WO2022229185A1

WO2022229185A1 - Motor with creation of angular momentum

Info

Publication number: WO2022229185A1
Application number: PCT/EP2022/061053
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marc MEDALE; Jean-Paul Domen
Original assignee: Université D'aix Marseille; Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique
Priority date: 2021-04-29
Filing date: 2022-04-26
Publication date: 2022-11-03
Also published as: FR3122411B1; FR3122411A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a motor comprising a rotor rotating about an axis of rotation, at least two rockers articulated about a shaft attached to the rotor and centred about an axis separate from the axis of rotation of the rotor, at least one transfer system comprising at least one element attached to the rotor and being configured to slow down each of said rockers when the latter are rotating about the axis of the shaft and pass through said at least one element attached to the rotor, so that the rockers are subjected to a force opposed to their movement and in response exert a force, the momentum of which about the axis of rotation of the rotor accelerates the rotor, and a rocker separation/coupling system configured so that said at least two rockers can couple in at least two coupling configurations and separate for a transit configuration allowing them to pass from one coupling configuration to the next.

Description

Title: Momentum Creation Engine Technical Field

The present invention relates to motors, in particular for equipping and orienting a satellite. The invention relates in particular to an engine and to a method of operating such an engine. The invention also relates to a satellite orientation system comprising a motor according to the invention.

Prior technique

Currently, all motors rotating a mobile around an axis, whether electric, thermal or even pneumatic, turbine or piston, comprise a stator, or a frame, exerting a torque on a rotor integral with a rotating axis on which a load, a pump, an airplane, ship or airship propeller is adjusted, or even the input pinion of a gearbox or the shaft of a power unit generator.

In such motors, a torque is exerted on the stator in response to the torque exerted on the rotor. To balance this reaction torque, it is necessary to make the stator, or frame, integral in rotation with the Earth, directly or through the intermediary of the vehicle that the engine sets in motion when this is the case, or, when this is not possible, to provide additional energy to counterbalance this torque, as is the case, for example, for a helicopter, and then to expend a not insignificant mechanical power. The reason for this type of operation is called the principle of conservation of angular momentum.

In the case of a satellite, following this principle of conservation of angular momentum, to rotate and orient a satellite around its center of gravity it is necessary to rotate a rotor rotating in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation. desired rotation for the satellite or to use propulsion by a jet of gas, in particular to desaturate the rotor.

The orientation maneuvers of the satellites are indeed carried out, in a known manner, using rocket engines which eject gas outside the satellite along two parallel axes located on either side of the center of gravity of this satellite and in opposite directions. This operation implies a lifetime of the satellite limited by the quantity of gas carried away. In addition, this gas is stored in a reservoir which constitutes a much greater mass than that of the gas which it contains.

Applications US 2005/169756 and US 2005/109138 describe devices using inertia to move objects.

Application DE 10161830 describes an energy conversion method and device using the gravitational and magnetic fields of the earth to move several weights of equal mass around a circular path.

US Patent 6,345,789 presents a method and apparatus for providing propulsive force to a dynamic body without having to interact with an external mass. This method is based on an internal exchange of kinetic energy working in concert with the influence of an auxiliary force such as gravity.

There is thus a need to develop a motor making it possible to exert a torque without using a stator, in order to avoid the need for taking up the torque of such a stator and the associated carried mass.

There is also a need to develop an engine to rotate and improve the life of a satellite, while reducing its mass.

Disclosure of Invention

Engine

The present invention aims to meet this need and achieves this, in whole or in part, thanks to a motor, intended in particular to equip and orient a satellite, comprising: a rotor rotating around an axis of rotation, at least two articulated balances around a shaft fixed to the rotor and extending along an axis distinct from the axis of rotation of the rotor, said at least two rockers being rotatable around the shaft, at least one transfer system comprising at least one element fixed to the rotor and being configured to slow down each of said pendulums when during its rotation around the axis of the shaft it passes through said at least one element fixed to the rotor, so that the force which slows down each of said pendulums generates by reaction an opposing force whose moment around the axis of rotation accelerates the rotor, and a pendulum coupling and separation system configured such that said at least two pendulums are positioned with respect to each other according to at least two coupling configurations and a transit configuration in which at least one pendulum is separated from (s) the other(s) and moving from one mating configuration to the next.

Said coupling and separation system is made in such a way that:

• in the coupling configurations, said at least two pendulums see their speed of rotation increase in the direction of rotation of the rotor, as they move away from the axis of said rotor, this increase corresponds to a angular momentum created;

• in the transit configuration, the first of said at least two balance wheels is propelled in the direction of rotation of the rotor by a calibrated separation pulse, the following one or more of said at least two balance wheels being propelled by reaction in the direction of rotation opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor and at a rotational speed value lower than that of the first balance wheel, so that the angular momentum transferred by said calibrated separation pulse, to the first of said at least two balance wheels alone is at least equal to kinetic moment created during the coupling of said at least two balance wheels preceding the transit configuration and materialized by the increase in the speed of rotation of said at least two balance wheels in the coupling configuration and

• after being propelled by the calibrated separation pulse, said first balance wheel passes through said transfer system, on this occasion it is slowed down by said at least one transfer system, and part of its angular momentum is thus transferred to the rotor this which constitutes the driving torque of said rotor.

By “balance articulated around a shaft”, we mean a mechanical part articulated around a shaft, not passing through its center of mass.

By "calibrated separation pulse", it should be understood that, in the transit configuration, said first of said balance wheels is propelled in the direction of rotation of the rotor at a sufficiently high speed to enable it on the one hand to cross said at least one element fixed to the rotor of said at least one transfer system, and, on the other hand, to reach the coupling of said at least two pendulums after the transit configuration, and that this speed is low enough for this coupling to take place without bouncing.

Once the direction of rotation of the hitch has been defined, “the first of said at least two pendulums” is defined by its position at the head of the hitch.

When the rotor is rotating around its axis, said at least two coupled balance wheels see their speed of rotation around the axis of the shaft around which they are articulated increase due to their "pendulum fall", this increase in their rotational speed corresponds to an angular moment created.

When the first pendulum is propelled by the calibrated separation impulse, it has acquired an angular momentum at least equal to that created by the pendular fall of the coupled pendulums then it crosses the transfer system, which generates the transfer of a part of the kinetic moment acquired by said front balance beam towards the rotor. And finally it joins the other pendulum(s) to tackle it in last position, which will allow the following sequence to unfold identically.

Thanks to the invention, it is therefore possible to produce a torque on a shaft without resting on a stator or a frame.

It is in particular possible to use the motor according to the invention to equip and orient a satellite, without resorting to gas jets. The engine according to the invention thus makes it possible to dispense with this gas and the mass of the tank containing it, without imposing a limit on the lifetime of the satellite.

Pendulums

Said at least two pendulums must be at least partially coplanar. In this case, said at least two pendulums cannot intersect or overlap, thus mutually limiting the amplitude of their relative movement between two coupling positions.

Said at least two pendulums can be circular sectors of the same mass, with an angle between 10° and 170°, preferably between 30° and 90°. In this case, they have a latitude of movement equal to 360° minus the sum of the value of their angular sectors. When said at least two rockers are circular sectors with an angle of at least 120°, the motor has only two rockers. Said at least two pendulums can also have other shapes, for example a rectangular, circular, triangular, or T-shaped shape, provided that it is possible to define an angular sector which circumscribes them.

In one embodiment of the invention, the engine comprises two balance wheels. In this case, the coupling and separation system is designed such that said at least two balances are positioned relative to each other according to two coupling configurations and according to a transit configuration, defined as the change from one coupling configuration to another.

When the engine comprises a number n of balancers, the coupling and separation system must be designed such that the n balancers are positioned relative to each other according to n possible coupling configurations and the configurations of transit correspond to the transition from one coupling configuration to the next.

Said at least two balance wheels, in particular when the engine comprises two balance wheels, can each comprise a flywheel centered on the axis of the shaft.

The motor may include an angular position sensor for each balance.

Each balance wheel can be articulated around the shaft by a rotating commutator, in particular to allow an electrical supply.

transfer system

Said at least one transfer system may comprise at least one conductive and non-magnetic element of elongated shape fixed to the rotor, in particular a rail, and at least one slowing down magnet fixed to each balance. Each slowing magnet is configured to produce eddy currents traversing said at least one conductive element when said slowing magnet passes through said at least one conductive element.

Said at least one conductive element can be made of aluminum, copper or carbon.

Said at least one conductive element is, imperatively, devoid of ferromagnetic material. Said at least one conductive element can form an area comprised between a circle with a smaller radius and a circle with a larger radius than the arc of a circle traversed by the centers of said slowing down magnets around the axis of the shaft.

Said at least one conductive element may have a U-shaped section. In this case, each slowing down magnet is positioned to cross said at least one rail between the two bars of the U, and oriented to maximize the eddy currents that its passage induces.

Said at least one conductive element can be fixed to the rotor near the circle traversed by the centers of said retardation magnets around the axis of the shaft. Preferably, said at least one conductive element is fixed at a point of the rotor located at a maximum distance from the axis of rotation of the rotor. Thus, when said first balance is slowed down by said at least one transfer system, the moment of the force exerted by said first balance on said at least one conductive element drives the rotor in rotation, this moment being maximized because the distance between the force that accelerates the rotor and the center of rotation of the rotor, is maximized.

Said at least one element of said at least one transfer system fixed to the rotor can, as a variant, be a rotary damper, for example hydraulic, electric, pneumatic and/or mechanical. In this case, each balance may include at least one lug allowing this damping to be actuated.

Coupling and separation system

A detection sensor may be able to identify the position of said first balance wheel and to trigger the calibrated separation pulse, sent into the coupling and separation system, of said at least two balance wheels. Said detection sensor can be optical, magnetic, capacitive and/or mechanical.

Each pendulum can comprise a magnet and a coil configured to couple with the magnet of another pendulum, among the pendulum(s) which are contiguous to it, when said at least two pendulums are in one of said at least two configurations of coupling.

In this case, the calibrated separation pulse can be obtained by a short electric current pulse in the coil integral with a pendulum producing a magnetic field opposite to the magnetic field of the magnet integral with the pendulum to which it is coupled. The coupling and separation system may comprise, for each rocker arm, an element configured to trigger the calibrated separation pulse, for example with a mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and/or pneumatic pulse.

The motor may comprise a control system, in particular comprising at least one microcontroller, configured to identify, by means of the detection sensor or the angular position sensor, the position of said first balance wheel at which the calibrated separation pulse must take place and to calibrate it, so that the coupling of said at least two pendulums after the transit configuration takes place without rebound. And this by adapting to the speed of rotation of the rotor, therefore to the value of the centrifugal acceleration which prevails at the level of the axis of the shaft.

In this case, said control system can be fixed on the rotor.

The control system can calibrate the separation pulse as a function of various parameters, for example as a function of the speed of rotation of the rotor, of the speed of said at least two balance wheels, of the inertia of said at least two balance wheels, of the number pendulums and/or centrifugal acceleration on the axis of the shaft.

Rotor and shaft

The axis of the shaft can be parallel to the axis of rotation of the rotor, within the inaccuracies of the assembly.

The rotor can be integral with the rotor of an auxiliary electric motor, in particular reversible, that is to say usable as a starter and as an electric generator. Said auxiliary electric motor can be configured to supply a starting torque to the rotor, and to supply a resistive torque during nominal operation of the motor, in order to maintain it at constant speed and to transmit, in doing so, the angular moment created to the object on which its stator is fixed.

In the case of use of the motor according to the invention for an object of given dimensions, the diameter of the rotor is preferably between 1 and 50% of the diameter of the circle in which said object is inscribed.

The torque supplied by the motor varying in proportion to the fifth power of its dimensions and to the square of its rotational speed of the rotor, the rotational speed of the rotor can be adapted to the dimensions chosen according to the torque required.

Operation method Another subject of the invention, according to another of its aspects, in combination with the foregoing, is a method of operating an engine as defined previously, comprising the following steps: a) said at least two balance wheels couple in one of said at least two coupling configurations using said coupling and separation system and rotate relative to the rotor around the axis of the shaft, under the action of the acceleration centrifugal which prevails when the rotor is rotating, this rotation corresponding to a creation of angular momentum, b) at a predefined angular position relative to the axis of the shaft, the coupling and separation system propels the first said at least two balance wheels in the direction of rotation of the rotor by a calibrated separation pulse, the following balance wheel or wheels being propelled by reaction in the opposite direction in order to position themselves in the transit configuration, so that q ue at least the angular moment created in step a) is transferred to the first balance, c) the first balance is slowed down by said at least one transfer system so that part of the angular moment of the first balance is transferred to the rotor, which generates a torque driving the rotor in rotation, and d) the first balancer couples to the following balancer(s) via the coupling and separation system, said at least two pendulums thus coupled being again in rotation in the direction of rotation of the rotor having changed relative position.

During step a), said at least two balance wheels are accelerating in the direction of rotation of the rotor.

During step b), the calibrated separation pulse transfers to the first of said at least two pendulums at least the angular momentum created during step a) by the complete coupling.

During step d), once coupled with the next balancer(s), the first balancer loses its “first” quality, which is instantly transferred to the old second balancer in the previous configuration. Step a) describes the pendular fall of said at least two balance wheels, in which the speed of rotation of said at least two balance wheels is increasing.

When said at least one transfer system comprises at least one conductive and non-magnetic element of elongated shape fixed to the rotor, in particular a rail, and at least one slowing down magnet fixed to each balance, step b) must be carried out at a predefined angular position in which the deceleration magnet of said first balance wheel is close to said at least one conductive and non-magnetic element.

Step b) can only be performed when the detection sensor of the coupling and separation system identifies the position of said first balance wheel, regardless of the detection mode used.

Steps a) to d) are repeated throughout the nominal operation of the motor.

When the motor has two balance wheels, each balance wheel is alternately the first balance wheel from one repetition to the other of steps a) to d).

Satellite

Another subject of the invention, according to another of its aspects, in combination with the above, is a satellite orientation system comprising at least one motor according to the invention.

The characteristics stated above for the motor apply to the method of operation and to the orientation system of a satellite.

When the engine includes an auxiliary electric motor, the stator of the latter is fixed to the satellite, possibly by means of a gimbal assembly in order to be able to orient the angular momentum vector created and then transferred to the satellite in any direction. .

Brief description of the drawings

The invention can be better understood on reading the detailed description which follows, non-limiting examples of implementation thereof, and on examining the appended drawings, in which:

[Fig 1] Figure 1 schematically shows, in top view, an example of a motor according to the invention,

[Fig 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example of a method according to the invention, [Fig 3] Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 of an example of a motor according to the invention in a coupling configuration,

[Fig 4] Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 of an example of an engine according to the invention in a transit configuration just after separation, before the passage of the first rocker in said at least one element fixed on the rotor of said at least one transfer system,

[Fig 5] Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1 of an example of a motor according to the invention in a transit configuration after the passage of the first rocker arm in said at least one element fixed to the rotor of said at least one transfer system,

[Fig 6] Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1 of an example of an engine according to the invention in a transit configuration just before the coupling of said rockers,

[Fig 7] Figure 7 shows, schematically, in cross section, a motor variant according to the invention,

[Fig 8] Figure 8 shows, schematically, in perspective, another engine variant according to the invention,

[Fig 9] Figure 9 illustrates, schematically, in top view, another device variant according to the invention in a coupling configuration,

[Fig 10] Figure 10 is a view similar to Figure 10 of an engine according to the invention in a transit configuration, and

[Fig 11] Figure 11 schematically represents a satellite orientation system according to the invention.

detailed description

In the remainder of the description, identical elements or identical functions bear the same reference sign. For the purpose of conciseness of the present description, they are not described with regard to each of the figures, only the differences between the embodiments being described. In the figures, the actual proportions have not always been respected, for the sake of clarity.

There is illustrated in Figure 1 an example of motor 1 according to the invention.

The motor 1 comprises a rotor 10 rotating around an axis O of rotation. The rotor 10 is, in this example, of circular shape with a diameter of 30 cm. When the engine 1 is in operation, rotor 10 rotates at a speed W, equal in this example to 60 rpm.

The motor 1 comprises, in the example described, two rockers 20 articulated around a shaft 15 fixed to the rotor 10 and extending along an axis A parallel to the axis O of rotation of the rotor 10. The two rockers 20 are mobile in rotation around the axis A. The axis A is located at a non-zero distance R from the axis O of rotation of the rotor 10, in this example at a distance R of 50 mm.

In this example, the pendulums 20 are circular sectors of 45° coplanar.

The motor 1 also comprises a transfer system 30 comprising an element 40 fixed to the rotor 10, in this example an elongated, conductive and non-magnetic aluminum rail 41 with a U-shaped section. The transfer system 30 also comprises, fixed to each balance 20, a deceleration magnet 23. The deceleration magnets 23 are placed in the front corner 25 of each balance 20, relative to the direction of rotation of the rotor 10.

In this example, the rail 41 forms an area comprised between a circle with a smaller radius and a circle with a larger radius than the arc of a circle traversed by the centers of said slowing down magnets 23 around the axis A of the shaft. 15, so that said magnets 23 are entirely inside the zone defined by the rail 41 when they pass through said zone. In order to maximize the lever arm, the rail 41 is fixed at a point of the rotor 10 located at a maximum distance from the axis O of rotation of the rotor 10.

Each slowing down magnet 23 is configured to produce eddy currents traversing the rail 41 when said magnet 23 is moving in the U-shaped section of the rail 4L

The transfer system 30 is configured to slow down each of the pendulums 20 when it is rotating around the axis A of the shaft 15 and when the slowing down magnet 23 crosses the rail 41, so that the force which slows down the pendulums 20 generate by reaction an opposite force which accelerates the rotor 10.

The engine 1 also includes a coupling and separation system 35 for the rocker arms 20 configured such that the two rocker arms 20 are positioned, in this example, relative to each other according to two coupling configurations and a transit configuration in which the two rockers 20 are separated from each other and moving from one coupling configuration to the other.

The rotor 10 and the pendulums 20 in the coupled configuration rotate in the same direction.

Figure 1 illustrates a first coupling configuration for rockers 20a and 20b and Figure 6 a second coupling configuration in which the position of rockers 20a and 20b is reversed. Figure 5 illustrates a transit configuration.

In this example, the coupling and separation system 35 comprises on each balance 20 a magnet 22 and a coil 21. The coil 21 of a balance 20 is configured to couple with the magnet 22 of the adjacent balance when the Rockers 20 are in a mating configuration and to repel magnet 22 upon separation.

In the coupling configurations, the two pendulums 20 have the same speed and are accelerating in the direction of rotation of the rotor 10, under the action of the centrifugal acceleration due to its speed W of rotation. The speed of rotation acquired by the two pendulums 20 due to their pendular fall between their coupling and their separation corresponds to an angular momentum created around the axis A.

In the transit configuration, the first of the two balances 20, in the example of FIG. 1 the balance 20a, is propelled by a calibrated separation pulse in the direction of rotation of the rotor 10. The next of the two balances, in the example of FIG. 1, the balance 20b is therefore propelled by reaction in the direction of rotation opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor 10 and at a rotational speed value lower than that of the first balance, so that the angular momentum transferred by said separation pulse calibrated to the first of the two rockers 20 alone is at least equal to the angular momentum created by the acceleration of the two rockers 20 during their movement in one of the coupling configurations.

In this example, the coupling and separation system 35 is configured to propel the first pendulum towards the rail 41 of the transfer system 30 by transferring to it an angular moment greater than that which the pendular fall of the two pendulums 20 in the configuration of mating has created. In this way, said first balance wheel can go up to the next coupling after having transferred to the rotor 10, during its passage through the transfer system 30. It is the angular moment created by said previous pendular fall which produces a motor torque driving the rotor 10 in rotation.

In this example, a detection sensor 11 is fixed to the rotor 10. This sensor is intended to identify the position of said first balance wheel at which the calibrated separation pulse will intervene, in this case to identify the passage of a magnet of slowdown 23. The detection sensor 11 is therefore, in this example, magnetic.

In this example, motor 1 comprises a control system 38 fixed to rotor 10, comprising at least one microcontroller, configured to identify the position of the first balance wheel at which the separation must take place and to calibrate the separation pulses, so that the coupling of the two pendulums 20 after the transit configuration takes place without rebound.

In this example, the control system 38 can measure, using an accelerometer not shown in this figure, the centrifugal acceleration that prevails at the place where this accelerometer is placed, and, once this acceleration has been measured, calculate the centrifugal acceleration on the shaft axis 15.

In this example, the control system 38 calibrates the separation pulse as a function of various parameters, including the speed W of rotation of the rotor 10, the speed of the pendulums 20, the inertia and the unbalance of the pendulums 20, and the centrifugal acceleration near the shaft 15.

Motor 1 shown in Figure 1 operates by implementing the method shown in Figure 2.

In a first step a, of which FIG. 1 illustrates the beginning and FIG. 3 illustrates the end, the two balances 20 are coupled together in one of the two coupling configurations using said coupling system and separation 35. They are rotating at the same rotational speed w relative to the rotor 10 around the axis A of the shaft 15 throughout the time that they are coupled. Under the action of the centrifugal acceleration which prevails when the rotor 10 is rotating, this speed co increases and this increase in speed corresponds to a creation of angular momentum.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, in a second step b, at a predefined angular position, the coupling and separation system 35 propels the first of the two rockers 20, in this example the rocker arm 20a, in the direction of rotation of the rotor 10 by a calibrated separation pulse. This calibrated separation pulse launches the two balance wheels 20 into the transit configuration.

In this example, this calibrated separation pulse is triggered when the detection sensor 11 locates the slowing down magnet 23 of the balance 20a. The separation pulse is produced by an electric current pulse in the coil 21 of the first balance, that is to say the balance 20a.

By reaction to this calibrated separation pulse, the next balance wheel, in this example the balance wheel 20b, is propelled in the direction of rotation opposite to the direction of rotation of the rotor 10.

After the calibrated separation pulse, the value of the rotation speed coi of the first balance wheel is greater in modulus than the value of the rotation speed C02 of the following balance wheel(s).

Thus, during step b, the calibrated separation pulse makes it possible, in this example, to transfer to the first pendulum an angular momentum greater than the angular momentum created during the descent of the coupled pendulums.

The angular momentum of the first pendulum is thus greater than that created in step a.

As illustrated in Figure 5, in step c, the first balance, in this example the balance 20a, was slowed down by the transfer system 30 when the deceleration magnet 23 of the first balance crossed the rail 4L

The movement of the slowing down magnet 23 has generated eddy currents in the rail 41. These currents have slowed down the first pendulum and generated by reaction an opposite force F whose moment around O accelerates the rotor 10. Thus, a part of the angular momentum of the first pendulum was transferred to the rotor 10, and this transfer produced a motor torque driving the rotor 10 in rotation.

Indeed, during the passage of the magnet 23 integral with the first balance, through the rail 41, it exerted an impulse F.dt, that is to say a force F, shown in Figure 5, for a time dt on rail 4L This pulse transferred part of the angular momentum of said first balance wheel to rotor 10 and therefore slowed it down.

In FIG. 5, the value of the speed coi of the first balance, after it has passed through the rail 41, is sufficient to allow it to join the second balance and couple there without rebound. Then, as shown in Figure 6, the two rockers 20 meet and couple through the coupling and separation system 35, the two rockers 20 thus coupled being again in rotation in the direction of rotation of the rotor 10 and can start again for a stage a.

The separation impulse is calibrated to propel the first pendulum with enough angular momentum to cross rail 41, but limited, however, to prevent a rebound during the next coupling.

In this example, it is the magnet 22 of the balance 20a which couples with the coil 21 of the balance 20b in a second coupling configuration.

In this example, after these steps, the position of the pendulums 20 is reversed with respect to their position in step a.

Steps a through d are repeated throughout rated motor operation

1.

Thus, in this example, each pendulum 20 is alternately the first pendulum during the progress of each sequence of steps a to d.

Other examples of motor 1 according to the invention have been illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 10.

In the example of Figure 7, the rotor 10 is integral with the rotor of a reversible auxiliary electric motor 50 (that is to say, which can be used as a generator). Said auxiliary electric motor 50 supplies a starting torque to the rotor 10, the latter supplies it in return with a torque when this auxiliary electric motor 50 is used as a generator during nominal operation of the motor 1. On this occasion, the stator of the auxiliary electric motor 50 used as a generator exerts the same torque on the object to which it is attached, this object possibly being a satellite, and, in doing so, the generator produces an electric current whose power is necessarily lower than that consumed by motor 1.

Still in this example, the motor 1 comprises a casing 51 surrounding the auxiliary electric motor 50 and the rotor 10. The rotor 10 has, in this example, the shape of a box closed at its longitudinal ends.

Figure 8 illustrates another example of motor 1 according to the invention. In this example, the coil 21, the magnet 22 and the deceleration magnet 23 of a single balance 20 have been shown, for reasons of clarity of the drawing. In this example the pendulums 20 are circular sectors of 90°, and the slowing down magnets 23 are carried by a piece in the shape of a racket 24.

In this example, each rocker arm 20 is articulated around the shaft 15 by a rotary commutator 45 and an angular position sensor 42 for each rocker arm 20 makes it possible to determine when to trigger the separation pulse. The two balances 20 further each comprise a flywheel 60.

There is illustrated in Figures 9 and 10 an example of motor 1 according to the invention comprising five rockers 20.

In this example, each pendulum 20 is a circular sector of 45°. In Figure 9, the rockers 20 are in a coupling configuration and in Figure 10, the rockers 20 are in a transit configuration.

There is illustrated in Figure 11 an example of an orientation system 110 of a satellite 100 comprising at least one motor 1 according to the invention, as shown in Figure 7.

Each main axis of inertia of the satellite can include such a motor or have the possibility, thanks to a gimbal assembly, of orienting the axis of the motor.

The invention is not limited to the examples which have just been described.

In particular, the rotor can have another diameter, depending on the nominal speed at which it operates and the torque it must provide.

The motor may comprise a different number of rockers, for example greater than three rockers.

Claims

1. Engine (1), intended in particular to equip and orient a satellite (100), comprising:

- a rotor (10) rotating around an axis of rotation (O),

- at least two rockers (20) articulated around a shaft (15) fixed to the rotor (10) and extending along an axis (A) distinct from the axis of rotation (O) of the rotor (10), said at least two rockers (20) being rotatable around the shaft (15),

- at least one transfer system (30) comprising at least one element (40) fixed to the rotor (10) and being configured to slow down each of said rockers (20) when during its rotation around the axis (A ) of the shaft (15) it passes through said at least one element (40) fixed to the rotor, so that the force which slows down each of said rockers (20) generates by reaction an opposite force (F) whose moment around the axis of rotation (O) accelerates the rotor (10), and

- a coupling and separation system (35) for the rockers (20) configured such that said at least two rockers (20) are positioned relative to each other according to at least two coupling configurations and one transit in which at least one pendulum (20) is separated from the other(s) and moving from one coupling configuration to the next, said coupling and separation system (35) being made such that:

¨ in the coupling configurations, said at least two pendulums (20) see their speed of rotation increase in the direction of rotation of the rotor (10), as they move away from the axis (O ) of said rotor (10), this increase corresponds to an angular momentum created,

¨ in the transit configuration, the first of said at least two balance wheels (20) is propelled in the direction of rotation of the rotor (10) by a calibrated separation pulse, the following one or more of said at least two balance wheels (20) being propelled (s) by reaction in the opposite direction to the direction of rotation of the rotor (10) and at a rotational speed value lower than that of the first balance wheel, so that the angular momentum transferred by said calibrated separation pulse to only the first of said at least two pendulums (20) is at least equal to the angular momentum created during the coupling of said at least two balance wheels preceding the transit configuration and materialized by the increase in the speed of rotation of said at least two balance wheels (20) in the coupling configuration, and

¨ after being propelled by the calibrated separation pulse, said first pendulum passes through said transfer system (30), on this occasion it is slowed down by said at least one transfer system (30), and part of its angular momentum is thus transferred to the rotor (10) which constitutes the driving torque of said rotor (10).

2. Engine according to claim 1, wherein said at least two rockers (20) are circular sectors of the same mass, with an angle between 10° and 170°, preferably between 30° and 90°.

3. Motor according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the axis (A) of the shaft (15) is parallel to the axis of rotation (O) of the rotor (10).

4. Motor according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one transfer system (30) comprises at least one conductive and non-magnetic element (40) of elongated shape fixed to the rotor (10), in particular a rail (41 ), and at least one deceleration magnet (23) fixed to each pendulum (20), each deceleration magnet (23) being configured to produce eddy currents flowing through said at least one conductive element (40) when said deceleration magnet (23) passes through said at least one conductive element (40).

5. Motor according to the preceding claim, in which said at least one conductive element (40) forms an area comprised between a circle of smaller radius and a circle of larger radius than the arc of a circle traversed by the centers of said magnets of slowdown (23) around the axis (A) of the shaft (15).

6. Engine according to one of claims 4 or 5, wherein said at least one conductive element (40) has a U-section.

7. Motor according to any one of claims 4 to 6, wherein said at least one conductive element (40) is fixed to the rotor (10) near the circle traveled by the centers of said retardation magnets (23) around the axis (A) of the shaft (15), preferably fixed at a point of the rotor (10) located at a maximum distance from the axis (O) of rotation of the rotor (10).

8. Motor according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein a detection sensor (11) is able to identify the position of said first balance and to trigger the calibrated separation pulse, sent into the coupling system and separation (35), said at least two rockers (20).

9. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each balance (20) comprises a magnet (22) and a coil (21) configured to mate with the magnet (22) of another balance (20). ), among the rocker or rockers which are contiguous to it, when said at least two rockers (20) are in one of said at least two coupling configurations.

10. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the coupling and separation system comprises, for each rocker arm, an element configured to trigger the calibrated separation pulse with a mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and/or pneumatic.

11. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising an angular position sensor (42) for each balance (20).

12. Motor according to claim 8 or 11, comprising a control system (38), in particular comprising at least one microcontroller, configured to identify, by means of the detection sensor (11) or the angular position sensor (42), the position of said first pendulum at which the calibrated separation pulse must take place and to calibrate it, so that the coupling of said at least two pendulums (20) after the transit configuration takes place without rebound.

13. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each rocker arm (20) is articulated around the shaft (15) by a slip ring (45).

14. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the rotor (10) is integral with the rotor of an auxiliary electric motor (50), reversible, said auxiliary electric motor (50) being configured to provide a starting torque to the rotor (10) and to supply in return a resistive torque during the nominal operation of the motor (1), in order to maintain it at constant speed and to transmit, in doing so, the angular moment created to the object on which its stator is fixed.

15. Motor according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising two rockers (20).

16. A method of operating an engine according to any preceding claim, comprising the following steps: a) said at least two rockers (20) couple in one of said at least two coupling configurations to the using said coupling and separation system (35) and rotate relative to the rotor (10) around the axis (A) of the shaft (15), under the action of the centrifugal acceleration which prevails when the rotor (10) is rotating, this rotation corresponding to a creation of angular momentum, b) at a predefined angular position relative to the axis of the shaft, the coupling and separation system (35 ) propels the first of said at least two rockers (20) in the direction of rotation of the rotor (10) by a calibrated separation pulse, the following rocker or rockers being propelled by reaction in the opposite direction in order to position themselves in the transit configuration, so that at least the angular momentum ue created in step a) is transferred to the first balance, c) the first balance is slowed down by said at least one transfer system (30) so that part of the angular momentum of the first balance is transferred to the rotor ( 10), which generates a torque driving the rotor (10) in rotation, and d) the first pendulum couples to the next pendulum(s) (20) via the coupling system and separation (35), said at least two pendulums (20) thus coupled being again in rotation in the direction of rotation of the rotor (10) having changed relative position.

17. Orientation system (110) of a satellite (100) comprising at least one motor (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 15.