Patent ID: 7394173

Claim:
A multiple degree-of-freedom motor comprising: an output shaft; a stator comprising first and second lamination stacks, each said lamination stack having an interior curved surface and a coil wound thereon, said lamination stacks being disposed asymmetrically adjacent said output shaft, wherein at least one of said lamination stacks is without a lamination stack on an opposing side of said output shaft; and a rotor fixed to said output shaft and movably supported adjacent said stator with an air gap disposed between said rotor and said stator, said rotor including at least one magnet disposed thereon, the magnet being movable along said interior curved surface of said lamination stacks in directions defining at least first and second degrees of freedom; wherein energization of the coil of said first lamination stack establishes a first magnetic field to urge said output shaft to rotate in a first plane, and wherein energization of the coil of said second lamination stack establishes a second magnetic field to urge said output shaft to rotate in a second plane substantially orthogonal to the first plane.