Lynch motor
Encyclopedia
The Lynch motor is a flat (pancake) axial gap permanent magnet brushed DC motor
invented by Cedric Lynch.
United States patent 4823039 amongst others, cover the motor and its construction.
The motor was developed into a production item, by Cedric Lynch and Trevor Lees, in the early 1990s.
are rectangular, which made it possible to have them commercially made from material intended for this purpose without the expense of a special stamping tool. Because the flux
passes through the laminations along one axis only, it became possible to take advantage of grain-oriented material normally used in large transformer
s. This has much better magnetic properties along the grain orientation but worse properties in other directions, so in the traditional type of motor it gives little or no benefit.
This motor went into small-scale production in 1988 with the EV conversion firm London Innovation and later with the Lynch Electric Motor Company (LEMCO). In 1989 four of them powered the boat "An Stradag", driven by the Countess of Arran, to a world record speed for an electric boat of just over 80 km/h (50 mph). The motor was adopted by the Swiss company ASMO for use in its electric go-kart drive systems. Its efficiency extends the life of the batteries
and so improves the economics of running an electric kart track.
The patents and license rights for the manufacturing of the Lynch motor are held by the Lynch IP company, which has sold a license to Briggs and Stratton to manufacture the ETEK motor.
LEMCO continued to manufacture motors and now trades under the name of LMC (Lynch Motor Company) which now owns the Lynch IP company and therefore all rights and patents pertaining to the motor.
In 2009, Cedric Lynch has parted company with LMC and is working for Agni Motors, which is producing similar motors.
Lynch motors are mentioned as being a unique product in the documentary "The White Diamond
" about a lighter than air ship: "This is actually an interesting motor. It is designed by somebody called Lynch in England. He never went to University and doesn't know any mathematics and stuff like that, but he taught himself electrical engineering. And it turns out the motor he made is one the world's leading in terms of power and mass. And he's developed his own kind of algebra to do that but no other academic can understand what he's doing. But he seems to know more than many academics in electrical engineering departments because this motor is very good performance ... the best that I could find."
Brushed DC electric motor
A brushed DC motor is an internally commutated electric motor designed to be run from a direct current power source.-Simple two-pole DC motor:The following graphics illustrate a simple, two-pole, brushed, DC motor.DC Motor Rotation...
invented by Cedric Lynch.
United States patent 4823039 amongst others, cover the motor and its construction.
The motor was developed into a production item, by Cedric Lynch and Trevor Lees, in the early 1990s.
Description
In this motor the iron laminationsMagnetic core
A magnetic core is a piece of magnetic material with a high permeability used to confine and guide magnetic fields in electrical, electromechanical and magnetic devices such as electromagnets, transformers, electric motors, inductors and magnetic assemblies. It is made of ferromagnetic metal such...
are rectangular, which made it possible to have them commercially made from material intended for this purpose without the expense of a special stamping tool. Because the flux
Magnetic flux
Magnetic flux , is a measure of the amount of magnetic B field passing through a given surface . The SI unit of magnetic flux is the weber...
passes through the laminations along one axis only, it became possible to take advantage of grain-oriented material normally used in large transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...
s. This has much better magnetic properties along the grain orientation but worse properties in other directions, so in the traditional type of motor it gives little or no benefit.
This motor went into small-scale production in 1988 with the EV conversion firm London Innovation and later with the Lynch Electric Motor Company (LEMCO). In 1989 four of them powered the boat "An Stradag", driven by the Countess of Arran, to a world record speed for an electric boat of just over 80 km/h (50 mph). The motor was adopted by the Swiss company ASMO for use in its electric go-kart drive systems. Its efficiency extends the life of the batteries
Battery (electricity)
An electrical battery is one or more electrochemical cells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. Since the invention of the first battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta and especially since the technically improved Daniell cell in 1836, batteries have become a common power...
and so improves the economics of running an electric kart track.
The patents and license rights for the manufacturing of the Lynch motor are held by the Lynch IP company, which has sold a license to Briggs and Stratton to manufacture the ETEK motor.
LEMCO continued to manufacture motors and now trades under the name of LMC (Lynch Motor Company) which now owns the Lynch IP company and therefore all rights and patents pertaining to the motor.
In 2009, Cedric Lynch has parted company with LMC and is working for Agni Motors, which is producing similar motors.
Lynch motors are mentioned as being a unique product in the documentary "The White Diamond
The White Diamond
The White Diamond is a 2004 documentary film by Werner Herzog. It illustrates the history of aviation and depicts the struggles and triumphs of Graham Dorrington, an aeronautical engineer, who has designed and built a teardrop-shaped airship which he plans to fly over the forest canopies of Guyana...
" about a lighter than air ship: "This is actually an interesting motor. It is designed by somebody called Lynch in England. He never went to University and doesn't know any mathematics and stuff like that, but he taught himself electrical engineering. And it turns out the motor he made is one the world's leading in terms of power and mass. And he's developed his own kind of algebra to do that but no other academic can understand what he's doing. But he seems to know more than many academics in electrical engineering departments because this motor is very good performance ... the best that I could find."
Recent projects
- 2005 - ENV fuel cell motorcycle
- Orange Juice electric dragster with its unique four wheel drive unit. A video of Orange Juice running with a lithium battery pack can be seen here.
- 30th July 2008 - Four of the LMC version of the Lynch motor where used in a modified G-Wiz by the show Top Gear to beat a Ford MustangFord MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
in a straight-line race to 100mph. - 12 June 2009, Rob Barber won the inaugural Manx TTxGPTTXGPThe TTXGP, first conceived by Azhar Hussain in 2008, was a new event for the 2009 Isle of Man TT races. It was a one-lap, race for racing motorcycles "powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions." For 2010 the event was replaced by TT Zero, also created...
on an Agni Motors bike powered by an Agni motor, an improved version of the original Lynch motor.
Patents
- USA number 4823039
- USA number 6040645
- USA number 6459179
- Germany number 69419528.6
- Great Britain number 0884826
- Japan number 3120083
- Europe number 98114008.0 (CH, DE, FR, GB, LI, IT)