Patent ID: 6943469

Claim:
An apparatus for generating electricity in response to externally supplied rotational energy, the apparatus comprising: a stator core; a plurality of stator coils proximate the stator core; a rotor shaft responsive to the externally supplied rotational energy to rotate within the stator core; a plurality of rotor windings rotating with the rotor shaft and responsive to an electrical current, wherein rotation of the rotor windings generates an electrical current in the stator coils; a first coolant source for providing cooling fluid; a plurality of coolant flow paths proximate to one or more of the stator core, the plurality of stator coils, the rotor shaft and the plurality of rotor windings; one or more primary blowers connected to the rotating rotor and responsive to the cooling fluid for causing the cooling fluid to traverse one or more of the plurality of coolant flow paths; and a supplemental cooling blower proximate one or more of the plurality of coolant flow paths for moving the cooling fluid there through to supplement cooling provided by the one or more primary blowers through the plurality of coolant flow paths; wherein the apparatus has a center axis about which the rotor shaft rotates, wherein certain of the plurality of coolant flow paths comprise inlet coolant flow paths through the stator core through which the cooling fluid flows radially inward toward the center axis, and certain others of the plurality of coolant flow paths comprise discharge coolant flow paths through the stator core through which the cooling fluid flows radially outward away from the center axis, and wherein the supplemental blower is positioned proximate one or more of the inlet coolant flow paths for increasing the coolant flow there through; and the apparatus further comprising a second coolant source for providing cooling fluid, wherein the supplemental blower is responsive to the cooling fluid from the second coolant source for providing the cooling fluid from the second coolant source to one or more of inlet coolant flow paths.