Patents by Inventor Michael Richard Ricci

Michael Richard Ricci has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10574110
    Abstract: A lightweight and efficient electrical machine element including a method of manufacture providing a stator winding for an electric machine which has a large portion of its volume containing electrically conductive strands and a small portion of its volume containing of an encapsulant material. The stator winding includes winding of a first phase by shaping a portion of a bundle of conductive strands into an overlapping, multi-layer arrangement. Winding of successive phases occurs with further bundles of conductor strands around the preceding phases constructed into similar overlapping, multi-layer arrangements. The multiple phases are impregnated with the encapsulant material using dies to press the bundles into a desired form while expelling excess encapsulant prior to the curing of the encapsulant material. The encapsulated winding is removed from the dies after the encapsulant has cured. The encapsulant coating on the strands may be activated using either heat or solvent.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: LAUNCHPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Geoffrey Alan Long, Bradley E. Paden, Michael Richard Ricci, David Brian Paden, Jonathan Gordon Sugar
  • Patent number: 10468955
    Abstract: An axial flux brushless permanent magnet electrical machine having a stator and at least one rotor. The rotor includes a Halbach array of magnets with at least four magnets per magnetic cycle. The rotor magnets are contained within pockets in the rotor. The pockets are formed with magnet pocket walls being radial walls, active surface walls, and/or inactive surface walls where the walls retain the magnets within the pockets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: LAUNCHPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Richard Ricci, Jonathan Gordon Sugar, Bradley Evan Paden, David Brian Paden
  • Publication number: 20190058384
    Abstract: An axial flux brushless permanent magnet electrical machine having a stator and at least one rotor. The rotor includes a Halbach array of magnets with at least four magnets per magnetic cycle. The rotor magnets are contained within pockets in the rotor. The pockets are formed with magnet pocket walls being radial walls, active surface walls, and/or inactive surface walls where the walls retain the magnets within the pockets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2018
    Publication date: February 21, 2019
    Inventors: Michael Richard RICCI, Jonathan Gordon SUGAR, Bradley Evan PADEN, David Brian PADEN
  • Patent number: 10141822
    Abstract: An axial flux brushless permanent magnet electrical machine having a stator and at least one rotor. The rotor includes a Halbach array of magnets with at least four magnets per magnetic cycle. The rotor magnets are contained within pockets in the rotor. The pockets are formed with magnet pocket walls being radial walls, active surface walls, and/or inactive surface walls where the walls retain the magnets within the pockets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2018
    Assignee: LAUNCHPOINT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Michael Richard Ricci, Jonathan Gordon Sugar, Bradley Evan Paden, David Brian Paden
  • Publication number: 20160365755
    Abstract: A lightweight and efficient electrical machine element including a method of manufacture providing a stator winding for an electric machine which has a large portion of its volume containing electrically conductive strands and a small portion of its volume containing of an encapsulant material. The stator winding includes winding of a first phase by shaping a portion of a bundle of conductive strands into an overlapping, multi-layer arrangement. Winding of successive phases occurs with further bundles of conductor strands around the preceding phases constructed into similar overlapping, multi-layer arrangements. The multiple phases are impregnated with the encapsulant material using dies to press the bundles into a desired form while expelling excess encapsulant prior to the curing of the encapsulant material. The encapsulated winding is removed from the dies after the encapsulant has cured. The encapsulant coating on the strands may be activated using either heat or solvent.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Publication date: December 15, 2016
    Inventors: Geoffrey Alan LONG, Bradley E. PADEN, Michael Richard RICCI, David Brian PADEN, Jonathan Gordon SUGAR
  • Publication number: 20160329795
    Abstract: An axial flux brushless permanent magnet electrical machine having a stator and at least one rotor. The rotor includes a Halbach array of magnets with at least four magnets per magnetic cycle. The rotor magnets are contained within pockets in the rotor. The pockets are formed with magnet pocket walls being radial walls, active surface walls, and/or inactive surface walls where the walls retain the magnets within the pockets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Publication date: November 10, 2016
    Inventors: Michael Richard RICCI, Jonathan Gordon SUGAR, Bradley Evan PADEN, David Brian PADEN
  • Publication number: 20080303355
    Abstract: A variable reluctance electric motor employs motor coils installed adjacent to or integral with railroad rails and uses the steel wheels of railroad locomotives and cars as its moving elements. This “rail motor” electrically propels unmodified conventional railroad trains or individual railroad cars, without the use of diesel engines and with no mechanical connection to the vehicles, and is electronically controlled. Electric operation eliminates the production of air pollution by any locomotive traveling through rail motor-equipped zones, improves system capacity by providing boost power on ascending grades, and can be used to brake trains, recovering and storing the energy.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2008
    Publication date: December 11, 2008
    Inventors: Orlo James Fiske, Michael Richard Ricci
  • Patent number: 6873235
    Abstract: One or more permanent magnets, or one or more permanent magnet arrays are used to produce shear force levitation. A primary application of shear force levitators is a levitated ring energy storage device. Such a levitated ring energy storage device includes a round support structure having a first magnetic levitator or levitator array encircling its outer periphery, and a ring encircling the support structure and having a second magnetic levitator or levitator array encircling its inner periphery, such that the first and second magnetic levitators (or levitator arrays) interact to produce a vertical force that levitates the ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Magtube, Inc.
    Inventors: Orlo James Fiske, Chen Chen, Michael Richard Ricci, Bradley Evan Paden
  • Patent number: 6684794
    Abstract: A magnetically levitated transportation system employs permanent magnet rails along a guideway that interact with permanent magnets on a vehicle. The rails are optimized to reduce magnetic mass, while maximizing lift force. In one example, the arrays are composed of arrays of magnets having rotating magnetizations, such as Halbach arrays. In another example, the arrays are cup-shaped to provide stronger magnetic field forces in the central portion of the array, relative to the lateral portion of the array. The vehicle may be stabilized in the lateral and yaw directions with feedback controlled lateral control coils that interact with the permanent magnet rails on the guideway. Vertical, pitch and roll motions may be controlled or damped with eddy-current damper coils or plates or with active feedback control to control the coils.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2004
    Assignee: Magtube, Inc.
    Inventors: Orlo James Fiske, Chen Chen, Michael Richard Ricci, Bradley Evan Paden
  • Publication number: 20030217668
    Abstract: A magnetically levitated transportation system employs permanent magnet rails along a guideway that interact with permanent magnets on a vehicle. The rails are optimized to reduce magnetic mass, while maximizing lift force. In one example, the arrays are composed of arrays of magnets having rotating magnetizations, such as Halbach arrays. In another example, the arrays are cup-shaped to provide stronger magnetic field forces in the central portion of the array, relative to the lateral portion of the array. The vehicle may be stabilized in the lateral and yaw directions with feedback controlled lateral control coils that interact with the permanent magnet rails on the guideway. Vertical, pitch and roll motions may be controlled or damped with eddy-current damper coils or plates or with active feedback control to control the coils.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2002
    Publication date: November 27, 2003
    Applicant: MAGTUBE, INC.
    Inventors: Orlo James Fiske, Chen Chen, Michael Richard Ricci, Bradley Evan Paden
  • Publication number: 20030192449
    Abstract: One or more permanent magnets, or one or more permanent magnet arrays are used to produce shear force levitation. A primary application of shear force levitators is a levitated ring energy storage device. Such a levitated ring energy storage device includes a round support structure having a first magnetic levitator or levitator array encircling its outer periphery, and a ring encircling the support structure and having a second magnetic levitator or levitator array encircling its inner periphery, such that the first and second magnetic levitators (or levitator arrays) interact to produce a vertical force that levitates the ring.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2003
    Publication date: October 16, 2003
    Applicant: MAGTUBE, INC.
    Inventors: Orlo James Fiske, Chen Chen, Michael Richard Ricci, Bradley Evan Paden