System and apparatus for axial field rotary energy device

Abstract

An axial field rotary energy device can include a housing having an axis. A stator assembly is mounted to the housing and has stator panels that are axially-stacked and discrete panels from each other. Each stator panel includes a respective printed circuit board (PCB) having respective coils that are electrically conductive and interconnected within the respective PCB. In addition, a rotor assembly including rotors is rotatably mounted within the housing on opposite axial ends of the stator assembly. The rotors can be mechanically coupled together. Each rotor can include magnets having leading and trailing edges. The trailing edge of one magnet and the leading edge of an adjacent magnet can be parallel to each other to define a consistent circumferential spacing, relative to the axis, between adjacent ones of the magnets.

We claim: 
     
         1 . An axial field rotary energy device, comprising:
 a housing having an axis with an axial direction;   a stator assembly mounted to the housing and comprising a plurality of stator panels that are co-axial, each stator panel comprises a respective printed circuit board (PCB) having a respective plurality of coils that are electrically conductive and interconnected within the respective PCB, wherein each stator panel is configured to be connected to a single electrical phase; and   a rotor assembly comprising rotors rotatably mounted within the housing, the rotors are mechanically coupled together, each motor rotor comprises magnets, the magnets comprise leading and trailing edges, and the trailing edge of each magnet and the leading edge of an adjacent magnet are parallel to each other to define a consistent circumferential spacing of the magnets, relative to axis; and wherein   each respective PCB comprises PCB layers, each coil on a respective stator panel is formed by a single, concentric, electrically conductive trace on a single PCB layer of the respective PCB, the coils on each PCB layer are rotationally aligned, with respect to the axis, with the coils on other ones of the PCB layers, and each coil is coupled within the respective PCB to other coils on the same PCB layer and to coils on different PCB layers of the respective PCB.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the stator assembly is configured to be connected to a plurality of electrical phases, and the stator panels are rotationally offset from each other, relative to the axis, at a desired angle. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the rotors and stator panels are interleaved axially. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 3 , wherein the rotor assembly comprises four rotors interleaved axially with three stator panels. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each stator panel comprises two identical, C-shaped PCB segment halves that are electrically coupled together to form a respective one of the stator panels. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the stator panels are axially stacked and collectively mechanically coupled to the housing with fasteners in an axially-abutting relationship. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each stator panel comprises a plurality of perimeter mounting holes that enable the plurality of stator panels to, relative to the axis, be rotationally offset from each other at desired phase angles as a multi-phase device. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each rotor comprises a rotor hub, a magnetic backing is mounted to one axial side of the rotor hub, the magnets are mounted to an opposite axial side of the rotor hub, and the magnets are attached to the magnetic backing. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein collectively the magnets define a magnet inner diameter and a magnet outer diameter relative to the axis, the magnet backing has a backing inner diameter that is less than the magnet inner diameter, and the magnetic backing has a backing outer diameter that is greater than the magnet outer diameter. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 8 , wherein the rotor hub comprises a trapezoidal aperture for each of the magnets. 
     
     
         11 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises housing shells that are coupled together, each of the housing shells respectively comprises an internal perimeter having a shelf formed therein, and the stator assembly is mechanically coupled to at least one of the shelves. 
     
     
         12 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the stator panels is configured to operate with a respective electrical phase, and the device is configured to operate with a source having a same number of electrical phases as the device. 
     
     
         13 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the rotors are mounted on opposite axial ends of the stator assembly. 
     
     
         14 . An axial field rotary energy device, comprising:
 a housing having an axis with an axial direction, the housing comprises housing shells that are coupled together, and each of the housing shells respectively comprises an internal perimeter having a shelf formed therein;   a stator assembly mounted to the housing and comprising a plurality of stator panels that are co-axial, each stator panel comprises a respective printed circuit board (PCB) having a respective plurality of coils that are electrically conductive and interconnected within the respective PCB, wherein each stator panel is configured to be connected to a single electrical phase;   a rotor assembly comprising rotors rotatably mounted within the housing, the rotors are mechanically coupled together, each motor comprises magnets, the magnets comprise leading and trailing edges, and the trailing edge of each magnet and the leading edge of an adjacent magnet are parallel to each other to define a consistent circumferential spacing of the magnets, relative to axis;   the stator assembly is mechanically coupled to at least one of the shelves; and wherein   each respective PCB comprises PCB layers, each coil on a respective stator panel is formed by a single, concentric, electrically conductive trace on a single PCB layer of the respective PCB, the coils on each PCB layer are rotationally aligned, with respect to the axis, with the coils on other ones of the PCB layers, and each coil is coupled within the respective PCB to other coils on the same PCB layer and to coils on different PCB layers of the respective PCB.   
     
     
         15 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the stator assembly is configured to be connected to a plurality of electrical phases, and the stator panels are rotationally offset from each other, relative to the axis, at a desired angle. 
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein the stator panels are axially stacked and collectively mechanically coupled to the housing with fasteners in an axially-abutting relationship. 
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 14 , wherein each rotor comprises a rotor hub, a magnetic backing is mounted to one axial side of the rotor hub, the magnets are mounted to an opposite axial side of the rotor hub, and the magnets are attached to the magnetic backing. 
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein each of the stator panels is configured to operate with a respective electrical phase, and the device is configured to operate with a source having a same number of electrical phases as the device. 
     
     
       19. An axial field rotary energy device, comprising:
 a housing having an axis with an axial direction;   a rotor assembly having at least one rotor rotatably mounted in the housing;   a stator assembly mounted to the housing and comprising a plurality of stator panels that are co-axial, each stator panel comprises a respective printed circuit board (PCB) having a respective plurality of coils that are electrically conductive and interconnected within the respective PCB, wherein each stator panel is configured to be connected to a single electrical phase, wherein   each respective PCB comprises PCB layers, each coil on a respective stator panel is formed by a single, concentric, electrically conductive trace on a single PCB layer of the respective PCB, the coils on each PCB layer are rotationally aligned, with respect to the axis, with the coils on other ones of the PCB layers, and each coil is coupled within the respective PCB to other coils on the same PCB layer and to coils on different PCB layers of the respective PCB; and   each stator panel has a plurality of magnetic cores that are electrically insulated from the PCB stator coils.    
     
     
       20. The axial field rotary device of  claim 19 , wherein the magnetic cores are located at centers of respective coils.  
     
     
       21. The axial field rotary device of  claim 19 , wherein each magnetic core is located in a recessed volume located inside an innermost trace of a respective coil.  
     
     
       22. The axial field rotary device of  claim 21 , wherein each magnetic core has at least one axial surface that is substantially flush with an axial surface of the respective stator panel.  
     
     
       23. The axial field rotary energy device of  claim 22 , wherein the magnetic cores comprise at least one of carbon steel, iron or ferrite.