Patent ID: 7868511

Claim:
An electrical machine, comprising: a coil; a rotor assembly rotatable about an axis, the rotor comprising an alternating plurality of magnet portions and plurality of flux conducting portions, each of the plurality of magnet portions having a first end with a first polarity and a second end with the opposite polarity and being oriented in a circumferential direction, pairs of magnet portions sandwiching flux conduction portions, each pair of sandwiching magnet portions being oriented such that each sandwiched flux conducting portion is sandwiched between either two first ends or two second ends of the pair of sandwiching magnet portions; and a stator assembly having first and second sets of stator flux conductor extensions, each of the stator flux conductor extensions having a stator surface facing the rotor; wherein rotating the rotor assembly about the axis alternates the rotor assembly between a first position and a second position; wherein, in the first position, magnetic flux flows in a first path in a first direction through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor; wherein, in the second position, magnetic flux flows in a second path in a second direction through each of the stator flux conductor extensions and the rotor, the first direction being substantially opposite the second direction; wherein the first set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a first stator portion, wherein the second set of stator flux conductor extensions are located on a second stator portion, and wherein the first stator portion is rotatable about the axis relative to the second stator portion.