Permanent Magnet Motor with Passively Controlled Variable Rotor/Stator Alignment

Abstract

An electric motor including: a first and second subsystems, one of which is a magnetic rotor assembly and the other of which is a coil stator assembly; a hub assembly supporting the magnetic rotor assembly and the coil stator assembly and defining an axis of rotation; and a bearing assembly supporting at least one of the first and second subsystems on the hub assembly, wherein the first subsystem has an array of lift-generating elements for generating axially directed magnetic fields, the second subsystem has an electrically conductive region aligned with and opposite to the array of lift-generating elements of the first subsystem, and wherein the bearing assembly enables the magnetic rotor assembly to rotate about the rotational axis of the hub assembly and enables the separation distance of the magnetic rotor assembly from the coil stator assembly to change.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electric motor comprising:
 a first subsystem and a second subsystem, one of the first and second subsystems comprising a magnetic rotor assembly and the other one of the first and second subsystems comprising a coil stator assembly;   a hub assembly supporting the magnetic rotor assembly and the coil stator assembly and defining an axis of rotation; and   a bearing assembly supporting at least one of the first and second subsystems on the hub assembly,   wherein the magnetic rotor assembly comprises an array of torque-generating magnets;   wherein the coil stator assembly comprises an array of driving coils opposing the array of torque-generating magnets of the magnetic stator assembly;   wherein the first subsystem comprises an array of lift-generating elements for generating axially directed magnetic fields;   wherein the second subsystem comprises an electrically conductive region aligned with and opposite to the array of lift-generating elements of the first subsystem, the array of lift-generating elements and the electrically conductive region separated from each other in the axial direction by a separation distance; and   wherein the bearing assembly enables the magnetic rotor assembly to rotate about the rotational axis of the hub assembly and enables the separation distance of the magnetic rotor assembly and the coil stator assembly to change in response to a lift force generated by the relative movement of the array of lift generating element and the electrically conductive region with respect to each other.