Bearing assembly with integrated generator

Bearing assembly 100 mounts a harvesting generator 170 comprising a stator coil 178 and a permanent magnet rotor 175 with peripherally arranged alternating polarities magnets within an annular recess 142 of the bearing assembly end cap 140, which end cap is secured to the rotating shaft 110, the rotor rotational axis being different from the bearing rotational. A circumferentially extending target surface 125 of electrically conductive ferromagnetic or paramagnet material, e.g. steel, aluminium, is provided on the stationary bearing saddle adapter 120 of the bearing assembly, magnetic field lines from the magnets intersecting the target surface 125 during at least part of one revolution about the bearing axis causing the rotor to rotate and generate energy in the stator coil. Alternatively the axis of the rotor 475 is perpendicular to the bearing axis and the target surface 125 axially faces the permanent magnets. A pair of pm rotors may be mounted to a common axis, the rotors respectively interacting with the target surface and a claw pole 312 mounted stator coil 315 (fig 3). To reduce increased friction forces on the in the bearing the rotor may be positioned between the target surface and a laminated ferromagnetic body 317.