Patent ID: 7105979

Claim:
A brushless hybrid electrical machine for converting between electrical and mechanical energy comprising: a rotor supported for rotation about an axis of rotation relative to a juxtaposed stator that is stationary and magnetically interacts with said rotor; said rotor includes a ferromagnetic rotor structure having poles around a circumference, said poles arranged in a circumferentially alternating array of ferromagnetic and permanent magnet poles; said ferromagnetic and permanent magnet poles facing a magnetic air gap created in said ferromagnetic structure; said stator having a stationary air core armature located in said magnetic air gap, said air core armature comprising windings; said ferromagnetic rotor structure having co-rotating ferromagnetic portions on both sides of said stationary air core armature for conducting magnetic flux to said magnetic air gap and thence through said armature in said magnetic air gap; said stator including a field coil connected to power electronics adapted to be energized by an electrical power source, such that said field coil generates field coil flux that flows in a flux path through said co-rotating ferromagnetic rotor portions and said ferromagnetic poles, said magnetic air gap and through said ferromagnetic rotor structure; said permanent magnet poles generate permanent magnet flux, said field coil flux and said permanent magnet flux inducing an AC voltage in said windings of said air core armature as said rotor rotates; said field coil being connected to said power electronics such that that application of current to said field coil bucks or boosts the AC voltage induced in said windings depending on the polarity of the current to said field coil.