Patent ID: 7973445

Claim:
A rotary actuator comprising: an outer enclosure; a stator assembly positioned within the outer enclosure and comprising a plurality of stator laminations, each of the plurality of stator laminations having a lamination face oriented orthogonally to a centerline axis of the rotary actuator; a rotor assembly positioned adjacent to the stator assembly and configured to rotate relative thereto and about the centerline axis of the rotary actuator; wherein each of the outer enclosure, the stator assembly, and the rotor assembly are arranged to carry a magnetic flux therethrough, with each of the plurality of stator laminations being configured to carry the magnetic flux therethrough in a direction parallel to the lamination face of the stator lamination; wherein each of the plurality of stator laminations consists of two oppositely positioned pole faces thereon that are separated from the rotor assembly by a working air gap; and wherein the rotor assembly includes a rotor core and a plurality of rotor laminations press-fit onto the rotor core, with each of the plurality of rotor laminations consisting of a pair of faces aligned with the pole faces of each of the plurality of stator laminations, such that the rotor assembly is caused to rotate relative to the stator assembly within a pre-determined range of rotation that is less than 360 degrees.