초록 ▼

A brushless generator with permanent-magnet multi-pole rotor disks and coreless stator winding disks includes integral electronics to efficiently generate regulated DC current and voltage from shaft input power over a broad speed range. Its power rating is scalable, and it incurs no cogging torque,

A brushless generator with permanent-magnet multi-pole rotor disks and coreless stator winding disks includes integral electronics to efficiently generate regulated DC current and voltage from shaft input power over a broad speed range. Its power rating is scalable, and it incurs no cogging torque, or friction from gearing. Integral power control electronics includes high-frequency pulse-width-modulated boost regulation, which provides regulated current at requisite voltage over its broad speed range. A main embodiment to produce DC power at widely variable speeds includes signal processing so output power varies according to the third power of speed. A version for use with vertical-axis wind turbines has a relatively large diameter to facilitate a large number of poles. Combined boost-regulation, zero cogging torque, and no gearing, enable a wide speed range, for better power quality and higher wind energy yields. An alternate embodiment is intended to produce DC power from a variety of shaft drive sources, with selectable shaft torque.

대표청구항 ▼

I claim as new and an improvement to the prior art, and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1. A generator, including a coreless stator and rotor assembly, and integral power control electronics, for producing regulated DC current and voltage, from mechanical shaft input power, over a broad range o

I claim as new and an improvement to the prior art, and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1. A generator, including a coreless stator and rotor assembly, and integral power control electronics, for producing regulated DC current and voltage, from mechanical shaft input power, over a broad range of shaft speeds, comprising: stator disks holding 2-phase stator windings in a non-conductive non-magnetic matrix, axially juxtaposed with abutting conductor insulation, said windings angularly juxtaposed relative to each other 180° divided by the number of poles, said disks angularly aligned with a selectable number of like disks, that each produce across their windings a substantially sinusoidal voltage having amplitude and frequency proportional to shaft speed; rotor disks holding a plurality of axially-magnetized alternating pole permanent-magnets, attached therein in a symmetrical circular array around and attached to a rotatable center shaft, said rotor disks angularly aligned with a selectable number of like disks numbering one more than the number of stator disks, the axial magnetic field from the rotor disks at the stator varying substantially sinusoidally with rotor angle; two rotor angle sensors, responsive to the magnetic field from the rotor disks, the two sensors respectively aligned with the center of a stator winding radial segment of corresponding phase, to sense the rotor magnetic field and produce constant peak amplitude substantially sinusoidal signals varying with rotor angle; and integral power control electronics, responsive to the signals from the rotor angle sensors, and to a DC output voltage feedback signal, and to user settings, and to stator winding current feedback signals processed by circuits having wide dynamic range, for controlling current through the stator windings by high-frequency pulse-width-modulation, to provide DC power by filtered high-frequency PWM boost-regulation fly-back, having regulated current and voltage, for a DC load, from shaft power, over a broad range of shaft speeds. 2. The generator of claim 1, wherein said integral power electronics in a generator embodiment intended to produce regulated DC current and voltage from wind turbines, with output power proportional to the third power of speed, over a broad speed range, further comprises: means to compare a reference command signal with DC voltage feedback, and to provide a corrective signal therefrom; means to provide from sinusoidal and cosinusoidal rotor angle sensor signals, a signal proportional to rotor speed squared; means to process the rotor angle sensor signals to provide their absolute values, and to multiply the respective absolute values by the speed-squared signal, for providing respective stator current command signals; means to sense and process over a wide dynamic range, respective stator winding currents, to obtain respective stator winding current absolute values; means to compare the respective stator current command signals, with the stator winding current signals, to provide respective PWM stator current control; and over-voltage protection means, to inhibit PWM stator current output if DC output voltage exceeds a prescribed level. 3. The generator of claim 1, wherein said integral power control electronics in a generator embodiment intended to generate electric power from varied mechanical shaft power sources further comprises: means to compare a reference command signal with DC voltage feedback, and to provide a corrective signal therefrom; means to compare said corrective signal with an effort level selection, to provide an effort level signal that optimizes mechanical shaft load; means to process the rotor angle sensor signals, to provide their respective absolute values, and to multiply the respective absolute values by the effort level signal, for providing respective stator current command signals; means to sense and process over a wide dynamic range, respective stator winding currents, to obtain respective stator winding current absolute values; means to compare the respective stator current command signals, with the current absolute values, to provide respective PWM stator current control; and over-voltage protection means, to inhibit PWM stator current output if DC output voltage exceeds a prescribed level. 4. The generator of claim 1, wherein said coreless stator and rotor generator assembly further comprises a vertical rotation axis and relatively large diameter, containing a plurality of rotor disks holding a relatively high number of poles intended to obviate speed-up gearing, to generate regulated DC current and voltage, over a wide speed range partly enabled by its zero cogging torque and absence of gear friction, from vertical-axis wind turbine shaft power. 5. The generator of claim 1, wherein said coreless stator and rotor generator assembly further comprises a horizontal rotation axis, to generate regulated DC current and voltage over a wide speed range partly enabled by its zero cogging torque and absence of gear friction, from horizontal-axis wind turbine shaft power. 6. The generator of claim 1, wherein said rotor disks further comprise axially magnetized permanent-magnets having contours to provide nearly sinusoidal flux variation with rotor angle, for the stator winding radial segments and for the rotor angle sensors. 7. The generator of claim 1, wherein said coreless stator and rotor generator assembly further comprises stator disks having an electrically non-conducting matrix that is thermally conductive, to transfer heat from stator winding copper loss to the generator assembly outer diameter. 8. The generator of claim 1, including the electronics of claim 2, further comprising sliding brake surface means to limit shaft speed when otherwise not limited by a wind turbine coupled to its shaft, to provide continued regulated output power from the generator, during high winds that would otherwise result in shaft speeds beyond the generator regulated voltage range, without series buck regulators that compromise low speed range efficiency. 9. The generator of claim 1, further comprising at least one buck regulator in series with its output, to provide various regulated output voltages. 10. The generator of claim 1, further comprising a 3-phase inverter in series with its output, to provide regulated 3-phase power with minimal distortion and selectable phase. 11. The generator of claim 1, further comprising signal processing circuits to control pulse-width-modulation with high precision over a very broad dynamic range. 12. The generator of claim 1, in further combination with a wind turbine having a shaft coupled to drive said generator, wherein a selectable number of rotor and stator disks is matched with said wind turbine, to optimize the wind turbine load for producing maximum generated electric power over a very broad wind speed range. 13. The generator of claim 1, in further combination with a water turbine coupled to drive said generator, wherein said selectable number of rotor and stator disks is matched with said water turbine, to optimize the water turbine load for maximum generated power. 14. The generator of claim 1, in further combination with pedals to drive its shaft, installed in an electric vehicle, to provide a battery charger and recumbent cycling exercise option in the vehicle, that also extends the vehicle driving range. 15. The generator of claim 1, further comprising an iron disk at one end of the rotor disks and another iron disk at the opposite end, to provide return flux paths for the axial-field rotor magnets therebetween. 16. The generator of claim 1, further comprising a multi-pole magnetized disk at one end of the rotor disks and another multi-pole magnetized disk at the opposite end, to provide continuous axial and tangential flux path rotor magnets at each end, for an ironless generator embodiment. 17. The generator of claim 1, further comprising means to prevent drawing even relatively low quiescent generator power compared to electric power normally delivered to a load connected thereto, said quiescent generator power normally needed for signal processing electronics and status monitoring, by blocking reverse current from the load with a relay and a diode whenever the generator output power is less than said quiescent power. 18. The generator of claim 1, further comprising means to prevent drawing even relatively low quiescent generator power compared to electric power delivered to a load connected thereto, said quiescent generator power normally needed for signal processing electronics and status monitoring, by blocking reverse current from the load by including a diode in series with the load.