www.japan.com/technology/index.php
When we first got the call from an excited colleague that hed just seen the most amazing invention - a magnetic motor that consumed almost no electricity - we were so skeptical that we declined an invitation to go see it. If the technology was so good, we thought, how come they didnt have any customers yet? We forgot about the invitation and the company until several months later, when our friend called again. In Japan, no one pays for 40,000 convenience store cooling fans without being reasonably sure that they are going to work. The maestro The streets of east Shinjuku are littered with the tailings of the many small factories and workshops still located there - hardly ones image of the headquarters of a world-class technology company. But this is where we are first greeted outside Kohei Minatos workshop by Nobue Minato, the wife of the inventor and co-director of the family firm. The workshop itself is like a Hollywood set of an inventors garage. Electrical machines, wires, measuring instruments and batteries are strewn everywhere. Along the diagram-covered walls are drill presses, racks of spare coils, Perspex plating and other paraphernalia. And seated in the back, head bowed in thought, is the 58-year-old techno maestro himself. In fact, he has been an entertainer for most of his life, making music and producing his daughters singing career in the US. He posseses an oversized presence, with a booming voice and a long ponytail. In short, you can easily imagine him onstage or in a convertible cruising down the coast of California - not hunched over a mass of wires and coils in Tokyos cramped backstreets. Joining us are a middle-aged banker and his entourage from Osaka and accounting and finance consultant Yukio Funai. The banker is doing a quick review for an investment, while the rest of us just want to see if Minatos magnetic motors really work. A prototype car air conditioner cooler sitting on a bench looks like it would fit into a Toyota Corolla and quickly catches our attention. Seeing is believing Nobue then takes us through the functions and operations of each of the machines, starting off with a simple explanation of the laws of magnetism and repulsion. She demonstrates the Minato Wheel by kicking a magnet-lined rotor into action with a magnetic wand. Looking carefully at the rotor, we see that it has over 16 magnets embedded on a slant - apparently to make Minatos machines work, the positioning and angle of the magnets is critical. After she kicks the wheel into life, it keeps spinning, proving at least that the design doesnt suffer from magnetic lockup. She then moves us to the next device, a weighty machine connected to a tiny battery. Apparently the load on the machine is a 35kg rotor, which could easily be used in a washing machine. After she flicks the switch, the huge rotor spins at over 1,500 rpms effortlessly and silently. Suddenly, a power source of 16 watt or so is driving a device that should be drawing at least 200 to 300 watts. Nobue explains to us that this and all the other devices only use electrical power for the two electromagnetic stators at either side of each rotor, which are used to kick the rotor past its lockup point then on to the next arc of magnets. Apparently the angle and spacing of the magnets is such that once the rotor is moving, repulsion between the stators and the rotor poles keeps the rotor moving smoothly in a counterclockwise direction. The meters showed an input to the stator electromagnets of approximately 18 volts and 150mA input, and from the generator, 9144 volts and 192mA output.
But according to the laws of physics, you cant get more out of a device than you put into it. We mention this to Kohei Minato while looking under the workbench to make sure there arent any hidden wires. The force supplying the unexplained extra power out is generated by the magnetic strength of the permanent magnets embedded in the rotor. Im simply harnessing one of the four fundamental forces of nature, he says. Real products Nobue Minato leads us to the two devices that might convince a potential investor that this is all for real. First, she shows us the cooling fan prototype that is being manufactured for a convenience store chains 14,000 outlets 3 fans per outlet. The unit looks almost identical to a Mitsubishi-manufactured fan unit next to it, which is the unit currently in wide use. The other unit is the car air conditioning prototype that caught our eye as we came in. Its a prototype for Nippon Denso, Japans largest manufacturer of car air conditioners. The unit is remarkably compact and has the same contours and size as a conventional unit. The banker and his investment Minato has good reason to complain about Japans social and cultural uniformity. For years, people thought of him as an oddball for playing the piano for a living, and bankers and investors have avoided him because of his habit of claiming that hed discovered a breakthrough technology all by himself - without any formal training. However, the Osaka banker stands up after the lecture and announces that before he goes, he will commit 100 million to the investment pool. We brought him good luck, and this was his third investor in as many weeks to confirm an interest. Bringing the tech to the table With the audience gone, we ask Minato what he plans to do to commercialize the technology. He wants to retain control, and he wants to commercialize the technology in Japan first - where he feels he can ensure that things get done right. His experiences in both countries, he suggests, have been less than successful. The first stage is critical in terms of creating good products and refining the technology. I dont want to be busy with legal challenges and IP theft while doing that. Still, the export and licensing of the technology are on his agenda, and Minato is talking to a variety of potential partners in other countries. Whereas another inventor might be tempted to outsource everything to a larger corporation, part of what drives Minato is his vision of social justice and responsibility. The 40,000 motors for the convenience store chain are being produced by a group of small manufacturers in Ohta-ku and Bunkyo-ku, in the inner north of Tokyo - which is becoming a regional rust belt. Minato is seized with the vision of reinvigorating these small workshops that until the 80s were the bedrock of Japans manufacturing and economic miracle. Their level of expertise will ensure that the quality of the motors will be as good as those from any major company. International prep Despite his plan to do things domestically first, Minato is well prepared for the international markets. He is armed with both six years of living and doing business in Los Angeles in the early 90s - and with patent protection for over 48 countries. His US experience came after playing the piano for a living for 15 years. The idea for his magnetic motor design came from a burst of inspiration while playing the piano. But Minato decided to drop everything in 1990 to help his daughter Hiroko, who at the age of 20 decided that she wanted to be a rhythm and blues star in the US. Minato is a strong believer in family: If Hiroko was going to find fame and fortune in the US, Dad had better be there to help manage her. He suceeded in helping Hiroko to achieve a UK dance chart number one hit in 1995. The following year he displayed his prototypes to national power companies, government officials and others at a five-day conference in Mexico City. Interest was palpable, and Minato realized that his invention might meet a global need for energy-saving devices. Subsequent previews and speeches in Korea and Singapore further consolidated his commitment to bringing the invention to fruition, and he was able to bring in several early-stage investors. He also stayed in constant contact with his lawyer, registering patents in major countries around the world. Through his experiences in the US he realized that legal protection was critical, even if it meant delaying release of the technology by a couple of years. Ironically, by the time hed won patents in 47 countries, the Japanese patent ...
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