Patent ID: 7687957

Claim:
A magnet fixing structure for an electric rotary machine including a rotor core fixed to a rotary shaft and a plurality of magnets fitted to an outer periphery of the rotor core, said magnet fixing structure comprising: holder anchoring sections formed at regular intervals along the outer periphery of the rotor core; a plurality of holder members, each of said holder members being rigidly fitted to a respective one of said holder anchoring sections so as to extend along a longitudinal axis of the rotary shaft; and a plurality of magnet containing sections, each of said magnet containing sections being defined by an adjacent pair of said holder members and an outer peripheral surface of the rotor core so as to receive a respective one of the magnets press-fitted therein along the longitudinal axis of the rotary shaft; wherein each of said holder members has a T-shaped cross section having a main body extending along the longitudinal axis of the rotary shaft, and having a pair of magnet holding pieces extending outwardly from opposite lateral sides of said main body in a peripheral direction of the rotor core such that a gap is defined between each of said pair of magnet holding pieces and an outer peripheral surface of the rotor core, each of said magnet holding pieces being configured so as to have a first contact section for contacting a first portion of a respective one of the magnets, a second contact section for contacting a second portion of the respective one of the magnets, and a non-contact section between said first contact section and said second contact section shaped so as not to contact the respective one of the magnets.