Rotating electric machine

1. A rotating electric machine comprising:

a rotor; and

a stator including a hollow cylindrical stator core and a multi-phase stator coil, the stator core being disposed in radial opposition to the rotor and having a plurality of slots arranged in a circumferential direction thereof, the stator coil being mounted on the stator core so as to be received in the slots of the stator core,

wherein

the stator coil includes three first windings, three second windings and three switch units,

the first windings are Δ-connected to define three nodes therebetween,

the second windings are arranged so as to be respectively connectable between the nodes and three phase terminals of the stator coil,

the switch units respectively switch the connections between the nodes and the phase terminals between a direct connection state and an indirect connection state, thereby switching the stator coil between a Δ connection and a Y-Δ connection,

in the direct connection state, the nodes are respectively directly connected with the phase terminals so that the stator coil forms the Δ connection,

in the indirect connection state, the nodes are respectively connected with the phase terminals via the second windings so that the stator coil forms the Y-Δ connection, and

the first and second windings are mounted on the stator core so that the entire first windings are located closer than the entire second windings to the rotor.

2. The rotating electric machine as set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a drive circuit that supplies the Δ-connected first windings with electric current having a waveform that is obtained by superimposing a specific harmonic waveform on a first-order harmonic waveform, the specific harmonic waveform being one of third-order and (3+6n)th-order harmonic waveforms or a harmonic waveform which is obtained by synthesizing at least two of the third-order and (3+6n)th-order harmonic waveforms, where n is a natural number greater than or equal to 1, the specific harmonic waveform taking a positive integral value for a positive half cycle of the first-order harmonic waveform and a negative integral value for a negative half cycle of the first-order harmonic waveform.

3. The rotating electric machine as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the first and second windings of the stator coil are formed of a plurality of electric wire segments,

the electric wire segments are axially inserted in the slots of the stator core to have free end parts thereof protruding from an axial end face of the stator core, and

each corresponding pair of distal ends of the free end parts of the electric wire segments are joined to each other.

4. The rotating electric machine as set forth in claim 3 , wherein each of the electric wire segments forming the first and second windings of the stator coil has a substantially rectangular cross section,

in each of the slots of the stator core, there are received an even number of the electric wire segments so as to be radially aligned with each other, and

among the even number of the electric wire segments, an even number of those electric wire segments which are located closest to the rotor are included in the first windings.

5. The rotating electric machine as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a cross-sectional area of each of the first windings is less than a cross-sectional area of each of the second windings.

6. The rotating electric machine as set forth in claim 1 , wherein each of the first windings is formed of a laminated electric wire that includes a plurality of electric conductors laminated in a state of being electrically insulated from each other.