Coleman Powermate, Inc.

Magnetic Applications Inc.

Other

Harold C Scott

Charles Y Lafontaine

William J Anderson

Chiping Sun

Kandarp I Pandya

Henry Tally

Ardel R Bednorz

Mitchell K Davis

Dave E Williams

G Weylin Johnson

Stewart C Koch

Tom Graber

Fazle S Quazi

Timothy W Burford

Andrew Kopel

Ira S Faberman

Harold Todd Tyler

Gary W Johnson

Paul Joseph Klinek

Carl O Martin

Rod K Shelden

Davey Earl Williams

An apparatus for converting between mechanical and electrical energy, particularly suited for use as a compact high power alternator for automotive use and 'remove and replace' retrofitting of existing vehicles. The apparatus comprises a rotor with permanent magnets, a stator with a winding, and a cooling system. Mechanisms to prevent the rotor magnets from clashing with the stator by minimizing rotor displacement, and absorbing unacceptable rotor displacement are disclosed. The cooling system directs coolant flow into thermal contact with at least one of the winding and magnets, and includes at least one passageway through the stator core. Various open and closed cooling systems are described. Cooling is facilitated by, for example, loosely wrapping the winding end turns, use of an asynchronous airflow source, and/or directing coolant through conduits extending through the stator into thermal contact with the windings.

Compact high power alternator

A control system that can accommodate the wide variations in the output of a generator, such as a permanent magnet alternator, while providing an output with relatively uniform phase ripple. The control system includes a zero crossing detector and variable ramp generator for generating control signals to a switching rectifier to generate a regulated DC signal.

Controller for AC generator

An apparatus for converting between mechanical and electrical energy, particularly suited for use as a compact high power alternator for automotive use and 'remove and replace' retrofitting of existing vehicles. Various aspects of the invention provide a means of significantly increasing the output of permanent magnet alternators while addressing the issues of radial loading applied to a permanent magnet alternator rotor. Another aspect of the invention allows for the production of power in two discrete voltages. An aspect of this invention allows for a marked increase in output capability without increasing axial length through the use of magnetic fringing. One aspect of the invention offers an effective means of mounting a skewed stack that eliminates or reduces cogging that is present in a permanent magnet machine without negatively impacting airflow. Another aspect of the invention reduces cogging by radially offsetting opposing magnets of a dual rotor permanent magnet machine.

A compact, high power, power conversion apparatus including a rotor and a stator. The rotor includes a cylindrical casing, and a predetermined number of permanent magnets disposed on the casing, and is adapted for rotation about the axis of the casing. The stator includes a core and a plurality of sets of conductive windings, each set including a predetermined number of individual conductive windings and associated with an electrical phase. A respective collecting conductor is associated with each set of conductive windings, with each individual conductive winding of the set being electrically connected to the associated collecting conductor. The respective collecting conductors are disposed in a coolant flow path a coolant flow path directing coolant into contact with the stator windings, electrically isolated from each other and spaced apart from each other and from the windings. Collecting conductors in the form of continuous rings and in the form of a plurality of arcs are disclosed.

An apparatus for converting between mechanical and electrical energy, particularly suited for use as a compact high power alternator for automotive use and 'remove and replace' retrofitting of existing vehicles. The apparatus includes a rotor with permanent magnets, a stator with a winding, and a cooling system. Mechanisms to prevent the rotor magnets from clashing with the stator by minimizing rotor displacement, and absorbing unacceptable rotor displacement are disclosed. Various open and closed cooling systems are described. Cooling is facilitated by, for example, loosely wrapping the winding end turns, use of an asynchronous airflow source, and/or directing coolant through conduits extending through the stator into thermal contact with the windings.

The invention is a control system that, among other things, controls a permanent magnet alternator and provides relatively accurate voltage regulation. The control system may include one or more of the following: (1) a rectification system to rectify and regulate the output voltage of an alternator, (2) a rectifier/limiter used as an electrical power source to a boost type regulator, (3) a multimode rectifier/limiter, (4) a DC to AC inverter bridge, and (5) power switches employed in the system to minimize the switching energy that would otherwise be dissipated in the power switches as heat.

Controller for permanent magnet alternator

A system provides electrical power and compressed air includes a wheeled hand truck frame, an engine, a compressor, a generator, and a reservoir having several horizontally disposed cylindrical tanks in fluid communication and arranged in one or a few vertical planes. A portion of a lower-most tank of the reservoir is below the plane including the axle for the wheels; and the respective centers of gravity of the engine, the fuel tank, and the reservoir are arranged for relatively greater stability. A control system for the engine, generator, and compressor provides priority response to air demand and/or priority response to electrical power demand by reducing lower priority loads on the engine prior to increasing engine speed. A throttle controller moves the engine throttle from high speed to low speed in response to low demand for compressed air in combination with low demand for electrical power. The throttle controller includes a low demand valve and throttle positioning air cylinder. The low demand valve is operated by an electrical signal asserted in response to detecting a condition of low output current from the system.

System that supplies electrical power and compressed air with throttle control

A pole for use in a magnetic circuit includes a flux-passing portion for passing magnetic flux and a cap. The flux-passing portion has a face through which at least some of the magnetic flux passes and to which the cap is fixed. The cap is made of a permeable material and is formed to impede eddy currents in the cap. The cap may have a top and bottom surface joined by a shoulder to provide a distribution of magnetic flux through the shoulder that is less concentrated than the flux distribution through a 90-degree corner. The pole may be incorporated into a generator, a motor, a linear motor, or a portable engine-driven generator to increase the efficiency thereof.

Electromagnetic apparatus employing high permeability low conductivity element

A power conversion system includes an engine coupled to drive an alternator, a rectifier circuit, and an ignition controller. The alternator includes a stator and a rotor that cooperate when driven to provide a current supplied to the rectifier circuit. The rectifier circuit provides output power having a voltage. The ignition controller supplies energy to the spark plug of the engine. If the voltage exceeds a predetermined limit, the ignition controller supplies less energy to the spark plug to decrease engine drive. The stator may include several windings (or a tapped winding) and the system further includes an engine throttle controller and a winding control circuit. The winding control circuit selectively couples one or more windings of the plurality (or one or more turns of a tapped winding) to the rectifier circuit. The winding control circuit cooperates with a throttle controller to facilitate provision of a predetermined output power with a relatively low engine RPM for noise abatement.

Small engine driven generator

An improved three-phase bridge inverter DC link converter power circuit for a portable generator, preferably the generator system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,276 to Scott et al. Dual voltage and variable frequency inverter designs and improved converter designs are disclosed. Embodiments of the present invention avoid a capacitor induced center voltage drift problem found in certain prior art inverter designs.

Energy conversion system employing stabilized half-bridge inverter

The throttle of an engine in an engine driven generator system operating under an intermittently heavy load, as in supplying current to a welder, is controlled such that successive control signals sent to a throttle actuator for adjusting the engine throttle position are inhibited until at least a predetermined time has elapsed since the last preceding adjustment to the throttle. This procedure ensures that, as to each incremental adjustment to the throttle, the engine has sufficient time to respond, thereby preventing over-speeding or stalling the engine. The throttle actuator may be a stepper motor which is stepped by throttle position change signals from a processor which monitors engine speed and generator load to determine whether the throttle should be adjusted and, if so, in which direct. Alternatively, the throttle actuator may be a solenoid pulling against a spring in accordance with the average current through the solenoid coil. In this embodiment, the processor causes pulse width modulated signals to be applied across the solenoid coil with throttle position changes being reflected in changes to the width of the pulses, such changes in the pulse width being delayed for at least the predetermined time since the last preceding adjustment to the throttle.

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Lafayette, CO, United States of America

Harold C Scott