closed-loop guidance and it will start rolling around it. This means the propellant would exit the curve 10 retaining most of its linear momentum, however that linear momentum’s vector is now reversed relative to the propellant’s momentum vector after leaving the drive mechanism. The conservation of angular momentum means the spherical pieces of mass 2 are now rolling along the wall of the closed- loop guidance as they travel down the second straight (linear) part of the closed loop guidance 1. The engine 100 themselves have retained most of the forward momentum gained from launching the pieces of mass 2 as the pieces of mass 2 fail to come to a stop in the corner 10 or transfer all the energy gained by the engine 100 back into the engine 100. When the (permanently magnetic) pieces of mass 2 travel through the linear section to which the paramagnetic material of the deceleration unit 12 is attached, the magnetic field will extend through the (non-magnetic) tube material and into the paramagnetic material. When magnetic fields travel through paramagnetic materials such as copper or aluminum, they generate "eddy currents" consisting of circulating electrons within the paramagnetic material. These eddy currents circulate in whatever orientation is opposite to the orientation of the magnetic field passing through the material holding them. As these eddy currents are moving electrons, and they move in opposite orientation to the passing magnetic field, they generate their own magnetic field of opposite orientation to the magnetic field passing through the paramagnetic material. This magnetic field interacts with the magnetic field of the piece of mass 2 and starts creating drag on the magnetic field of the permanent magnet. As this field is permanently attached to the mass of the magnet, within the piece of mass 2, the piece of mass 2 itself will be slowed down as its linear momentum is transferred to the closed-loop guidance. The faster the piece of mass 2 moves through the deceleration unit 12, the more electrons move within the paramagnetic material, thus the stronger the opposite magnetic field and the higher the magnetic resistance as well as the higher the drag. As the direction of the magnetic field changes, so do the directions of the eddy currents.

This means that when the piece of mass 2 enters the paramagnetic brake (deceleration unit 12) and its permanent magnetic field starts generating eddy currents within the paramagnetic brake, the piece of mass will slow down its spinning I angular momentum as well its forward linear momentum as the eddy currents re-adjust to create electromagnetic drag. Due to the law of conservation of energy, this energy taken from the momentum of the propellant (piece of mass 2) has to go somewhere; and in this case it is transferred to the tube of the closed loop guidance 1 via the paramagnetic brake. As the brake reduces the speed of the propellant, the brake and whatever it is attached to must gain said speed (energy), and this process continues until the speed of the brake and the piece of mass 2 has been equalized. The amount of speed gained by the closed-loop guidance is then relative again to the difference in mass between the piece of mass 2 and the entire engine 100. However, the linear vector of the piece of mass 2 was changed by rolling it around the curve 10, and is now opposite to its original orientation when the closed-loop guidance drove kinetic energy into the piece of mass 2 through the attached acceleration unit 3. Since the piece of mass 2 is now objectively travelling faster than the closed-loop guidance in the intended forward direction of motion, when the paramagnetic brake equalizes the speed of the propellant with itself, the brake and its attached parts must speed up further in the intended direction of motion even when it was already moving in this direction. The energy of slowing the piece of mass 2 down is added to the energy of speeding the closed-loop guidance 1 up rather than subtracting from it, creating a second forward impulse. There should not be enough material in the paramagnetic brake to slow the piece of mass 2 to a complete stop, and as such the piece of mass 2 will leave the paramagnetic brake of the deceleration unit 12 with some excess forward momentum remaining. As it is still travelling faster in the forward direction than the device 100, the piece of mass 2 will reach the second curve 10 behind the deceleration unit 12 and roll around it as well. Once the piece of mass 2 has finished rolling around the second curve 10, it finds itself back at the starting position at the entrance of the electric acceleration unit 3 and the cycle begins anew. As the engine 100 created two impulses in the intended forward direction while losing only minimal energy redirecting the propellant around the corner it is an engine 100 with moving parts that creates forward motion at the cost of fuel in the form of electricity at least during certain phases of its working cycle and thus meets all criteria for being called an “engine”. The amount of forward thrust generated per rotation relies on the total mass of the engine 100 and its connected parts, the mass of the piece of mass 2, the strengths of the magnetic field of the pieces of mass 2, the maximum travelling speed of the pieces of mass 2 as determined by the drive power, the pieces of mass 2 and closed-loop guidance materials. It further depends on the amount of paramagnetic material within the deceleration unit 12, the distance of the pieces of mass 2 to the paramagnetic material of the deceleration unit 12 and the ability of the electrons inside that paramagnetic material to form eddy currents.

The pieces of mass 2 circulating within the closed loop guidance 1 can have different configurations which will be discussed in the following. A very large portion of the pieces of mass 2's material can consist of ferro-magnetic material that can be turned into a permanent magnet (e.g. neodymium), as stronger magnets of the same size increase the efficiency of the device. Nevertheless, there are at least three exemplary configurations of the pieces of mass 2 discussed in the following:

A first configuration is a pure solid material such as a sphere made out of solid iron. While not expected to be common, it is an option.

A second configuration is a jacketed core, consisting of a core of ferro-magnetic material held together with a sturdy shell. This is because the strongest magnetic material we know so far (neodymium) is also known to be very brittle. While the material cracking doesn't interfere with its magnetism, it does with its ability to travel in the closed loop guidance 1 . Hence, a jacket of much stronger material can be made of more types of magnetic interacting material, since its orientation will continuously change simultaneously with the magnetic field attached to the material inside of the jacket. The jacket is designed to minimize the damage from rolling around the closed-loop guidance and increasing the longevity of the pieces of mass 2.

A third configuration are alloys of ferro-magnetic materials strengthened by another material in order to reduce brittleness and increase material strength, most likely at the cost of strength of the magnet (magnetic field). Here, the "jacket" is mixed with the material itself, much like how pure tungsten is very brittle but tungsten-carbide is very hard.

Should an engine be configured to use an electromagnetic deceleration unit 12 rather than a paramagnetic deceleration unit 12, the three exemplary configurations of the pieces of mass 2 can also be left in a non-magnetized state, as non-magnetized ferro-magnetic material interacts with and strengthens nearby magnetic fields on its own, and will be attracted to electromagnets as is, while not magnetically interacting with paramagnetic material at all.

The electric acceleration unit can preferably use magnetic forces and fields for accelerating the piece of mass. However, this is only one of several embodiments as will be discussed in the following:

The first configuration are electromagnetics directly attached to the closed-loop guidance (as has been discussed in connection with Fig. 1 above). These are configured in series which propel the piece of mass forward by switching on and off in sequence. Electromagnets (electromagnetic coils) can attract ferro-magnetic material that isn't magnetized but they can also attract ferro-magnetic material that already has been magnetized. Returning on the electromagnet, the field of the electromagnet will start attracting the magnetic pieces of mass when both fields are in range of each other, inducing a linear momentum in the piece of mass as well as an equal linear momentum in the electromagnet in the opposite direction, divided accordingly to each object's mass.

Fig. 2 shows a side view of a structure which can be used as supports 11 in the engines 100 depicted in Fig. 1 . The supports 11 shows holes cut out of the beams in order to lower weight without overdue reduction of strength and in order to provide space for the cooling ducts 9. At a first end, the structure can have means for attaching it to the closed loop guidance 1 , whereas at the opposite end it can have structures for attaching it to the engine housing 103.

The second electric acceleration unit 3 is a pure analog (mechanical) solution. For driving the piece of mass 2, two drive wheels 3a, 3b are made out of non-magnetic materials and comprise a rubber coating and are driven by electromotors. The drive wheels protrude into the open diameter of the closed loop guidance 1 and thus necessarily make contact with the piece of mass 2 if same comes by. The drive wheels 3a, 3b protrude into the interior of the closed loop guidance 1 through gaps in the closed-loop guidance. In order not to lose the vacuum within the closed-loop guidance, the drive wheels 3a, 3b are housed by guidance housings 1 ' attached to the exterior of the closed loop guidance 1. In other words, the drive wheels 3a, 3b themselves are arranged within the vacuum. It goes without saying, that the electro motors driving the drive wheels 3a, 3b can also be arranged within the guidance housings T in order to facilitate hermetic sealing of the power lines for the electromotors.

The benefit of this solution is that it's purely analog in combination with an analog deceleration unit, and capable of working in situations with heavy electromagnetic interference that would otherwise damage sensitive electronics. It is also useful as a backup solution for driving computer failures or power outage, as an emergency Force Redirection Electric Engine-core with an analog drive and braking mechanism would require nothing but power to provide uncontrolled linear momentum, as opposed to the usual computer synchronization. In other words, the drive wheels 3a, 3b could permanently rotate at a predefined speed in order to accelerate any piece of mass 2 coming by. While two unsynchronized mirrored engines 100 do not provide for a pleasant ride, the angular forces should still cancel each other out over time and would at least provide some acceleration for a spacecraft stuck in the middle of nowhere at a very small power cost.

Fig. 4 shows a third configuration of an electric acceleration I deceleration unit which is a little bit more complex as it allows for multiple pieces of mass 2 to be stored and used at the same time, while the other configurations cannot easily do so. Each piece of mass 2 needs to continually keep a minimum distance to every other propellant within the same closed loop guidance 1 which depends on the strength of their magnetic fields. Should the magnetic field of any pieces of mass interact, they will attract or repel each other, which might cause imbalances of the pace. If this is ever at a rate where the magnets come close enough together such that they stick together, it may be hard or even impossible to simply separate them during non-operation due to the extremely strong attraction between these pieces of mass 2. In that case the engine 100 needs to be shut down, opened, with it being very likely the violent collision between propellants damaged all propellants beyond repair in a cascading failure and their need to be replaced if not causing a total loss of the engine due to the remaining momentum of the pieces of mass but inability to roll when stuck together. Moreover, availability of the engine 100 will not be provided during maintenance until the issue is fixed.

In order to prevent the pieces of mass 2 sticking together the spherical pieces of mass are "stored" on a wheel 3a inside of the engine housing 103 that is rotatable. The wheel 3a shows equidistant cavities at positions of elastic inlays 23 and electromagnets 24. The wheel 3a will spin up and release the pieces of mass 2 into the closed-loop guidance as they are only electromagnetically attached through electromagnets 24 inside the wheel 3a, which can be turned on and off (e.g. by sliding electrical contacts, such as brushes), while the rest of the wheel is made out of non-magnetic interacting material. As the pieces of mass 2 can be released at the same time and at the same speed, they will always keep the same time-distance between themselves under equal operation, like the carts of a rollercoaster. As long as the minimum distance during this rotation is further apart than half the size of the magnetic fields of each individual piece of mass 2 combined, they cannot stick together. During operation, when a piece of mass approaches the wheel 3a, the wheel 3a itself will be spinning. On the wheel are cavities or dimples with elastic material 23 that are shaped in order to each hold one piece of mass 2 without damaging it. Behind the outer housing 103 of the wheel 3a are electromagnets spinning with the wheel and hold the pieces of mass 2 in place when it is supposed to be attached. As the wheel 3a spins and the cavities pass over the piece of mass 2, the electromagnets 24 activate and pull the piece of mass 2 towards it, locking it in place. If the wheel 3a is spinning faster than the piece of mass 2 is travelling, the wheel 3a will speed up the piece of mass 2 at the cost of additional angular energy, which the wheel 3a loses. During this operation a counter weight 25 located on the opposite side spins in an opposite direction and thereby adds I reduces speed dynamically in order to compensate for these additional rotational forces to keep engines 100 using this configuration going forward in a straight line. This is in addition to the usual mirrored setup. The wheel 3a will continue to carry the pieces of mass 2 until it is released back into the closed-loop guidance 1 . The closed-loop guidance 1 itself has a half-pipe configuration alongside the wheel to make sure the pieces of mass 2 follow the intended path which transitions back into a full pipe after the respective piece of mass 2 is released. The pieces of mass 2 continue under their own inertia back into the tube, passing a magnetic sensor 5 which verifies it has the right speed as well as extra electromagnets as acceleration units 3 that equalize out any speed difference between the pieces of mass 2 or add additional speed to the pieces of mass 2 for thrust reasons. Since this increases the distance between the pieces of mass 2 launched in sequence and does not increase the risk propellants might become stuck, there is no limit beyond the usual material constraints regarding how much more speed can be added to the pieces of mass 2, as the pieces of mass 2 will pass deceleration unit 13 before returning back to the section of closed-loop guidance 1 containing the wheel 3a.

On the inside of the tube there is a gap next to the wheel 3a which is large enough to let a piece of mass 2 pass through. This allows the wheel 3a to continually hold pieces of mass 2 and "store" them for later usage without clumping the magnetic fields together, as long as the spacing between the dimples holding the balls remain wide enough. At the upper right of the figure a side view of the wheel 3a is depicted showing the position of the cavities from a perspective of the approaching pieces of mass 2.

Should this acceleration unit design be pared with an electromagnetic brake instead of a paramagnetic brake, it can work the same with non-magnetized ferro-magnetic pieces of mass 2 as it does with magnetized ferromagnetic pieces of mass 2, however the spacing between the cavities on the wheel 3a no longer needs to take the magnetic field of the pieces of mass 2 into account, and thus more pieces of mass 2 can be spaced closer together on the wheel 3a.

Due to the necessary open nature of the tube, variants of engine 100 specified to work in a vacuum using an acceleration unit with wheel 3a have the entire casing 103 designed for and capable of being evacuated of atmosphere, rather than only the guidance.

In the following, in connection with Figs. 5 and 6 brake mechanisms are exemplary discussed as embodiments of deceleration units 12. The first variant consists of a solid paramagnetic material on the outside of the closed-loop guidance through which the piece of mass 2 travels. This configuration has been shown and discussed in Fig. 1 already. This material is attached to the tube via glue, non-magnetic brackets or any other method of directly attaching the material to the outside of the tube. In other words, the position of the paramagnetic material is fixed with respect to the closed loop guidance 1 . As the piece of mass 2 enters the area of the closed-loop guidance enveloped by the paramagnetic material, the magnetic field of the propellant can freely create eddy currents within the paramagnetic material in any direction it travels or spins.

Solid material has the greatest effect as the eddy currents can travel around the propellant freely, creating the strongest magnetic field opposite the propellant and thus slowing it down the most. The downside is that the amount of material cannot be adjusted nor can the material be moved during operation, which limits the piece of mass 2 to a limited range of operational speed. A faster piece of mass 2 will create a stronger counter field and thus will slow down the piece of mass 2 more effectively, requiring the piece of mass 2 to not exceed a certain top speed or risk coming to a complete stop. Should the piece of mass 2 come to a stop inside the closed-loop guidance outside of the range of the electric acceleration unit, the engine 100 needs to be manually reset. For example, a permanent magnet drawn along the closed loop guidance 1 can pick up the piece of mass 2 at an arbitrary location and drop it at the next available electric acceleration unit 3.

A further variant of a deceleration unit 12 is depicted in Figs. 5a and 5b. It consist of two blocks 41 which slide along their own non-magnetic guide rails 42, 43 keeping the blocks in place. The guide rails 43 are attached to the engine housing 103, keeping the assembly in place and transferring any forces acting upon the paramagnetic blocks into the housing 103.

As depicted in Figs. 5a and 5b these blocks 41 fully envelope the non-magnetic closed-loop guidance on the outside when extended to the maximum. The blocks 41 can be retracted and extended via hydraulics 44, both air and fluid hydraulics for either quick or heavy operations. The feed for these hydraulics 44 is run through cooling ducts 46 which are capable of conducting air for cooling or flexible tubes for water cooling the paramagnetic brake directly. This might be needed for high-speed operation devices; where the magnetic piece of mass 2 travels through the deceleration unit 12 many times per second and the constant eddy currents flowing through the material start heating it up thanks to the electrical resistance of the material. The more often and the stronger eddy currents are generated, the greater need for cooling. Cables or control can be run through the same air ducts or through the duct of walls and lead to the engine control unit which also controls the engine 100. The benefit of this design is that it can withstand large forces acting upon the materials while still being able to adjust the magnetic drag upon the pieces of mass 2. Electromagnetism is very strong, but only so at a very close range. As the paramagnetic blocks 41 retract away from the closed-loop guidance, the distance between the majority of the paramagnetic material and the magnetic field of the pieces of mass 2 decreases. Consequently, less of the magnetic field will extend through the paramagnetic material, it also creates a weaker counter field and thus generates much less drag upon the piece of mass 2. Since the majority of the magnetic field is closest to the piece of mass 2, drag quickly drops off with any increase in distance between it and the paramagnetic material.

This can be used to finetune the speed of the piece of mass 2 by co-ordinating the position of the brake with the magnetic sensors 5 keeping track of the pieces of masses 2 speed. This in turn allows multiple engines 100 to synchronize easier and more accurately. It also gives greater control over acceleration and deceleration of the engine 100 and whatever it is attached to through space, as well as allows the engine 100 to operate across a greater range of speeds.

The downside is that this comes at the cost of additional mass and complexity, introducing more points of failure as well as necessitating bigger pieces of mass 2 and stronger materials due to the decrease in weight efficiency of the paramagnetic brake. This variant is expected to show up more in main satellite and spaceship engines as well as heavier designs of maneuvering engines as the increased mass of large spaceships necessitates larger pieces of mass 2 anyway.

A third paramagnetic brake design allows for the recapture of some energy that was put into the piece of mass 2 or for stronger braking at the cost of electric power consumption. If the paramagnetic material is shaped into a wire instead of being solid material, the eddy currents are still created but now can only travel forward or backward due to the electric insulation around the wire. Passing a permanent magnet over this wire then forces the electrons within the material down the wire generating a common electric current.

However, if passing the piece of mass 2 through the coil, an electric current is generated which in turn generates a magnetic field. If it generates a magnetic field, it also generates drag. This is why mechanical energy is to be continually input in order to continually drag magnets over wires. As the magnetic piece of mass 2 travels through the closed-loop guidance around which the wire is wrapped, it will generate a current in the wire which in turn slows the piece of mass down; albeit much less than solid material. The speed differential of the piece of mass versus the closed-loop guidance is where the solid thrust comes from, so some forward momentum must be generated. By means of electronic control circuitry the amount of electricity being recaptured by the device depicted in Fig. 6 can be exactly controlled, as well as how much the piece of mass 2 is slowed down. Figs. 6 shows the wire of the acceleration units 3 being wrapped around the closed loop guidance 1 (tube), with the first end 52 of the wire going into a variable resistance 53 which stops all current above a certain level. Since moving electrons is what generates the magnetic field, if the electrons are prevented from moving by closing off the circuit, no magnetic drag is generated and the piece of mass isn't decelerated (slowed- down). The less electrons move, the less drag is generated and the less thrust is generated. By opening the resistance 53 fully, maximum current can flow and maximum drag is generated.

The variable resistance 53 is electronically controlled by the engines control unit 7. One of the power leads connected to the resistance 53 is electrically connected to the opposite end of the electric coil of the acceleration unit 3. The other end is connected to a one way diode 56 and to a capacitor 57. For maximum passive drag the resistance 53 is opened up fully and the current is led back into the acceleration unit 3.

For power recapture (recuperation), the current is led into the capacitor 57 which acts as a buffer and equalizer, as the piece of mass 2 slowing down and spinning will create all manner of different voltage spikes which need to be smoothed out. This power is then further led into a battery 58 which acts as another buffer and is connected to the engines 100 main power system (not depicted). Via this connection energy that was put into the piece of mass 2 by accelerating it (e.g. electromagnetically) can be recovered by slowing it down electromagnetically as well.

Both the direct line from the resistance 53 and the battery 58 directly connect to the wires of the acceleration unit 3 with a diode 56 to prevent current from running the opposite direction to complete the circuit. It's also possible to send additional power into the brake from the main system, turning it into an electromagnet by itself and providing additional thrust to the engine when activating after the propellant passes halfway. The magnetic field of the piece of mass will be heavily attracted by the electromagnet of the acceleration unit 3, and attempts to travel in the opposite direction of its current travelling direction.

Since the piece of mass 2 has a much higher linear momentum than the closed-loop guidance 1 in the forward direction, the piece of mass 2 will "pull" the closed-loop guidance forward while the closed-loop guidance "pulls" the piece of mass 2 backwards, until speed equalizes - before which the power is cut and the magnetic drag disappears, such that the piece of mass 2 still maintains some linear momentum relative to the closed-loop guidance. This will require more cooling due to electrical resistance creating waste heat when current runs through the coiled wire, and possibly requires multiple electromagnets as the center of the piece of mass 2 moves quickly away from the center of deceleration unit 12 where the electromagnetic pull is the strongest. Adding more electromagnets would provide more centers of electromagnets for the piece of mass 2 to pass to slow the piece of mass 2 down in consecutive fashion. The benefit of this variant is higher power efficiency or stronger thrust generated through additional electromagnetic drag with an option to non-magnetic ferro-magnetic propellants; but not both at the same time, and stronger thrust comes at an exponential cost in power and thus heat generated, whereas solid material generates eddy currents "for free" by simply letting the magnetic field of a magnetized piece of mass 2 pass through it. If this brake configuration is run as a paramagnetic brake rather than an electromagnetic brake, the thrust efficiency will be much lower than that of the solid material in other variants, as there will simply be much less molecules within close vicinity to provide electrons to start moving while the true power efficiency of this configuration only happens if the electrons are captured and sent to the drive mechanism for the next acceleration of the piece of mass 2.

This brake design is mostly expected in top-performing engines 100 variants where power consumption isn't an issue while weight is, as well as hyper-efficient deep-space probes that have to function for years on a very limited power supply and have to recapture most of the energy used for propulsion.

The present invention bases on a pure force-redirection within an asymmetrical mass environment. The mass differential between the "engine" and the "piece of mass (propellant)", in combination with accelerating and decelerating the piece of mass in a specific pattern, is what creates (relative) kinetic motion within the engine and anything it's attached to. The engine can also be named "a device that can create forward kinetic motion at a cost of consuming (electric) energy or fuel", such as an internal combustion engine using gasoline in order to, through mechanical motion, create forward kinetic motion under certain conditions (gravity, roads, wheels).

Since the only fuel consumed by the claimed and disclosed Force Redirection Electric Engine is electricity, a universal fuel of which the source of generation matters little - any space craft powered by this engine can achieve kinetic motion as long as having a source for electric generation on board. Nuclear powered space crafts could fly through space for decades based on a single fuel load, through if desired, even using diesel and a diesel based electric generator would work.

Furthermore, because the engine herein disclosed is capable of virtually continuously providing acceleration up until a very high speed, once an engine design is capable of accelerating the mass of a craft at 9.81 m/s ² - the same force as the earth gravitational pull - it provides artificial earth gravity to all onboard crew. Halfway through the journey, the craft can be spun around to provide deceleration at the same rate, achieving the same. This solves the problem of longterm zero gravity exposure in humans. The thrust of these engines 100 can be controlled to a fine degree, with multiple designs for thrust control described. These multiple designs describe for multiple specific situations, depending on the needs of the spacecraft and its mission, such as a focus on efficiency I longevity or brute force. Finally, a "starcore" design is shown (see Fig. 7) as an exemplary center frame where a multiple of two of these engines 100 are mounted in an octagonal starform pattern for maximum thrust to provide the "engine core" of a space faring craft.

Fig. 7 shows an exemplary configuration of a center frame called a “starcore” - designed for a center frame 15 connecting several engines 100 (not depicted for the sake of clarity). The center frame 15 is a very simple device by itself, consisting of an octagonal frame that slots in separate engines 100 (two at a time, up to eight in total in the example), to form a "star butterfly" setup (derived from the standard engine 100 design and its mirror resembling a butterfly and its wings). This starcore-shaped center frame 15 has connections for the electronics of each core in its own core, while outside of the core-slot is a hatch cover and extra supports. The engines 100 are designed with the paramagnetic braking material facing outwards from the center frame 15 in order to minimize the interference from the electromagnetic pulse created as the magnet travels through paramagnetic material at speed. The electronics in each engine 100 connect to electronics located at the front of the center frame 15 behind an insulated hatch that can be accessed from inside the vehicle for easy maintenance of said electronics. Maintenance of the engines 100 themselves can be done inside the vehicle, as the engines 100 are in a casing 103 that can be swapped in and out of the starcore as long as the engine's turned off (and the vehicle is not currently accelerating I decelerating). The center frame 15 also provides pass-through connections for any other connections located on the engines 100/engine casing 103 such as airducts/cooling resources, passed through either directly to a vehicle or guided through the central frame into a central connection behind the hatch cover. This allows the center frame 15 to become part of a larger vehicle’s cooling cycle and/or use the center frame 15 itself as a waste heat disposal device.

Reference signs

1 closed loop guidance

T guidance housings

2 piece of mass

3 electric acceleration unit

3a wheel

4 wires

5 magnetic sensor

6 wires

7 central control unit

8 external connection

9 cooling duct

10 curve

11 support

12 deceleration unit

13 external connection

15 center frame

16 center frame control unit

17 connections

18 maintenance hatch

20 support

23 elastic material

24 electromagnets

25 counter weight

41 block

42 non-magnetic guide rails

43 non-magnetic guide rails

44 hydraulics

45 feed

46 cooling ducts

52 wire

53 variable resistance

56 diode

57 capacitor

58 battery

59 wire

61 starcore valve battery housing