A linear alternator is mainly a linear motor used as an electrical alternator. A linear electric motor (LEM) is an electromechanical device that produces linear motion without using any mechanism to convert rotary motion to linear motion. LEMs are similar to rotary motors, whose stator and rotor have been cut along a radial plane and unrolled to provide linear thrust.
This device is physically as same as the most alternator that works with the rotary motion, however, the difference is that the linear generator with the reciprocating/linear motion (i.e. motion in a straight line).when the magnet moves in the relation to the electromagnetic coil, this changes the magnetic flux passing through the coil thus induces the flow of an electric current, better called opposite induction forces (“Lorentz forces”).
This short cut eliminates the need for a crank or linkage that otherwise will be needed to convert the reciprocating motion into rotary motion in order to be compatible with a rotary generator.
The linear generator consists of two major parts, a stationary stator, and a linear moving slider. The stator is comprised of windings and a nonlinear magnetic core. The slider consists of a shaft, permanent magnets, and nonlinear magnetic material between the permanent magnets.
The Stator
The stator consist of a coil wound around a nonlinear magnetic material/spacer evenly spaced one after another section where the coil would wound. So that each part of the coil can generate electricity with the relative motion of the magnets in the slider.
The slider
The slider is consist of a shaft and arrangement of the magnet which is evenly spaced by a separator. If the first magnet is arranged in north-south then the next magnet will be up side down and so on.
Design/arrangement of the generator
The generator device comprises a unique assembly of magnet arrays, high magnetic permeability spacers and coil winding arrays with an innovative magnet-spacer-coil configuration and geometry which uniquely provides for vector superposition of the magnetic fields from a plurality of adjacent magnets to maximize radial magnetic flux density within coil windings for optimum power generation and energy conversion efficiency. Unlike conventional electromagnetic devices, as either a linear motion generator, a regenerative shock absorber, or a reciprocating linear motor, the device provides for substantially more uniform and higher average radial magnetic flux density throughout coil winding volumes which results in a significant increase in electrical power regeneration due to more efficient generation of induced current from coil motion within regions of maximum radial magnetic flux density.
The device provides for both efficient electrical power generation and electromagnetic damping due to the relative motion of a coil array assembly within a region of maximum average magnetic flux density produced by an associated magnet array assembly. While either the coil array or magnet array assembly of the device may alternatively have either a stationary or translatable mounting to provide for reciprocating relative linear motion, in preferred embodiments, a sliding coil assembly comprised of at least one array of concentric cylindrical coil windings reciprocates within a stationary magnet assembly comprised of a central array of stacked cylindrical magnets and high magnetic permeability, high saturation magnetization ferromagnetic spacers.
Voltage Conditioning Circuit
Due to the reciprocating, intermittent displacement motion which produces electrical power with the present device, the coil windings produce alternating voltage and current output. To satisfy the electrical requirements of most electrical loads, such as batteries and other devices, the ac voltage must be converted to a constant dc voltage. Thus a voltage conditioning circuit is employed with each generator or regenerative shock absorber to convert the time-varying ac voltage output from the coils to a constant dc voltage for charging batteries or powering other dc electrical devices. Depending on the characteristic displacement motion which drives the generator and the design of the voltage conditioning circuit, the voltage and current output from each generator may closely match the electrical load requirements or it may be necessary to combine the output from multiple devices through parallel, series or combined parallel-series connections to achieve acceptable output. Alternatively, the voltage conditioning circuit from each device may be connected directly to its own electrical load.
Constant voltage transformers and magnetic amplifiers are well known in the art. Such transformers or their equivalents may be employed in the voltage conditioning circuit to convert ac coil output to constant voltage. For regenerative shock absorber applications, transformers having high permeability, low coercive magnetic field intensity Hc cores are particularly useful over a large dynamic range of vehicle speeds, such as 15 mph to 75 mph, a 5 to 1 ratio.
There is going to be a part II of this where we are talking about the Design consideration of magnets
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