Electricity: magnetically operated switches – magnets – and electr – Magnets and electromagnets – Superconductive type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-22
2001-11-06
Donovan, Lincoln (Department: 2832)
Electricity: magnetically operated switches, magnets, and electr
Magnets and electromagnets
Superconductive type
C335S296000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06313725
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a magnetizing method for producing “a coupled body of superconducting magnets”, comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets, as magnetized and lined up such that respective polarities alternately vary, and is intended to provide members for producing a magnetic field suitable to, for example, a linear motor, a rotating motor, an actuator, a magnetic separation system, and so forth.
RELATED ART
Upon discovery of oxide superconductors having the critical temperature exceeding liquid nitrogen temperatures, there have since been made available various high-temperature superconducting materials, and application techniques for high-temperature superconducting coils and bulk superconductors, using such materials, have been under intense study lately.
Now, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. H 7-111213, it has been known that a strong magnetic field can be arrested by bulk superconductors such as a high-temperature RE—Ba—Cu—O based oxide superconducting bulk body (Re refers to rare earth elements such as Y, La, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and so forth), and so forth by taking advantage of a large pinning effect of the pinning center formed therein, and the bulk superconductors can therefore be utilized as pesudo-permanent magnets, and there has already been obtained material capable of arresting a magnetic field having a strength in excess of 10 T.
Also, it is under study to apply such bulk superconductors to prime movers such as a rotating motor, a linear motor, an actuator, and so forth, a magnetic separation system for separating magnetic substances from a mixture (used in, for example, sorting of ores, processing of effluent from factories, recycling process of paper, and the like), and so forth by utilizing a strong magnetic field arrested by the bulk superconductors.
It is to be pointed out, however, that a driving force caused by a magnetic field is largely dependent on not only the strength of the magnetic field but also a magnetic field gradient. It follows that if the magnetic field gradient is zero, the driving force will not act on a magnetic body however strong the magnetic field may be.
Accordingly, for obtaining a magnetic driving force by the agency of a permanent magnet, and the like, it is necessary to line up a plurality of magnets such that the polarities of the respective magnets vary one after another, thereby causing a magnetic field gradient to occur.
For this reason, in the case of, for example, the rotating motor, linear motor, actuator, magnetic separation system, and so forth as described above, magnets are lined up such that the polarities of adjacent magnets alternately vary with the aim of causing a magnetic field gradient to occur.
In order to implement such lineup of magnets, it has been necessary to magnetize a plurality of members for magnetization, respectively, by applying a magnetizing process thereto before lining up magnetized members such that the polarities thereof alternately vary, or to provide each of a plurality of members for magnetization, already lined up in a predetermined arrangement, with a coil for use in a magnetizing process, and subsequently to magnetize each of the members for magnetization such that the polarities of the adjacent members as magnetized alternately vary.
However, with “a method of magnetizing members for magnetization by providing each of the members for magnetization with a coil for use in a magnetizing process”, a magnetizing system becomes complex and redundant. Accordingly, the method may be permissible for mere research purposes, but it has posed a major problem with its use as industrial means in respect of cost and work efficiency.
Meanwhile, with “a method of magnetizing members for magnetization, respectively, before lining up the members as magnetized such that the polarities thereof alternately vary”, the following problem has been encountered in the case of the members for magnetization being bulk superconductors, and accordingly, this method has not been regarded as practical means either.
More specifically, as a magnetizing method for bulk superconducting magnets, a method (method of cooling in a magnetic field) is normally adopted, whereby bulk superconductors are disposed in a space of a magnetic field produced by a superconducting coil magnet, the bulk superconductors in this state are cooled to the critical temperature thereof or lower in the magnetic field, and subsequently, the magnetic field is removed.
However, it has been inevitable to determine that “the method of magnetizing members for magnetization, respectively, before lining up the members as magnetized such that the polarities thereof alternately vary” is unsuitable for industrial means in the case of producing bulk superconducting magnets because the bulk superconducting magnets after magnetization have already been cooled to an extremely low temperature, and in addition, have a very strong magnetic force, so that it is very difficult and risky to line up such bulk superconducting magnets such that the directions of magnetization (polarities) thereof vary individually, thereby causing a magnetic field gradient to occur.
This problem has turned out more serious with bulk superconducting magnets having potential for excellent performance, and capable of arresting a large magnetic field.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Under the circumstance, an object of the invention is to establish means of producing easily and at low cost “a coupled body of superconducting magnets”, comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets lined up such that the polarities thereof alternately vary so as to cause a magnetic field gradient to occur.
The inventors have carried out intense studies to achieve the object described above, and as a result, have succeeded in obtaining novel and singular knowledge that a coupled body comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets, having an alternating magnetic field, and a large magnetic field gradient, can be obtained simply and easily by coupling a plurality of members for bulk superconducting magnets with each other in such a way as to be freely foldable, and unfoldable by use of a freely foldable coupling mechanism such as a hinge or the like when magnetizing the members for the bulk superconducting magnets, and applying a magnetizing process to the plurality of the members for the bulk superconducting magnets in as folded state before unfolding and releasing the same.
The invention has been developed on the basis of the knowledge described above, and it is an object of the invention to provide “a magnetizing method for producing a coupled body comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets with respective polarities varying” as described hereinafter:
(1) a magnetizing method for producing a coupled body comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets with respective polarities varying, comprising the steps of coupling adjacent members for bulk superconducting magnets of a plurality of members for bulk superconducting magnets with each other in such a way as to be freely superposable, foldable, and unfoldable, superposing all the members for the bulk superconducting magnets on top of one after another, and applying a magnetizing process thereto in as superposed state, and unfolding alternately and juxtaposing the respective bulk superconducting magnets as superposed after the magnetizing process; and
(2) a magnetizing method for producing a coupled body comprised of multi-pole bulk superconducting magnets with respective polarities varying, wherein the magnetizing process is applied to a superposed body of the members for the bulk superconducting magnets by keeping superposing faces of the respective members for the bulk superconducting magnets in an half-open state so as to have an angle formed between the superposing faces of the adjacent members for the bulk superconducting magnets without the superposing faces coming into close contact with each other.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5208571 (1993-05-01), Muller
pat
Kobayashi Atsuyuki
Miyamoto Takeshi
Murakami Masato
Nagashima Ken
Tsukamoto Osami
Donovan Lincoln
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Nguyen Tuyen T.
Railway Technical Research Institute
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