Patent ID: 7119519

Claim:
A control apparatus for use with an on-vehicle generator provided with a stator winding and a field winding and driven to rotate by an on-vehicle engine, the control apparatus comprising: single power supplying means having positive and negative terminals, being directly connected to an output terminal of the generator, and providing current to the field winding for excitation thereof, the field winding having two terminals; chargeable storage means having positive and negative pole terminals and being directly connected to the output terminal of the generator; a switching circuit having a switching element configured to be turned on and off and to selectably and electrically connect or disconnect a current path between the field winding and the output terminal, the switching element including a first switch placed, through the output terminal, to connect one terminal of the field winding and the positive terminal of the power supplying means and a second switch placed to connect the other terminal of the field winding and the negative terminal of the power supplying means; and a regeneration circuit providing, through the output terminal, the storage means with the current flowing through the field winding depending on magnetic energy preserved in the field winding when the switching element is turned off, wherein the regeneration circuit includes a first diode placed to connect the one terminal of the field winding and the negative pole terminal of the storage means and a second diode placed, through the output terminal, to connect to the other terminal of the field winding and the positive pole terminal of the storage means.