Patent ID: 7315102

Claim:
An axial gap motor comprising: a rotor shaft rotatable about its axis; a rotor fixed to the rotor shaft to rotate therewith, the rotor including a plurality of magnets that are arranged about the axis of the rotor shaft at evenly spaced intervals; and a stator disposed about the rotor shaft at a position to coaxially face the rotor, the stator including a stator core and a plurality of coils, the stator core including a plurality of equally spaced paired elements on which the coils are respectively arranged; wherein the magnets of the rotor have each opposed pole faces that extend in a direction other than a direction that is perpendicular to the axis of the rotor shaft; wherein the magnets of the rotor are of a flat plate type, each magnet having two major flat surfaces that extend in parallel with the axis of the rotor shaft; wherein an angle defined between the paired elements of the stator core is smaller than an angle defined between two adjacent rotor magnets; wherein a distance between adjacent elements of the paired elements of the stator core at an outermost radial portion of the paired elements is greater than a circumferential thickness of each magnet of the rotor.