Patent ID: 6922883

Claim:
A method for making a non-linear inductor comprising the steps of: providing a plurality of first laminations of magnetic material, each of said first laminations having a first leg with an edge and at least one other leg; providing a plurality of second laminations of magnetic material, each of said second laminations having the same predetermined shape; stacking said first laminations to produce a first stack with a first leg portion and at least one other leg portion, said first leg portion comprising the first legs and said at least one other leg portion comprising the at least one other legs; stacking said second laminations to produce a second stack; disposing the first stack adjacent to the second stack so as to form an air gap with two or more different widths between the first leg portion of the first stack and the second stack; disposing a winding around the first leg portion or the at least one other leg portion of the first stack; and adjusting the configuration of said air gap to produce a desired non-linear inductance characteristic for said inductor; wherein in a first predetermined number of said first laminations, the first leg has a first length and in a second predetermined number of said first lamination, the first lea has a second length, said first and second lengths being different; and wherein the step of adjusting the configuration of the air gap comprises adjusting the arrangement of said first predetermined number of said first laminations having said first length and said second predetermined number of said first laminations having said second length in said first stack to produce the desired non-linear inductance characteristic for said inductor.