AU685160B2

AU685160B2 - High efficiency electrostatic motor

Info

Publication number: AU685160B2
Application number: AU77014/94A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Patrick Cornille
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1993-09-20
Filing date: 1994-09-19
Publication date: 1998-01-15
Anticipated expiration: 2014-09-19
Also published as: EP0720788B1; AU7701494A; KR960705393A; DE69402718D1; JPH09503899A; CA2172150A1; EP0720788A1; ATE151928T1; WO1995008865A1; FR2710469A1; FR2710469B1; ES2103137T3; DE69402718T2; BR9407576A

Abstract

An electrostatic motor comprises a rotor (2, 3, 4, 5, 6) consisting of a set of capacitors made up of metal plates (2, 2') postioned radially about an axis of rotation (3) and embedded in a dielectric material (6). Half of the plates (2) are connected to the positive pole of a high voltage generator whereas the other half of the plates (2') are connected to the negative pole of the high voltage generator. The metal plates (2, 2') are non-uniformely distributed about said axis of rotation (3).

Description

-p 1 A HIGH EFFICIENCY ELECTROSTATIC MOTOR The present invention relates to an electrostatic motor capable of operating at very high efficiency. The motor can be used in numerous fields such as driving all kinds of vehicle: cars, airplanes, boats, trains, etc.

It can also be applied in power stations. The field of application of the present invention thus extends to all fields in which power supply is required.

The principle on which motors of this type oporate is based on a particular use of conventional electromagnetic forces.

The laws of conservation of energy and of momenim apply only to closed systems where the forces invol -d satisfy Newton's third law of every actidn having an equal and opposite reaction. It follows that open systems are possible if the forces involved do not satisfy Newton's third law, as is the case for the electromagnetic Lorentz force due to the presence of the magnetic term in the expression for that force.

It follows that a pair of interacting charged particles must be capable of spontaneously setting itself in motion without assistance from any external force.

Similarly, a capacitor charged to high voltage must be capable of moving on its own. Numerous experiments performed on capacitors have indeed demonstrated this phenoi;enon.

In particular, English patent No. 300 311 granted in 1928 to T.T. Brown discloses a rectilinear and circular motor that makes use of this principle. However, T.T.

Brown attributes it to an anti-gravitation effect resulting solely from the polarization of the capacitors, whereas in fact the force developed is merely the result of interaction between conventional electromagnetic forces.

In one embodiment of a motor described in the abovespecified document, the capacitors in the form of I conductive plates are disposed radially in regular and uniform manner about an axis. However., that disposition does not enable a maximum effect to be produced from the developed force. When capacitors are uniformly distributed as in Brown, any three successive plates charged in the order give rise to forces that cancel almost completely.

In addition, in Brown's motor, there is no means for regulating the speed of rotation of the rotor.

0. pr-svearee e.rv .A) An object of the present invention is to define a motor that makes optimum use of this electromagnetic phenomenon and in which the speed of rotation of the motor is entirely controllable.

7he present invention provides .an electrostatic motor comprising a rotor o t b a set of capacitors, said capacitorsbing constituted-by metal plates disposed radially about a rotary shaft and embedded in a dielectric material, half of the plates being connected to the positive pole of a high voltage source with the other half of the plates being connected to the negative pole of the high voltage source, the motor being characterized in that said metal plates are distributed in non-uniform manner around said rotary shaft. The sum of the electromagnetic forces induced by the fields generated by the capacitors thus results in a non-zero component. The term "non-uniform" must be understood in the sense that the various radiallydisposed magnetic plates are at non-constant angular spacing.

Advantageously, the rotor is surrounded by a stator constituted by a solenoid having an axis of symmetry that coincides with the axis of the rotary shaft, said solenoid conveying a reversible current.

Preferably, the metal plates are distributed in pairs of opposite-voltage plates.

In an advantageous embodiment, the metal plates are of constant thickness, each pair being separated by a layer of dielectric material of substantially conical section.

In a variant, the metal plates are of substantially conical section, each pair being separated by a layer of dielectric material that is of constant thickness.

The present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing an embodiment of the invention by way of non-limiting example.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a rotor for a motor of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-section view through a first embodiment of a motor in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 3 is a cross-section view through a second embodiment of a motor of the invention.

With reference to Figure i, there can be seen a cylindri'.cal rotor 1 having a rotary shaft 3 surrounded by an insulating sleeve 4. The insulating sleeve 4 receives a plurality of metal plates 2, 2' extending radially along the rotary shaft 3. Half of the plates 2 are connected to the positive pole of a high voltage source (not shown) while ;he other half 2' are connected to the negative pole of .he same source. The various plates 2 that are connected to the positive pole of uhe source are connected via a conductive disk 5 consUituting one end of the cylinder and having the positively-charged plates fixed thereto. The disk 5 is then connected to the positive pole of the high voltage source. The same applies to the negatively-chargrtd plates 2' which are connected via an end disk as shown in Figure 1. The plates 2 and 2' are disposed in alternating manner around the rotary shaft 3 so as to create a set of capacitors.

High voltage may be fed to the rotor capacitorts in two different ways: either by sliding contacts situated on each of the disks 5 and 5' or else via two spark gaps constituted by the moving metal plates of the disks 5 and and fixed metal plates which are connected to the high voltage source and which face the disks. The distance between each of the fixed and moving metal plates forming the spark gap is selected so as to produce a short circuit that enables the capacitors of the rotor to be charged.

According to the invention, the various plates 2 and 2' are disposed in pairs. A negatively-charged plate 2' is at a greater angular spacing from the positivelycharged plate 2 of the adjacent capacitor than it is from the positively-charged plate 2 with which it forms a capacitor. The plates are disposed in pairs in nonuniform manner and the angular spacing between two adjacent plates is therefore not constant. This characteristic is essential since it makes it possible to obtain an overall component from the force developed by the capacitor assembly that is other than zero: The various plates 2 and 2' are also embedded in a dielectric material 6 for the purpose of reinforcing the effect under consideration, for ensuring stiffness of the rotor, and for reducing the risks of dielectric breakdown of the capacitors when fed with high voltage.

Figures 2 and 3 show two variant embodiments of a motor. In the embodiment of Figure 2, the plates 2 and 2' are of constant thickness and they are consequently separated by a layer of dielectric material that is conically shaped in section. The size ("thickness") of the conical dielectric layer also varies from one pair of plates to another.

In the embodiment of Figure 3, the plates 2 ar.d 2' are conical in section, such that the dielectric layers between them are of constant thickness.

The motor fitted with plates of constant thickness (Figure 2) is very simple to make since the plates'used are commercially available, thereby considerably reducing Sthe cost of manufacturing the motor. In contrast, the

TO

motor fitted with conical section plates (Figure 3) is more difficult to make because of the special shape of the plates which must be molded or extruded specially.

Nevertheless, this is the embodiment that achieves better results, which is why it is preferred. Efficiency is higher since the thickness of the layer of dielectric material is kept constant and is very small. The force generated by such capacitors is remarkable, because of the relationriip that is inversely proportional to the distance between the plates of a capacitor.

The rotor is also surrounded by a stator 7 which is a solenoid carrying a current whose axis of symmetry coincides with the axis of the rotary shaft 3 of the rotor. The purpose of adding the solenoid 7 is to control the speed of rotation of the rotor. Depending on the direction of the current in the solenoid, the electrons subjected to centrifugal force in the metal plates 2 and 2' are subjected to an additional force, and as a result those electrons will add to or subtract from the effect under consideration, depending on the direction of the current.

An approximate study of the force generated between two plates provides an estimate for the force given by the following formula: F, 2N 2 q 2 (U'V)R/(c 2

R

3 where N is the number of charge particles concerned, U is the speed of ions in three dimensions, V is the speed of electrons relative to the ions, and R r i r, which is the distance between the electrons and the ions of each plate of a capacitor. The above formula implies that the generated force FG is directed in the direction from negative charges towards positive charges.

It results from the above formula that to get the rotor up to speed and to obtain an appreciable speed it is necessary to apply a high voltage exceeding 50 kV to the set of capacitors., A theoretical study, confirmed by experiment, shows that the motor can achieve a

I

6 considerable speed for constant applied voltage, for the following reasons: the centrifugal force and the additional force coming from the solenoid act as a function of time to increase the number of electrons participating in the effect of the force generated, which force therefore increases as a function of time (if the number of electrons is increased, then so is the number of ions); and the speed of rotation of the rotor is added to the speed U of the ions in three dimensions, thereby reinforcing the force generated.

Claims

2. An electrostatic motor according to claim 1, in which the rotor is surrounded by a stator comprising a solenoid having an axis of symmetry that coincides with the axis of the rotary shaft, said solenoid conveying a reversible current.
3. An electrostatic motor according to claim 1 or claim 2, in wh.'ch the high voltage applied by the high *06 voltage source is greater than 20 4. An electrostatic motor according to any preceding claim, in which the metal plates are distributed in pairs of opposite-voltage plates. An electrostatic motor according to any preceding claim, in which the metal plates are of 25 constant thickness, each pair being separated by a layer of dielectric iterial of substantially conical section. An electrostatic motor according to any one of claims 1 to 4, in which the metal plates are of substantially conical section, each pair being separated a..o 30 by a layer of dielectric material that is of constant thickness.
7. An electrostatic motor substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 23rd day of April 1997 PATRICK CORNILLE S\ By his Patent Attorney IYl, j GRIFFITH HACK S:24312A ABSTRACT The patent relates to an electrostatic motor comprising a rotor 3, 4, 5, 6) constituted by a set of capacitors, said capacitors being constituted by metal plates disposed radially about a rotary shaft (3) and embedded in a dielectric material half of the plates being connected to the positive pole of a high voltage source with the other half of the plates being connected to the negative poie of the high voltage source, the motor being characterized in that said metal plates are distributed in non-uniform manner around said rotary shaft RA 4 st Il ~dl