Patent ID: 7557480

Claim:
An electromagnetic actuator comprising: a body having a rotational axis; a first pole residing apart from the body, the first pole adjacent an end facing surface of the body and adapted to communicate magnetic flux across a gap with the end facing surface of the body; a second pole adjacent a lateral facing surface of the body and adapted to communicate magnetic flux with the lateral facing surface of the body, the body, the first pole, and the second pole magnetically coupled and defining an axial magnetic control circuit; and a plurality of radial poles adjacent the lateral facing surface of the body and adapted to communicate magnetic fluxes with the lateral facing surface of the body, the body and the plurality of radial poles magnetically coupled and defining a plurality of radial magnetic control circuits, the plurality of radial poles adapted to communicate magnetic fluxes with the lateral facing surface of the body and at least one of the first pole or the second pole, and the body, the plurality of radial poles, and at least one of the first pole or the second pole defining a magnetic bias circuit.