Patent ID: 8354767

Claim:
A permanent magnet machine comprising a stator and a rotor, the rotor being adapted to rotate relative to the stator, the rotor comprising a plurality of permanent magnets separated in the circumferential direction from each other by axially extending rotor pole pieces for concentrating the magnetic flux from said permanent magnets, the stator having a structure that defines axial limits of an air gap between the stator and the rotor for communicating magnetic flux between the stator and the rotor, wherein at least some of the permanent magnets extend axially outside the axial limits of the air gap as defined by the stator structure, and wherein at least one of said pole pieces has contact surfaces each abutting a corresponding contact surface of a respective neighboring permanent magnet and a central part between the contact surfaces, wherein the central part has an axial length smaller than an axial length of the neighboring permanent magnets, wherein the stator comprises a plurality of stator teeth each protruding in radial direction towards the rotor and having an end face facing the rotor, the end faces of the stator teeth defining the axial limits of the air gap, the permanent magnet machine further comprising at least two sets of stator teeth having respective sets of an end faces that are axially displaced from the end faces of the corresponding other set of stator teeth, each end face having a boundary proximal to the end faces of the respective other set, and a boundary distal to end faces of the respective other set, and wherein the axial limits of the air gap are defined by the distal boundaries of end faces of the at least two sets of stator teeth.