1. An electric power-generating system configured to convert a source of energy to electricity by turning a rotor shaft with the source of energy, the system comprising:
a mounting plate coupled to a frame;
a drive gear coupled to the rotor shaft and configured to move when the rotor shaft moves; and
a plurality of motorgenerator devices mounted to the mounting plate, each motorgenerator device including an output shaft configured to rotatably couple with the drive gear;
wherein each motorgenerator device couples independently to the drive gear to provide a plurality of redundant power generating motorgenerator devices.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the mounting plate comprises a first side and an opposing second side that is adjacent to a major surface of the drive gear, each output shaft extending from the second side of the mounting plate to rotatably couple with a peripheral edge of the drive gear.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the mounting plate is substantially co-planar with the drive gear and the plurality of motorgenerator devices comprise paired motorgenerator devices that are spaced apart to include a first motorgenerator device mounted substantially parallel to the plane defined by the drive gear and having a first output shaft coupled to a first major surface of the drive gear and a second motorgenerator device mounted substantially parallel to the plane defined by the drive gear and having a second output shaft coupled to a second major surface of the drive gear.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the paired motorgenerator devices are coupled radially relative to the drive gear and configured to move normal to the plane defined by the drive gear such that the output shafts remain engaged with the drive gear as the drive gear wobbles.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein each output shaft couples with the drive gear at an interface, the interface comprising a polymer.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein a periphery of the drive gear comprises a polymer lubricant of one of polyetheretherketone and polyimide.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the drive gear includes a plurality of teeth and each output shaft of each motorgenerator device includes shaft teeth configured to mesh with the teeth of the drive gear.
8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a mechanism configured to decouple an inactive motorgenerator device from the system.
9. The system of claim 1, wherein each motorgenerator device is a reversible motorgenerator device configured to power rotation of the drive gear.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein an output voltage for the system ranges from V to a product of N multiplied by V, wherein N is a number of motorgenerator devices mounted to the mounting plate and V is a voltage of each one of the motorgenerator devices.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of motorgenerator devices is mounted along a periphery of the mounting plate to have a linear density of about three motorgenerator devices per foot.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of motorgenerator devices comprises a plurality of motors.
13. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of motorgenerator devices comprises a plurality of generators.
14. An electric generator system comprising:
a frame;
a drive gear coupled to the frame; and
a plurality of generators each configured with an output shaft having a diameter that is less than a diameter of the drive gear and positioned to couple with the drive gear, wherein rotation of the drive gear caused by a source of energy rotates the output shafts of the generators and converts the source of energy to electricity.
15. The electric generator system of claim 14, wherein each of the plurality of generators is configured to generate electricity independent of an other of the plurality of generators.
16. The electric generator system of claim 14, wherein the drive gear is coupled to a rotor blade that configures the electric generator system as an airborne electric generator system.
17. The electric generator system of claim 14, wherein a diameter of the drive gear is at least 10 feet and the plurality of generators comprise opposing pairs of generators coupled radially around a periphery of the drive gear and configured to limit axial wobble movement of the drive.
18. An electric generator system comprising:
a frame;
a drive gear coupled to the frame; and
a plurality of motors each configured with an output shaft having a diameter that is less than a diameter of the drive gear and positioned to couple with the drive gear, wherein electricity generated by the motors is employed to rotate the output shafts, and the rotating output shafts rotate the drive gear.
19. The electric generator system of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of motors is configured to generate power independent of an other of the plurality of motors.
20. The electric generator system of claim 18, wherein the rotating output shafts rotate the drive gear, and the rotating drive gear rotates a rotor coupled to the drive gear to enable the system to generate aerodynamic lift.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An device comprising:
a cooling vessel with an inside wall, an outside wall and a central axis, wherein the inside wall and the outside wall are coaxially aligned about the central axis;
a first magnetic coil wound in a first plane with a diameter greater than forty centimeters; and
a second magnetic coil wound in a second plane, wherein the first magnetic coil is disposed opposite the second magnetic coil with respect to the central axis and within the cooling vessel between the inside wall and the outside wall, wherein the central axis intersects the first plane at a point, and wherein the central axis intersects the second plane at the point.
2. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
a cylindrical crucible, wherein the inside wall of the cooling vessel is coaxially disposed around the cylindrical crucible.
3. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
a third magnetic coil wound in a third plane; and
a fourth magnetic coil wound in a fourth plane, wherein the third magnetic coil is disposed opposite the fourth magnetic coil with respect to the central axis and within the cooling vessel between the inside wall and the outside wall, wherein the central axis intersects the third plane at the point, and wherein the central axis intersects the fourth plane at the point.
4. The device of claim 3, wherein an xy plane is perpendicular to the central axis, wherein the first plane intersects the xy plane at a first intersect line, wherein the third plane intersects the xy plane at a second intersect line, and wherein the first intersect line intersects the second intersect line at an angle greater than 135 degrees.
5. The device of claim 3, wherein the first magnetic coil has a first middle point, the second magnetic coil has a second middle point, the third magnetic coil has a third middle point and the fourth magnetic coil has a fourth middle point, wherein a first mid line passes through the first middle point, the central axis and the second middle point, wherein a second mid line passes through the third middle point, the central axis and the fourth middle point, and wherein the first mid line intersects the second mid line at the central axis.
6. The device of claim 5, wherein an xy plane passes through the first middle point, the second middle point, the third middle point and the fourth middle point, wherein the first plane intersects the xy plane at a first intersect line, wherein the third plane intersects the xy plane at a second intersect line, and wherein the first intersect line intersects the second intersect line at an angle greater than 135 degrees.
7. An device comprising:
a cylindrical crucible;
a cooling vessel with an inside wall, an outside wall and a central axis, wherein the inside wall of the cooling vessel is coaxially disposed around the cylindrical crucible;
a first magnetic coil looping in a first plane; and
a second magnetic coil looping in a second plane, wherein the first magnetic coil is disposed opposite the second magnetic coil with respect to the central axis and within the cooling vessel between the inside wall and the outside wall, and wherein the first plane intersects the central axis at a first angle with a range between 5 and 15 degrees.
8. The device of claim 7, wherein the second plane intersects the central axis at a second angle, and wherein the first angle equals the second angle.
9. The device of claim 7, wherein the central axis intersects the first plane at a point, and wherein the central axis intersects the second plane at the point.
10. The device of claim 7, wherein the first magnetic coil has a diameter of at least forty centimeters.
11. The device of claim 7, wherein the first plane intersects the central axis below the cylindrical crucible, wherein the second plane intersects the central axis below the cylindrical crucible at a second angle, and wherein the first angle equals the second angle.
12. The device of claim 7, wherein the first plane intersects the central axis above the cylindrical crucible, wherein the second plane intersects the central axis above the cylindrical crucible at a second angle, and wherein the first angle equals the second angle.
13. The device of claim 7, wherein an upper surface of molten semiconductor material is present in the cylindrical crucible, wherein the first magnetic coil has a diameter that equals a diameter of the second magnetic coil, and wherein the cylindrical crucible is located such that the upper surface of the molten semiconductor material is between 20% and 30% of the diameter of the first magnetic coil lower than the highest point of the first magnetic coil.
14. The device of claim 7, further comprising:
a third magnetic coil looping in a third plane; and
a fourth magnetic coil looping in a fourth plane, wherein the third magnetic coil is disposed opposite the fourth magnetic coil with respect to the central axis and within the cooling vessel between the inside wall and the outside wall, and wherein each of the first plane, the second plane, the third plane and the fourth plane intersects the central axis at the same point.
15. The device of claim 14, wherein an xy plane is perpendicular to the central axis, wherein the first plane intersects the xy plane at a first intersect line, wherein the third plane intersects the xy plane at a second intersect line, and wherein the first intersect line intersects the second intersect line at an angle greater than 135 degrees.
16. A method comprising:
pulling a single crystal of semiconductor material from molten semiconductor material in a cylindrical crucible, wherein a cooling vessel has an inside wall, an outside wall and a central axis, and wherein the inside wall of the cooling vessel is coaxially disposed around the cylindrical crucible; and
generating a magnetic field through the molten semiconductor material so as to suppress convection flows within the molten semiconductor material, wherein the magnetic field is generated using a first magnetic coil wound in a first plane and a second magnetic coil wound in a second plane, wherein the first magnetic coil is disposed opposite the second magnetic coil with respect to the central axis and within the cooling vessel between the inside wall and the outside wall, and wherein the first plane intersects the central axis at a first angle with a range between 5 and 15 degrees.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first magnetic coil has a first middle point, wherein the second magnetic coil has a second middle point, wherein a mid line passes through the first middle point, the central axis and the second middle point, and wherein the mid line passes through the molten semiconductor material.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first magnetic coil has a first middle point, wherein the second magnetic coil has a second middle point, wherein a mid line passes through the first middle point, the central axis and the second middle point, and wherein the mid line passes above an upper surface of the molten semiconductor material.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the first magnetic coil has a diameter that equals a diameter of the second magnetic coil, wherein an optimal field line passes through a first point on the first plane that is between 20% and 30% of the diameter lower than the highest point of the first magnetic coil, and wherein the optimal field line passes through a second point on the second plane that is between 20% and 30% of the diameter lower than the highest point of the second magnetic coil, further comprising:
maintaining the cylindrical crucible at a height such that the optimal field line passes approximately through an upper surface of the molten semiconductor material.
20. An device comprising:
a crucible adapted to hold a molten semiconductor material;
a cooling vessel with a central axis, wherein the cooling vessel is coaxially disposed around the crucible; and
means for generating a magnetic field centered on the central axis that is not symmetrical above and below any xy plane that is perpendicular to the central axis, wherein the magnetic field is at least 0.03 Tesla at some point along the central axis.
21. The device of claim 20, wherein the means includes a first coil looping in a first plane and a second coil looping in a second plane, wherein the first coil is disposed opposite the second coil with respect to the central axis, and wherein the first plane intersects the central axis at an angle with a range between 5 and 15 degrees.
22. The device of claim 20, wherein the means includes a first coil looping in a first plane and a second coil looping in a second plane, an xy plane is perpendicular to the central axis and intersects the crucible, wherein the first plane intersects the xy plane at a first intersect line, wherein the second plane intersects the xy plane at a second intersect line, and wherein the first intersect line intersects the second intersect line at an angle greater than 135 degrees.