Patent ID: 7791241

Claim:
A three-phase alternating current generator for a vehicle having an engine, the generator comprising: a rotor driven by the engine, the rotor having a cylindrical rotor member made of magnetic material, 4n permanent magnets disposed on the rotor member in a circumferential direction at equal intervals; and a stator, located in the cylindrical rotor member, having a stator core with 3n (n is an integer) teeth disposed in a circumferential direction at equal intervals to confront the permanent magnets, an armature winding and three output ends from which electric power is supplied to an electric load, the armature winding including Δ-connected three-phase windings composed of 3n coils, wherein: each of the 3n coils is wound around one of the teeth in the same winding direction and has first and second ends, the first end of one of the 3n coils wound around a first one of the teeth is connected to the second end of another coil wound around a second one of the teeth that is fourth from the first one of the teeth to form one of the Δ-connected three-phase windings, and a width in a circumferential direction of a portion of each of the 3n teeth confronting one of the permanent magnets is substantially equal to a width in a circumferential direction of each of the permanent magnets.