Patent ID: 6703742
Filing Date: 2004-03-09
Classification: B60L,H02K,Y02T

Abstract:
An electric motor, which comprises:a drive wheel; a structure to which said drive wheel is rotatably attached; one or more permanent magnets attached to said drive wheel with opposite magnetic poles adjacent to one another; one or more electromagnets attached to said structure and arranged generally in a place that is substantially parallel to, but not within, the plane or planes containing said permanent magnets, said electromagnets being sufficiently close to said permanent magnets that the magnetic fields of said electromagnets and said permanent magnets will interact with one another; a sensor that determines the location of said permanent magnets; a switch for activating said electromagnets by connecting said electromagnets to a source of electrical power; and a computer, said computer being capable of receiving input of the desired speed of rotation for said drive wheel, said computer being in communication with said sensor so that said computer is informed by said sensor about the location of said permanent magnets, said computer also being in communication with said switch in order to close said switch, said computer being capable of being programmed to produce a signal to close said switch periodically from the time a pole of one of said permanent magnets has approached said sensor until the opposite pole of said permanent magnet approaches said sensor, and said computer producing such a periodic signal to close said switch that the total period said switch is closed will create an average voltage that produces the desired speed of rotation for said drive wheel.