Patent ID: 7262536

Claim:
An electric traction vehicle, comprising: a vehicle having a plurality of wheels and a frame; and an axial flux permanent magnet motor coupled to at least one of said plurality of wheels, said motor comprising a stator having coils thereon adapted to produce a time varying stator magnetic field, a rotor having permanent magnets mounted thereon facing the stator and adapted to produce an axially directed flux, wherein the rotor is rotatably coupled to the stator in axial alignment therewith and rotated by the time varying stator magnetic field, a first torque output coupled between the rotor and the at least one wheel, and a second torque output coupled between the stator and the frame of the vehicle, wherein the rotor is washer-shaped having an inner and outer circumference and the permanent magnets are mounted circumferentially spaced apart thereon between, the inner and outer circumferences, with their principal faces on a principal face of the rotor facing the stator, and wherein the permanent magnets are arranged circumferentially in groups with a spacing between adjacent groups being larger than the spacing between adjacent magnets within the groups.