System for concentrating magnetic flux

摘要

An improved system for concentrating magnetic flux of a multi-pole magnetic structure at the surface of a ferromagnetic target uses pole pieces having a magnet-to-pole piece interface with a first area and a pole piece-to-target interface with a second area substantially smaller than the first area, where the target can be a ferromagnetic material or a complementary pole pieces. The multi-pole magnetic structure can be a coded magnetic structure or an alternating polarity structure comprising two polarity directions, or can be a hybrid structure comprising more than two polarity directions. A magnetic structure can be made up of discrete magnets or can be a printed magnetic structure.

主权项

1. A lateral magnet assembly, comprising:
a multi-pole magnetic structure comprising one or more pieces of a magnetizable material having a plurality of polarity regions for providing a magnetic flux, said magnetizable material having a first saturation flux density, said plurality of polarity regions being magnetized in a plurality of magnetization directions; and a plurality of pole pieces of a ferromagnetic material for integrating said magnetic flux across said plurality of polarity regions and directing said magnetic flux at right angles to one of a target or a complementary lateral magnet assembly, said ferromagnetic material having a second saturation flux density, each pole piece of said plurality of pole pieces having a magnet-to-pole piece interface with a corresponding polarity region and a pole piece-to-target interface with said one of said target or said complementary lateral magnet assembly, and having an amount of said ferromagnetic material sufficient to achieve said second saturation flux density at the pole piece-to-target interface when in a closed magnetic circuit, said magnet-to-pole piece interface having a first area, said pole piece-to-target interface having a second area, said magnetic flux being routed into said pole piece via said magnet-to-pole interface and out of said pole piece via said pole piece-to-target interface, said routing of said magnetic flux through said pole piece resulting in an amount of concentration of said magnetic flux at said pole piece-to-target interface corresponding to the ratio of the first area divided by the second area, said amount of concentration of said magnetic flux corresponding to a maximum force density.