The present invention relates generally to a magnetic hinge system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for magnetic attachment involving a magnetic hinge having complementary magnetic structures.
A magnetic hinge system includes a first component associated with a first object, a second component associated with a second object, and an axle. The first component includes a first hole and a first magnetic structure having a first plurality of magnetic source regions having a first polarity pattern and the second component includes a second hole and a second magnetic structure having a second plurality of magnetic source regions having a second polarity pattern complementary to said first polarity pattern. The axle can be inserted into the first hole and the second hole such that the first and second magnetic structures face each other across an interface boundary, wherein the first polarity pattern and said second polarity pattern are in accordance with a cyclic implementation of a code of length N that has a cyclic correlation function having a single peak and a plurality of off peaks per code modulo.
The magnetic hinge system can be configured to have low friction between the first and second components.
The first and second polarity patterns can be irregular polarity patterns.
The first and second magnetic structures can produce a peak attract force when in a complementary rotational alignment position.
The complementary rotational alignment position can correspond to a desired alignment of said first component and said second component.
The complementary rotational alignment position can correspond to a closed position of door.
The first and second magnetic structures can produce an off-peak force that is an attract force less than the peak attract force when the male component has been rotated relative to the female component plus or minus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position and said cyclic implementation of the code includes only one code modulo of the code.
The first and second magnetic structures can produce an off-peak force that is a substantially zero force when the male component has been rotated relative to the female component plus or minus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position and said cyclic implementation of the code includes only one code modulo of the code.
The first and second magnetic structures can produce an off-peak force that is a repel force when the male component has been rotated relative to the female component plus or minus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position and said cyclic implementation of the code includes only one code modulo of the code,
The code can be a Barker code.
Each symbol of the code can be implemented with one of a region having a first polarity or a region having a second polarity.
Each symbol of the code can be implemented with an irregular polarity pattern.
Each symbol of the code can be a Barker code.
Each symbol of the code can be implemented with alternating polarity regions, where one polarity region can be rotated relative to another polarity region and/or polarities of opposing regions of the first and second magnetic structures can be exchanged.
The first component can be integrated into the first object.
The second component can be integrated into the second object.
At least one of the first magnetic structure or the second magnetic structure can be ring shaped.
At least one of the first magnetic structure or the second magnetic structure can include a plurality of discrete magnets.
The present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference number first appears.
The present invention will now be described more fully in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention should not, however, be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Certain described embodiments may relate, by way of example but not limitation, to systems and/or apparatuses comprising magnetic structures, magnetic and non-magnetic materials, methods for using magnetic structures, magnetic structures produced via magnetic printing, magnetic structures comprising arrays of discrete magnetic elements, combinations thereof, and so forth. Example realizations for such embodiments may be facilitated, at least in part, by the use of an emerging, revolutionary technology that may be termed correlated magnetics. This revolutionary technology referred to herein as correlated magnetics was first fully described and enabled in the co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,800,471 issued on Sep. 21, 2010, and entitled “A Field Emission System and Method”. The contents of this document are hereby incorporated herein by reference. A second generation of a correlated magnetic technology is described and enabled in the co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,868,721 issued on Jan. 11, 2011, and entitled “A Field Emission System and Method”. The contents of this document are hereby incorporated herein by reference. A third generation of a correlated magnetic technology is described and enabled in the co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,179,219, issued May 15, 2012, and entitled “A Field Emission System and Method”. The contents of this document are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Another technology known as correlated inductance, which is related to correlated magnetics, has been described and enabled in the co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,115,581 issued on Feb. 14, 2012, and entitled “A System and Method for Producing an Electric Pulse”. The contents of this document are hereby incorporated by reference.
Material presented herein may relate to and/or be implemented in conjunction with multilevel correlated magnetic systems and methods for producing a multilevel correlated magnetic system such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,568 issued Jul. 19, 2011 which is all incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Material presented herein may relate to and/or be implemented in conjunction with energy generation systems and methods such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/184,543 filed Jul. 17, 2011, which is all incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Such systems and methods described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,256 issued Mar. 23, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,750,781 issued Jul. 6, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,755,462 issued Jul. 13, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,812,698 issued Oct. 12, 2010, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,817,002, 7,817,003, 7,817,004, 7,817,005, and 7,817,006 issued Oct. 19, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,821,367 issued Oct. 26, 2010, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,823,300 and 7,824,083 issued Nov. 2, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 7,834,729 issued Nov. 16, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 7,839,247 issued Nov. 23, 2010, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,843,295, 7,843,296, and 7,843,297 issued Nov. 30, 2010, U.S. Pat. No. 7,893,803 issued Feb. 22, 2011, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,956,711 and 7,956,712 issued Jun. 7, 2011, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,958,575, 7,961,068 and 7,961,069 issued Jun. 14, 2011, U.S. Pat. No. 7,963,818 issued Jun. 21, 2011, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,015,752 and 8,016,330 issued Sep. 13, 2011, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,035,260 issued Oct. 11, 2011 are all incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a magnetic hinge system comprises a first component and a second component, where the first component can be rotated relative to the second component. The first component comprises a first magnetic structure having a first plurality of magnetic source regions having a first polarity pattern. The second component comprises a second magnetic structure having a second plurality of magnetic source regions having a second polarity pattern complementary to said first polarity pattern. The first component and second component are configured such that an axle can be inserted into a hole within the first component and a hole of the second component such that the first and second magnetic structures face each other across an interface boundary. Under one arrangement, the interface boundary is configured to have low friction between the first and second components.
The first and second polarity patterns may be in accordance with a cyclic implementation of a code of length N having a cyclic correlation function having a single peak and a plurality of off peaks per code modulo. The first and second magnetic structures produce a peak attract force when in a complementary rotational alignment position. The first and second magnetic structures produce an off-peak force that is one of an attract force less than the peak attract force, a substantially zero force, or a repel force when the male component has been rotated relative to the female component plus or minus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position. The first and second magnetic structure produce substantially the same off-peak force when the male component has been rotated relative to the female component between plus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position and minus 360/N degrees from the complementary rotational alignment position.
Typically N is greater than 2, but N can be 2.
Under one arrangement, the first and second polarity patterns are irregular polarity patterns. Under such an arrangement, the code can be a Barker code having a length greater than 2.
Under another arrangement. Each symbol of the code can be implemented with a single polarity region, with alternating polarity regions where the alternating polarity regions can be arc segments that form concentric circles, or with an irregular polarity pattern such as a Barker code. The arc segments can also be subdivided into smaller arc segments having a polarities within a given symbol portion that is part of a given concentric circle. One concentric circle can be rotated relative to another concentric circle and the polarities of opposing concentric circles of the two magnetic structures can be exchanged.
The first component 102a and/or the second component 102b may include optional holes 110, for example counter-sunk holes, enabling attachment to objects (e.g., a cabinet door, a cabinet) using screws, nails, etc. Alternatively or additionally, either or both of the first component 102a and second component 102b may have an adhesive on their back side (i.e., the sides opposite the flat faces shown). Such an adhesive may have a protective layer that can be removed to expose the adhesive at the time of installation. Furthermore, the first component 102a or the second component 102b could be integrated into an object.
One skilled in the art will understand that the first and second magnetic structures can be placed into the first and second components in such a way that their peak attach force rotational alignment position corresponds to a desired alignment of the hinges, for example, corresponding to a closed position of an object such as a cabinet door.
Optionally, a low friction interface can be provided between the first and second magnetic structures 502a 502b. A low friction interface could be provided by a layer of a low friction material such as Teflon that can be placed on either or both of the first and second magnetic structures 502a 502b. Various other well-known approaches for providing a low friction interface can be used such as placing a spacer ring around the axle that prevents contact of the two magnetic structures. Under one arrangement either the first peg 406a is taller than thickness of the first magnetic structure 502a or the second circular peg 406b 406a is taller than thickness of the first magnetic structure 502b thereby providing a spacing between the first and second magnetic structures.
As with the first exemplary magnetic hinge system 300, the first and second magnetic structures 402a 402b can be assembled in the magnetic hinge system 600 such that a complementary alignment position corresponds to a desired rotational position of two attached objects.
Although the examples provided above were based on a Barker 13 code and a Barker 7 code, any of the other Barker codes can be used in accordance with the present invention. Moreover pseudorandom codes can be used as well as other such codes, as has been previously disclosed.
One skilled in the art will recognize that the correlation functions in this disclosure are idealized, but illustrate the main principle and primary performance. The curves show performance assuming equal magnetic source size, shape, and strength and equal distance between corresponding magnetic sources. For simplicity, the plots only show discrete integer positions and interpolate linearly. Actual force values may vary due to various factors such as diagonal coupling of adjacent magnetic sources, magnetic source shape, spacing between magnetic sources, properties of magnetic materials, intrinsic attraction forces, etc. The curves also assume equal attract and repel forces for equal distances. Such forces may vary considerably and may not be equal. One skilled in the art will also understand that combinations of magnetic sources of different sizes, shapes, field strengths, spacings, and magnetic materials can be used to practice the invention.
While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited thereto, since modifications may be made by those skilled in the art, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings.
This application is a continuation in part of non-provisional application Ser. No. 14/035,818, titled: “Magnetic Structures and Methods for Defining Magnetic Structures Using One-Dimensional Codes” filed Sep. 24, 2013 by Fullerton et al. and claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of provisional application 61/851,275, titled “Magnetic Hinge System”, filed Mar. 11, 2013, by Fullerton et al.; Ser. No. 14/035,818 is a continuation in part of non-provisional application Ser. No. 13/959,649, titled: “Magnetic Device Using Non Polarized Magnetic Attraction Elements” filed Aug. 5, 2013 by Richards et al. and claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of provisional application 61/744,342, titled “Magnetic Structures and Methods for Defining Magnetic Structures Using One-Dimensional Codes”, filed Sep. 24, 2012 by Roberts; Ser. No. 13/959,649 is a continuation in part of non-provisional application Ser. No. 13/759,695, titled: “System and Method for Defining Magnetic Structures” filed Feb. 5, 2013 by Fullerton et al., which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13/481,554, titled: “System and Method for Defining Magnetic Structures”, filed May 25, 2012, by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,368,495; which is a continuation-in-part of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 13/351,203, titled “A Key System For Enabling Operation Of A Device”, filed Jan. 16, 2012, by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,314,671; Ser. No. 13/481,554 also claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of provisional application 61/519,664, titled “System and Method for Defining Magnetic Structures”, filed May 25, 2011 by Roberts et al.; Ser. No. 13/351,203 is a continuation of application Ser. No. 13,157,975, titled “Magnetic Attachment System With Low Cross Correlation”, filed Jun. 10, 2011, by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 8,098,122, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/952,391, titled: “Magnetic Attachment System”, filed Nov. 23, 2010 by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,961,069; which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/478,911, titled “Magnetically Attachable and Detachable Panel System” filed Jun. 5, 2009 by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,295; Ser. No. 12/952,391 is also a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/478,950, titled “Magnetically Attachable and Detachable Panel Method,” filed Jun. 5, 2009 by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,296; Ser. No. 12/952,391 is also a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/478,969, titled “Coded Magnet Structures for Selective Association of Articles,” filed Jun. 5, 2009 by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,843,297; Ser. No. 12/952,391 is also a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/479,013/titled “Magnetic Force Profile System Using Coded Magnet Structures,” filed Jun. 5, 2009 by Fullerton et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,839,247; the preceding four applications above are each a continuation-in-part of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 12/476,952 filed Jun. 2, 2009, by Fullerton et al., titled “A Field Emission System and Method”, which is a continuation-in-part of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 12/322,561, filed Feb. 4, 2009 by Fullerton et al., titled “System and Method for Producing an Electric Pulse”, which is a continuation-in-part application of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 12/358,423, filed Jan. 23, 2009 by Fullerton et al., titled “A Field Emission System and Method”, which is a continuation-in-part application of Non-provisional application Ser. No. 12/123,718, filed May 20, 2008 by Fullerton et al., titled “A Field Emission System and Method”, U.S. Pat. No. 7,800,471, which claims the benefit under 35 USC 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/123,019, filed Apr. 4, 2008 by Fullerton, titled “A Field Emission System and Method”. The applications and patents listed above are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61851614 | Mar 2013 | US | |
61851275 | Mar 2013 | US | |
61744342 | Sep 2012 | US | |
61519664 | May 2011 | US | |
61123019 | Apr 2008 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 13481554 | May 2012 | US |
Child | 13759695 | US | |
Parent | 13157975 | Jun 2011 | US |
Child | 13351203 | US | |
Parent | 12952391 | Nov 2010 | US |
Child | 13157975 | US | |
Parent | 12478911 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12952391 | US | |
Parent | 12478950 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12952391 | US | |
Parent | 12478969 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12478950 | US | |
Parent | 12479013 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12478969 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 14035818 | Sep 2013 | US |
Child | 14198249 | US | |
Parent | 13959649 | Aug 2013 | US |
Child | 14035818 | US | |
Parent | 13759695 | Feb 2013 | US |
Child | 13959649 | US | |
Parent | 13351203 | Jan 2012 | US |
Child | 13481554 | US | |
Parent | 12476952 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12478950 | US | |
Parent | 12476952 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12952391 | US | |
Parent | 12476952 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12478969 | US | |
Parent | 12476952 | Jun 2009 | US |
Child | 12479013 | US | |
Parent | 12322561 | Feb 2009 | US |
Child | 12476952 | US | |
Parent | 12358423 | Jan 2009 | US |
Child | 12322561 | US | |
Parent | 12123718 | May 2008 | US |
Child | 12358423 | US |