Patent ID: 7564156

Claim:
A vehicle-use tandem electric rotating machine comprising: a first stator-rotor pair including a first rotor core having a first field coil wound therearound and a first stator core having a first stator coil wound therearound; a second stator-rotor pair including a second rotor core having a second field coil wound therearound and a second stator core having a second stator coil wound therearound; and a controller individually controlling a first field current flowing into said first field coil and a second field current flowing into said second field coil in order to individually regulate a generation voltage induced in said first stator coil and a generation voltage induced in said second stator coil; said first and second rotor cores being fixed to a common shaft driven by an engine of a vehicle, said first stator-rotor pair being configured to generate electric power to be supplied to essential electric loads which always need electric power when said vehicle is running and a first battery to which said essential electric loads are parallel-connected, said second stator-rotor pair being configured to generate electric power to be supplied to non-essential electric loads which do not always need electric power and a second battery to which said non-essential loads are parallel-connected, wherein said first stator-rotor pair is capable of charging said first battery when rotational speed of said engine is above a predetermined threshold speed set below an idle speed of said engine, and said second stator-rotor pair is capable of charging said second battery when rotational speed of said engine is above said idle speed.