Patent ID: 7569956

Claim:
A tandem alternator comprising: a rotary shaft; a pulley provided on an end portion of the rotary shaft; a first and a second electric power generation unit that are arranged in tandem in an axial direction of the rotary shaft; a housing rotatably supporting the rotary shaft and accommodating therein both the first and second electric power generation units, the housing having a first and a second end wall that are apart from each other in the axial direction of the rotary shaft with the first and second electric power generation units intervening therebetween, the first end wall being closer to the first electric power generation unit than the second electric power generation unit, the second end wall being closer to the second electric power generation unit than the first electric power generation unit, the housing also accommodating therein the rotary shaft with the end portion of the rotary shaft protruding outside from the first end wall of the housing, the housing having a plurality of air holes that are formed through the first end wall of the housing and located outside the pulley in a radial direction of the rotary shaft; and a first and a second rectifier working to respectively rectify AC powers output from the first and second electric power generation units into DC powers, the first rectifier being so fixed to an outer surface of the first end wall of the housing as to be located outside the pulley in the radial direction of the rotary shaft and cover only part of the air holes, the second rectifier being fixed to an outer surface of the second end wall of the housing.