Patent ID: 7429840
Filing Date: 2008-09-30
Classification: H02P

Abstract:
1. An electrical machine for converting electrical energy into mechanical energy and/or mechanical energy into electrical energy, the machine comprising: a rotor having a plurality of rotor poles; a stator for rotatably receiving said rotor and having field magnet means for generating a first magnetomotive force between said rotor and said stator, the stator incorporating at least two electrical windings at least one which is an armature winding adapted to carry electrical current varying in synchronism with rotation of said rotor relative to said stator to generate a varying second magnetomotive force having a component transverse to said first magnetomotive force; control means for controlling supply of electrical current to the or each said armature winding; and position sensing means for detecting at least one induced first electrical signal dependent on rotational position of said rotor relative to said stator, the said induced first electrical signal being induced in a respective one of said windings by a voltage across at least one other of said windings, said voltage being a requirement of normal operation of the machine to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy and/or mechanical energy into electrical energy, to thereby supply at least one second electrical signal to said control means representive of the rotational position of said rotor relative to said stator.