Patent ID: 7863789

Claim:
A permanent magnet motor/generator that comprises: a housing; a stator located in the housing in a fixed position with respect to the housing, the stator having a plurality of stator magnetic poles and windings for generating a rotating filed in the stator magnetic poles, said stator having a central axis; a rotatable shaft extending through the housing and having a central axis which coincides with the central axis of the stator; a rotor located in the housing and movably positioned on the rotatable shaft the rotor provided with a plurality of permanent magnets at a peripheral surface thereof and having a central axis which coincides with the central axis of the stator; and an actuator for moving the rotor axially along the rotatable shaft within the housing so as to move the rotor while the stator is maintained in a fixed position with respect to the housing, the rotor being moved a sufficient distance relative to the stator to completely decouple the rotor from the stator so as to eliminate magnet induced torque drag.