Hoverboard which generates magnetic lift to carry a person

摘要

A hoverboard is described. The hoverboard includes four hover engines each including a motor. The motor rotates an arrangement of magnets to induce eddy currents and generate magnetic lift which causes the hoverboard to hover in the air. The hoverboard can be tilted to propel it in a particular direction. The hover engines can each be coupled to a tilt mechanism which is coupled to a flexible rider platform. When rider platform is flexed via rider induced forces, the hover engines can be tilted individually to provide translational forces.

主权项

1. A hoverboard comprising:
two or more hover engines, each hover engine having, an electric motor including a winding, a first set of permanent magnets and a first structure which holds the first set of permanent magnets wherein an electric current is applied to the winding to cause one of the winding or the first set of permanent magnets to rotate; an electronic speed controller which controls a rotation rate of the electric motor; a rotatable component, configured to receive a rotational torque from the electric motor which rotates the rotatable component including a second set of permanent magnets and a second structure which holds the second set of permanent magnets wherein the second set of permanent magnets are rotated to induce eddy currents in a substrate such that the induced eddy currents and the second set of permanent magnets interact to generate forces which cause the hoverboard and a person standing on the hoverboard to hover and translate from location to location along the substrate; and a shroud enclosing the electric motor and at least a top portion of the rotatable component; an electric power source that outputs the electric current to the two or more hover engines; a rider platform on which the person stands, the two or more hover engines structurally linked to the rider platform; a mechanical hinge coupled to a first hover engine of the two or more hover engines which allows the rotatable component, the electric motor and the shroud of the first hover engine to tilt relative to the rider platform wherein a magnitude of a translational force, output from the first hover engine, changes in response to tilting the rotatable component, the electric motor and the shroud and wherein the translation force is used to control an orientation of the hoverboard relative to the substrate; an actuator, including an actuator controller, which outputs a force that changes a tilt position of the first hover engine from a first tilt position to a second tilt position in response to an input force generated by the person; one or more sensors configured to measure a direction and/or a magnitude of the input force generated by the person; and a logic device configured to receive sensor data from the one or more sensors, communicate with the actuator controller and based upon the sensor data, command the actuator controller to output the force to tilt the first hover engine.