Patent ID: 7592723
Filing Date: 2009-09-22
Classification: H02K

Abstract:
1. A vehicular electric rotary machine, comprising: a frame having a rear end wall formed with an intake passage and a circumferential wall formed with an exhaust passage; a stator fixedly supported by the frame and having a stator winding adapted to generate an alternating current voltage; a rotor rotatably supported inside the stator; a cooling fan fixedly secured to the rotor for drawing a cooling wind through the intake passage to an inside of the frame from which the cooling wind is exhausted to an outside through the exhaust passage; a cooling fin disposed on the rear end wall of the frame; a rectifier mounted on the cooling fin for rectifying the alternating current voltage; and rectifier cooling heat pipe means including an evaporator section held in close contact with the cooling fin and a condenser section extending to at least one of the intake passage and the exhaust passage to be exposed thereto; wherein the rectifier cooling heat pipe means includes a radially outward region extending along an outer surface of the frame for exposure to the exhaust passage to be cooled by the cooling wind being exhausted from the exhaust passage to the outside.