HOMOPOLAR MACHINE WITH SHAFT AXIAL THRUST COMPENSATION FOR REDUCED THRUST BEARING WEAR AND NOISE

Title:

HOMOPOLAR MACHINE WITH SHAFT AXIAL THRUST COMPENSATION FOR REDUCED THRUST BEARING WEAR AND NOISE

Document Type and Number:

WIPO Patent Application WO2004102769

Kind Code:

A3

Abstract:

A homopolar machine produces an axial counter force on the rotating shaft (104) to compensate for the load on the shaft's thrust bearing (109) to reduce wear and noise and prolong bearing life. The counter force is produced through magnetic interaction between the shaft and the machine's field coils (110/112) and is created by changing the current excitation of the field coils, which results in a magnetic flux asymmetry in an inner flux return coupled to the shaft. The homopolar machine may also have a configuration that uses current collectors (132) that maintain substantially constant contact pressure in the presence of high magnetic fields to improve current collector performance. The current collectors are flexible and may be made from either electrically conductive fibers or stacked strips such that they bear up against the armature (106) so that the pressure is maintained by the spring constant of the current collector material. The machine may also have a configuration where the brushes are oriented so that the current is aligned with the local magnetic field to reduce the lateral electromagnetic forces on the brushes.

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JP4024382	Magnetic bearing equipment
JP3121819	[Title of the Invention] A magnetic bearing device including a permanent magnet that receives a radial force applied to a shaft.
WO/2002/032618	MACHINE SPINDLE BEARING

Inventors:

HEIBERGER MICHAEL (US)
REED MICHAEL ROBERT (US)

Application Number:

PCT/US2004/013949

Publication Date:

April 21, 2005

Filing Date:

May 05, 2004

Export Citation:

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Assignee:

GEN ATOMICS (US)
HEIBERGER MICHAEL (US)
REED MICHAEL ROBERT (US)

International Classes:

F16C39/06; H02K7/09; H02K31/00; H02K31/02; H02K55/06; H01F13/00; (IPC1-7): H02K31/00

Foreign References:

US5821659A	1998-10-13
US4271369A	1981-06-02
US6245440B1	2001-06-12
US5349256A	1994-09-20
US4581555A	1986-04-08

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