(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8,674,576 B2 Knaiani Et All E 45) Date of Patent : Mar.E 18, 2014
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USOO8674576B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 8,674,576 B2 Knaiani et all e 45) Date of Patent : Mar.e 18, 2014 (54) ELECTROPERMANENT MAGNET-BASED 3.427.484. A * 2/1969 Hall et al. ....................... 310/47 MOTORS 3,601,641 A 8, 1971 Baermann ....................... 310,93 3,686,524. A * 8/1972 Hall ............... ... 310,154.22 5,327,033. A * 7/1994 Guckel et al. .. 310/40 MM (75) Inventors: Ara Knaian, Newton, MA (US); Neil 5.338,993 A * 8/1994 Briggs et al. .................... 310,82 Gershenfeld, Somerville, MA (US); 5,600,192 A * 2/1997 Carson et al. ............... 310/68 B Maxim Lobovsky, Cambridge, MA 5,959,377 A * 9/1999 Horng..................... 310/40 MM (US) 6,002,317 A * 12/1999 Pignataro ...................... 335/289 6,211,599 B1 * 4/2001 Barnes et al. ... 310,309 6,563,248 B2* 5/2003 Fujita .......... ... 310, 181 (73) Assignee: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 6,707,213 B2 * 3/2004 E. ... 310, 181 Cambridge, MA (US) 6,713.908 B1* 3/2004 Tai et al. ..................... 310/68 R 6,864,608 B2 * 3/2005 Kang et al. ......... ... 310,154.02 (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 7,385,320 B2 * 6/2008 Kawamoto et al. ........ 310,49.22 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 (Continued) U.S.C. 154(b) by 125 days. OTHER PUBLICATIONS (21) Appl. No.: 12/695,155 David J. Griffiths, Intro to electrodymanics 1999, Prentice Hall, 3rd (22) Filed: Jan. 27, 2010 edition, all 3 pages. (65) Prior Publication Data Primary Examiner — Hanh Nguyen Assistant Examiner — Naishadh Desai US 2010/0289.359 A1 Nov. 18, 2010 (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Norma E. Henderson Related U.S. Application Data (57) ABSTRACT (60) Provisional application No. 61/147.508, filed on Jan. An electropermanent magnet-based motor includes a stator 27, 2009. having at least one electropermanent magnet, at least one coil around the electropermanent magnet configured to pass cur (51) Int. Cl. rent pulses that affect the magnetization of the magnet, and a HO2K 7/II6 (2006.01) rotor that is movable with respect to the stator in response to (52) U.S. Cl. changes in the magnetization of the electropermanent mag USPC ....................... 310/179; 310/195; 310/154.28 net. A wobble motor has a stator with a centrally-located core (58) Field of Classification Search from which arms radiate outward, an electropermanent mag USPC ......... 310/179-181, 83, 195,154.02, 154.28, net and coil on each arm, and a rotor exterior to the stator Such 3 10/40 MM that the rotor can rotate around the stator arms. A rotary motor See application file for complete search history. has a centrally-located rotor that rotates about its axis and a stator exterior to the rotor such that the rotor may rotate within (56) References Cited the stator arms, the stator including an anteriorly-located stator core from which stator arms radiate inward toward the U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS rotor, and an electropermanent magnet and coil on each stator 2,128,044 A 8, 1938 Grabner ........................ 310,190 a. 3,201,625 A * 8/1965 Smith et al. ... 210, 181 3,382.384 A * 5, 1968 Hulls .............................. 310/93 15 Claims, 13 Drawing Sheets US 8,674,576 B2 Page 2 References Cited 2005, 0110364 A1* 5/2005 Yanagisawa .................. 310,261 (56) 2005/0242679 A1* 11/2005 Walter et al. .... ... 310, 181 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 2007/0200444 A1* 8, 2007 Uenishi et al. ........... 310,154.21 2009/O115361 A1* 5/2009 Nitta ........................ 3.18/400.09 7,548,009 B2* 6/2009 Hsiao ............................ 310,300 2009, O250O32 A1* 10, 2009 Fullerton et al. .......... 123,143 B 7,777,385 B2* 8/2010 Wingett et al. 310, 181 2003/0O25418 A1* 2/2003 Kang et al. .................... 310, 181 * cited by examiner U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 1 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 2 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 3 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 s i. U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 4 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 5 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 s 8 S S & : : 8 & S& S& :& G 3 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 6 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 7 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 8 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 9 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 s g ww cy U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 10 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 11 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 {}{76~~~~~0€6 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 12 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 U.S. Patent Mar. 18, 2014 Sheet 13 of 13 US 8,674,576 B2 US 8,674,576 B2 1. 2 ELECTROPERMANIENT MAGNET-BASED Since the construction of the first electric motor by Michael MOTORS Faraday in 1821, permanent magnets have been used in the construction of motors. In Small electric motors (having a RELATED APPLICATIONS capacity less than one horsepower) permanent magnets are commonly used in order to improve efficiency and torque, This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional and to simplify construction and drive. For example, in the Application Ser. No. 61/147,508, filed Jan. 27, 2009, the brush-commutated permanent-magnet DC motor, a periodi entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. cally-reversing current through coils on the rotor interacts with the magnetic field of permanent magnets on the stator to STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY 10 produce torque. A key design criterion for almost all perma SPONSORED RESEARCH ORDEVELOPMENT nent magnet motors is that the demagnetizing field inside the permanent magnets must not exceed a the demagnetizing This invention was made with U.S. government Support threshold. Otherwise, the magnetic field of the magnets will under Grant number W911NF-08-1-0254, awarded by the 15 be reduced by operation, and the motor will not function as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The well. Conventional permanent magnet motors are carefully government has certain rights in this invention. designed to avoid demagnetization of their permanent mag FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY netS. A notable exception is the hysteresis motor (Such as, for The present invention relates to motors and, in particular, to example, that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,978) which motors and actuators employing electropermanent magnets. works by continuously cycling a piece of magnetic material around its hysteresis loop, and generating continuous torque BACKGROUND due to the time lag between field and flux while changing the magnetization of the material. The hysteresis motor is notable The field of microrobotics seeks to construct mobile robots 25 and useful for its ability to produce constant torque indepen able to sense, move through, and manipulate their environ dent of speed. However, the hysteresis motor requires the ment with dimensions on the order of millimeters or smaller. continuous input of electric power to produce continuous Microrobots have been constructed that roll, walk, Swim, and torque, even at Zero speed, and so has low efficiency at low fly. Microrobots are particularly useful because they can go to speeds. places other robots cannot, Such as into the rubble at a disaster 30 Electric motors suffer from a number of loss mechanisms site, into a machine to repairit, or into the body for minimally that act to reduce their power efficiency. At high speeds, invasive surgery. A major problem in microrobot design is mechanical losses due to friction, and magnetic losses due to Supplying enough power for long run time. In the fields of cyclic magnetization and demagnetization of the flux-carry microrobotics and programmable matter, there is therefore a ing members dominate. Thus, flux-carrying materials (e.g. need for actuators capable of electromechanical energy con 35 iron) for magnetic motors are typically selected to have the version at high torque and low speed, and capable of scaling lowest possible coercivity and thus the lowest possible mag to small dimensions without loss of efficiency. netic losses. At low speeds, loss due to resistive heating of the The emerging field of programmable matter seeks to build coils dominates. At the limit of Zero speed, when the motor is macroscopic objects with thousands of actuatable degrees of stalled, 100% of the electrical energy input goes to resistive freedom, so that their shape and function may be changed 40 heating of the windings and the motor operates at Zero percent under Software control. Like microrobots, programmable efficiency. matter will also require efficient Small-scale actuators. A wide variety of micromotors and microactuators have SUMMARY been constructed that have their largest dimension measured in millimeters. These actuators have used a variety of opera 45 Motors and actuators according to the present invention tional principles, including magnetic, electrostatic, piezo have at least two sections (e.g. rotor and stator) that move electric, and electrothermal. Because it is difficult and expen relative to one another. At least one of these sections includes sive to fabricate efficient speed-reducing power one or more electro-permanent magnets. Passing current transmissions at microscale, an actuator that directly pro through (the coil of) these electropermanent magnets changes duces the high torques at low speeds efficiently would be 50 the magnetization of the materials inside, storing energy in desirable for robotics and programmable matter.