Fisher & Paykel Limited

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Limited

Whirlpool Corporation

Gerald David Duncan

Gregory Paul Hill

Frank W Shacklock

Ian Campbell McGill

John J Williams

Dennis E Smith

Graeme D Thomas

Kerrin Edmund Burnnand

Andrew Paul Taylor

John G Borrows

John Henry Boyd

John Julian Williams

Dennis Edward Smith

John Grant Borrows

Frank Whitney Shacklock

Graeme Dewar Thomas

David W Carr

Mary Ellen Zeitler

Upesh Patel

Neville David Seagar

Flavio Erasmo Bernardino

Anna Kathryn Duncan

Geoffrey Alan Lee

Lindsey Jack Roke

Murray Greenman

Geoffrey Walker

William George Ferguson

Timothy Scott Germann

Erin Louise Hall

John H Boyd, Jr

Graeme Colin Fuller

Mark Gregory Benson

John Julian Aubrey Williams

Keith Brookes Spong

Christian John Wade Gianni

John Julian A Williams

Michael Thomas Perry

Ian Campbell Mcgill

A motor suited for use in a direct drive laundry machine. The described motor has a stator core including an annular ring with an inner diameter between 120 mm and 250 mm, a radial width between 5 mm and 15 mm, and 24 or 27 stator poles projecting outward from the annular ring a distance of between 15 mm and 40 mm. Each stator pole is associated with one of three phase windings. A rotor for the motor has inwardly facing permanent magnet poles whereby the ratio of rotor poles to stator poles is 4:3.

Appliance, motor or stator

A BLDC motor for driving a cross flow fan in an air-conditioning application has an external rotor and an internal stator. The stator is a salient pole stator with insulated pole teeth and conductor coils. The inner diameter of the stator supports a single bearing. An electronic PCBA for control of the BLDC motor is optionally attached to the stator, all of which is encapsulated in a thermoset resin. The rotor comprises permanent magnet component(s) and a rotor frame. The rotor frame includes a stub axle that engages with the bearing element and features to provide torsional or rotational compliance between the rotor magnets and the fan. A level of compliance is provided between the bearing element and the stator to allow for angular misalignment between the rotational axis of the fan and the stator.

Motor

A method of making generally symmetrical lamination stacks for electrical machines comprises producing generally symmetrical pole tips from alternating asymmetrical pieces that each have an additional layer in the asymmetrical portion. With the alternating asymmetrical pieces combined, the resulting pole tip is generally symmetrical with a larger possible pole tip width compared with currently-used interleaved stamping techniques.

Electrical machine

A linear compressor comprising a cylinder part including a cylinder bore. A piston disposed in, and is slidable within, the bore. A main spring connects the cylinder part directly or indirectly to the piston. A connecting rod connects between the main spring and the piston. A stator has an air gap, and the connecting rod passes through the air gap. At least one armature pole is located along the connecting rod.

Linear compressor

A laundry machine configured to supply a first amount of water to the wash tub wherein a wash plate can be oscillated such that clothes items directly above and in contact with the impeller are frictionally dragged in a oscillatory manner with the wash chamber while continuing to oscillate said wash plate, an additional supply of water is added to said wash tub such that as cloth items lost frictional engagement with the wash plate, the cloth items continue to move along an inverse toroidal rollover path at higher water levels.

Laundry appliance

A magnet element () and a method of its manufacture for assembly into a rotor (), the magnet element () having magnetic domains aligned anisotropically to form a domain alignment pattern (), wherein the magnetic domain alignment pattern () in the magnet element () has an orientation that varies substantially continuously across at least part of the magnet element () between its lateral edges from at least partially radial to at least partially tangential.

Appliance, rotor and magnet element

A linear compressor includes a cylinder part and a piston part. A spring connects the cylinder part and the piston part and operates in the direction of reciprocation of the piston part relative to the cylinder part. The piston part includes a radially compliant but axially stiff linkage and piston. The cylinder part includes a cylinder and a cylinder liner therewithin. A bore runs through the cylinder liner and the piston reciprocates in the bore. Gas bearing passages are formed between the cylinder and the cylinder liner leading to opening through the wall of the cylinder liner to the bore. A gas bearing manifold receives compressed gases and supplies the compressed gases to the gas bearing passages. The gas bearing passages follow a tortuous path to the openings.

A method of manufacturing a linear compressor includes measures to account for possible variations in manufacture of the spring connecting between a cylinder part and a piston part. In the method, the piston is located at a predetermined axial position in the bore of the cylinder of the compressor. A spring that is connected with the cylinder part is extended so that a piston connection point of the spring is at a position based on a predetermined displacement of the spring or a position in which the spring exerts a predetermined reaction force. In this position, this piston and the spring connection point are thus separated by a distance that depends on the actual formed dimension of the individual spring. The piston and the piston connection point are subsequently joined to have a rigid axial separation that is fixed according to the separation attained in these steps.

Method of manufacturing a linear compressor

A linear abstract includes a cylinder part and a piston part. A spring connects the cylinder part and the piston part and operates in the direction of reciprocation of the piston part relative to the cylinder part. The piston part includes a radially compliant but axially stiff linkage and a piston. The cylinder part includes a cylinder and a cylinder liner therewithin. A bore runs through the cylinder liner and the piston reciprocates in the bore. Gas bearing passages are formed between the cylinder and the cylinder liner leading to openings through the wall of the cylinder liner to the bore. A gas bearing manifold receives compressed gases and supplies the compressed gases to the gas bearing passages. The gas bearing passages follow a tortuous path to the openings.

Linear compressor with aerostatic gas bearing passage between cylinder and cylinder liner

The present invention provides an improved design of linear motor as well as an improved control strategy. The design allows for a shorted stator, where the armature magnets are controlled to reciprocate to a greater maximum displacement that for a equivalent conventional linear motor. The control strategy is such that a minimum of external sensors are required. The linear motor is driven at its resonant frequency ensuring optionally efficient operation. A determination of the maximum current is made based on a relationship with the resonant frequency and the evaporating temperature/pressure of the vapor entering the compressor. The current is then limited to control the maximum displacement to avoid damage.

Linear motor

An electric linear motor for driving a reciprocating load includes a stator, a coil, an armature and a commutation circuit. The stator has a magnetically permeable core with an air gap. The coil is wound around a portion of the stator and energized with a non-constant voltage for producing a non-constant magnetic flux in the stator and the air gap. The armature supports a permanent magnet having a substantial portion located in the air gap. The interaction of the magnetic field of the magnet and the non-constant flux in the air gap produces a force on the armature. The armature is connected to the load and reciprocates with respect to the stator. The circuit controls the coil such that at least one end of the magnet passes outside the region of substantially uniform flux density within the air gap during a portion of the motion of the armature.

An apparatus assists a user to move a door between closed and open states. The apparatus includes a permanent magnet provided on the door. An electromagnet is located on the door frame adjacent thereto when the door is closed and is energizable to provide a magnetic field which reinforces the permanent magnetic field or to provide a magnetic field in opposition to the permanent magnetic field. A detector detects the state of the door and an interface detects the presence of a user. A controller receives input from the detector and the interface and energizes the electromagnet to provide a reinforcing magnetic field if a user is attempting to open the door and provides an opposing magnetic field to the permanent magnetic field if the door is closed and the user is attempting to open the door.

Door opening and closing system

Growing community of inventors

Auckland, New Zealand

Gerald David Duncan