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United States Patent
Magnetic Flux Conduits

Patent Number: 6,720,855
Date of Patent: 13 April 2004
Inventor: Vicci; Leandra (Siler City, NC)
Assignee: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Appl. No.: 092586
Filed: March 8, 2002
Int. Cl.: H01F 017/06
U.S. Cl.: 336/178; 29/602.1
28 Claims

Abstract
A magnetic flux guiding apparatus comprises a conduit having a wall that comprises an electrically conducting material. An electrically insulating gap is formed in the wall along an entire length of the conduit. The electrically insulating gap prevents the conduit from having a closed electrical path that links any of the desired magnetic flux paths. For example, the electrically insulating gap can prevent the conduit from having a closed electrical path that surrounds a lengthwise axis of the conduit. The apparatus can also comprise a magnetic-field source that produces a magnetic flux that passes through an interior region bounded by the conduit. Where the conduit comprises a conventional electrically conducting material, the magnetic-field source can be a source of time-varying magnetic flux, such as an electrical coil. Where the conduit comprises an electrically superconducting material, the magnetic-field source can also be a source of time-varying magnetic flux or constant magnetic flux, such as a permanent magnet.