Patent ID: 8097994

Claim:
A vehicle AC generator comprising: a stator core having a plurality of slots on the inner circumferential portion thereof; a pair of cases, one of which is disposed at one axis-direction end portion of the stator core and the other one of which is disposed at the other axis-direction end portion and that have respective axis-direction contact faces that make contact with the corresponding axis-direction end faces of the stator core, at least one of the cases in the pair having an air inlet for taking in cooling air that enters the case and an air outlet for discharging the cooling air to the outside of the case; a plurality of through-bolts that fix the pair of cases integrally with the stator core and extend in the axis direction of the stator core on the outer circumferential surface of the stator core; a stator coil that is mounted in the plurality of slots and has coil end portions, one of which protrudes in the axis direction from the one axis-direction end portion of the stator core and the other one of which protrudes in the axis direction from the other axis-direction end portion; a rotor shaft pivotably supported by the pair of cases; a rotor that is fixed on the rotor shaft and disposed in an inner space of the stator core; and one or more cooling fans fixed on at least, one axis-direction end portion of the rotor, wherein at least one of the pair of cases has an air inlet for taking in cooling air to the inside of the case and an air outlet for discharging the cooling air to the outside of the case, wherein at least one of the pair of cases is provided with the axis-direction contact face and an inner circumferential contact face that makes contact with part of the outer circumferential surface, of the stator core, that extends from the periphery of the axis-direction end face of the stator core in the axis direction of the stator core, and wherein the axis-direction contact face has a first cooling air path that communicates with an outer circumference surface of the coil end portion, and the inner circumferential contact face has a second cooling air path that communicates with the first cooling air path and opens in the axis direction of the stator core at the outer circumferential surface of the stator core.