Joule Motor

[Lynxsteam]

The Lynx Joule Motor/Generator is designed to run, do work, put out more voltage than it consumes, and be able to charge back to its own battery.  (It doesn't create free energy)  I have just started experimenting with this circuit, and am finding some interesting things that it does.
Timing is a whole area to explore.  I am sure as I play with this I will get the thumping sound out of it.  Right now the bearings are wood which wont last long.
I toyed with not using a commutator to switch on the transistor.  I tried LED to LED reciever and a LED to LDR.  They both sort of worked but would have needed to be amplified and they consume 40-50 ma.  Both light sensor circuits barely turned on the transistor.

The Joule Motor concept is similar to a Joule Thief in that it utilizes the flyback to do something useful.  In this case a second coil is given a burst of energy right near BDC.  On the second half of the rotation the magnets spin past the coils inducing a current.  This motor will generate disconnected and just had turned.  I haven't even figured out what the timing of the voltages and currents are in relation to the power pulses.

Unfortunately this isn't a super easy thing to make.  But you can pretty much see the basics.  Getting a commutator and brushes right was the most time consuming part.  By now you have figured out I like aircore coils.  There is no cogging in alternators and motors, and no losses to heat in the iron core.  There is no reason this wouldn't work even better with Neo magnets.  Neos are self defeating with a Bedini motor , but with this motor it would be a benefit.

I don't expect anyone to rush out and replicate this.  I would like your thoughts on what the interaction between the power cycle and generator cycle might be, and how it could be optimized. 

My thinking has been that if Over Unity is possible it will need to come from a borrowed external source of energy into the system.  That is one reason why I have been playing with Joule Thief circuits, Magnets, Bedini Motors, and now this Lynx Joule Motor/Generator.  This is the first DC motor I have seen that puts out more voltage than it takes for a given rpm.  Classic Joule Thief stuff that keeps us interested.

I will upload a video tonight.  http://youtu.be/1gWZchP8-Hk

[TinselKoala]

This is the first DC motor I have seen that puts out more voltage than it takes for a given rpm.

How are you measuring? Do you use an oscilloscope?

You can make excellent self-lubricating wooden bearings out of a wood known as "lignum vitae" which you can sometimes find as scraps in hardwood lumber stores (flooring, etc.) It's so dense that it doesn't even float in water.

[MeggerMan]

Nice work.
This reminds me of the window motor from a few years back.


But this needs to put out more average voltage and current than it uses to be useful.


Do you see an increase in battery terminal voltage?
Can it be run for a long duration?  If so you could check the capacity of the 9v battery with a battery analyser.
example: Ripmax Peak Prodigy pro.


Some small non-sealed ceramic bearings would help, the type used in RC models for the gearboxes/bel housing.

5x10x4
Also, switching could be done using a microcontroller and you would measure the back emf from the second coil to determine rotor position.


Cheers
Rob

[Lynxsteam]

Team,

No! drive battery voltage does not increase as the motor runs, nor does output amperage exceed input.  I know with some fine tuning the timing can be optimized.  The nice thing, compared to the Bedini motor/charger, is that with load the power doesn't drop, meaning this motor has torque to do work and still the output voltage remains higher than input.  It will run for quite a while on the 9 volt, but I haven't been scientific.

I don't have an oscilloscope.  I can pretty much guess what is happening and I can hear it.  The only thing I haven't studied very well, is what is taking place on a coil leg that is being fluxed by a passing magnet while the coil is energized.  Is the induced voltage additive or subtractive? 

The generated output is there even without the AC through the rectifier.  So evidently the zener diode is allowing positive current to flow back through the coils to the battery positive.

I ordered some axially magnetized Neo magnets which will allow me to bring the coils very close.  The cylinder shaped magnets have a 1/4" ID hole that I can use for a shaft and then use proper bearings.  The commutator will be a brass eccentric (adjustable).  The brush will be a single spring steel wire (adjustable dwell angle) and the shaft will complete the circuit for triggering the transistor.

I will just take this as far as it goes and see if the motor can be made to be hyper efficient.  Its kind of silly to take 9-12 volts and charge a 9-12 volt battery.  But if ever there was a way to get close to Unity this is the route I would take.  Borrowing some energy from a magnet.

[TinselKoala]

Reed switches, mechanical commutators... will cause problems sooner or later. Some people believe that the noise and jitter of mechanical switching systems is necessary for the effect they are seeking. I don't. Mechanical systems will always freeze up, short out, become unreliable and noisy. There is an incredible amount of engineering effort in the mechanical commutation of a simple DC hobby motor, for example, and they still wear out and need capacitors to lessen wear-increasing arcing at the commutator.

You can trigger your 3055 with an inductive pickup coil wound into your motor coils, or next to them, or, my preferred method, a good Hall effect sensor switch that gives a clean sharp TTL pulse transition for its output. You can get these from Allegro Microsystems (digikey) for a couple of dollars and they are well worth it, for the trouble they eliminate when used right. A simple mounting arrangement and you have full control of timing and dwell, without the jitter, unreliability and lack of repeatability of an improvised mechanical commutation system.

However, if you feel that the mechanical system is necessary for your desired effect, a good reed switch, properly protected from arcing, placed in the right spot, will fire your transistor and will be better than a brush-commutator system or a cam-interrupt system.