Machine element or mechanism – Engine starters – Automatic
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-17
2001-09-11
Herrmann, Allan D. (Department: 3682)
Machine element or mechanism
Engine starters
Automatic
C074S00700R, C074S00700R, C335S131000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286378
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starter for starting an engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 9
is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional starter disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-159693-1998.
In
FIG. 9
,
1
A is an output shaft. An electromagnetic switch
2
A, an over-running clutch
30
A provided with a pinion
30
P which meshes with a ring gear
50
A, a plunger
40
A comprising an inner plunger
4
A and an outer plunger
4
B, etc. are arranged coaxially on this output shaft
1
A. A starter with this structure is generally called a coaxial type starter.
12
A is an armature of a DC electric motor and
16
A is a shaft (a motor shaft).
18
A is a reduction mechanism which reduces the rotational force of the shaft
16
A and transmits it to the output shaft
1
A.
8
A is a contact shaft supported by an inner gear member
17
A of the reduction mechanism
18
A almost parallel with the plunger
40
A through a supporting hole
17
m.
100
is a bracket and
800
is a shift plate which connects the outer plunger
4
B with the contact shaft
8
A.
The upper portion from the central axis in
FIG. 9
shows the state of a starter not in operation and the lower portion shows the state wherein the starter is in operation with an electromagnetic switch turned ON and the pinion meshed with the ring gear.
Next, the operation of the starter is explained. The operation will be explained referring also to
FIG. 10
, which is a partially enlarged view of FIG.
9
.
First, when an ignition switch is turned ON and current flows to an exciting coil
2
B of the electromagnetic switch
2
A, the outer plunger
4
B is attracted by the exciting core
2
C of the electromagnetic switch
2
A. This conventional starter has such a structure that the outer plunger
4
B is directly connected with the contact shaft
8
A via the shift plate
800
. When the outer plate
4
B is attracted by the exciting coil
2
B, the contact shaft
8
A is also moved simultaneously. Between the outer plunger
4
B and the inner plunger
4
A, there is a coil spring
401
mounted via a spring bracket
400
. The inner plunger
4
A is kept in the stationary state because the coil spring
401
bends at the initial stage even when the outer plunger
4
B is attracted and begins to move. In front of the inner plunger
4
A, an inner clutch
30
B is mounted via a shifter member
402
and as long as the inner plunger
4
A is kept in the stationary state, the inner clutch
30
B is also kept in the stationary state. After a short interval when the plunger
4
B is attracted and begins to move, a movable contact
80
A mounted on the contact shaft
8
A comes into contact with a stationary contact
80
B mounted in the contact chamber ZA. When the movable contact
80
A is brought into contact with the stationary contact
80
B, electric power is supplied from an external power source via a contact bolt
11
A and an armature
12
A begins to turn. When the output shaft
1
A begins to turn by way of the reduction mechanism
18
A, the pinion
30
P is caused to move toward the ring gear
50
A by a thrust generated in a helical spline portion
1
B, and the threads and the thread grooves of the pinion
30
P and the ring gear
50
A agree and mesh. Thereafter, when the engine starts, the output shaft
1
A and the pinion
30
P are separated by the action of the overrunning clutch
30
A and the pinion runs idle. When the power supply to the exciting coil
2
B is stopped, the pinion
30
P is disengaged from the ring gear
50
A by return springs
403
,
404
.
However, in the case of a conventional starter disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 10-159693-1998, the outer plunger
4
B is directly connected with the contact shaft
8
A by the shift plate
800
. The contact shaft
8
A also moves simultaneously with the attraction and movement of the outer plunger
4
B and therefore, the movable contact
80
A immediately comes into contact with the stationary contact
80
B and the armature
12
A begins to rotate before the end surface
30
Pe of the pinion
30
P comes into contact with the end surface
50
Ae of the ring gear
50
A.
That is, according to the above conventional starter, the pinion
30
P meshes with the ring gear
50
A by rotating the pinion
30
P by driving the armature
12
. However, in the above starter, the thrust generated in the helical spline portion
1
B is insufficient to press the pinion
30
P toward the ring gear
50
A and the coil spring
401
is also incapable of pressing the pinion
30
P toward the ring gear
50
A. Therefore, when meshing with the ring gear
50
A, the pinion
30
P is often repelled by the ring gear
50
A and tries again to mesh with it.
Accordingly, the pinion
30
P does not mesh with the ring gear
50
A smoothly and reliability when the pinion
30
P meshes inadequately with the ring gear
50
A. In addition, the gears are worn away and the life span of the gears is shortened.
In the case of a starter with a structure wherein the contact shaft moves by the same amount as the outer plunger as in the above starter, it is required to secure a moving space for a plate (an engaging ring, etc.) to hold the coil spring
9
S for pressing the contact shaft and the movable contact in the contact chamber and, as a result, the contact chamber inevitably becomes large.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made to solve such problems as those mentioned above and its object is to provide a starter which is capable of meshing the pinion with the ring gear more smoothly than before, so that the pinion meshes with the ring gear in an excellent manner, reducing abrasion of the gears and thus, extending the life of the gears.
Another object is to provide a starter that is capable of more smoothly meshing the pinion with the ring gear, downsizing the starter.
In the starter of the present invention, an elastic means and a transmission means are provided between the inner circumference of the plunger and the outer circumference of the output shaft, and the transmission means is adapted to contact the rear end of the thrust spline to transmit an elastic force of the elastic means to the thrust spline, and wherein a pressing means is fixedly secured to the inner circumference of the rear side of the plunger to press the elastic means and move the over-running clutch toward the ring gear via the elastic means, the transmission means and the thrust spline, the pressing means being further arranged to cause the pinion to mesh with the ring gear by the elastic force of the elastic means when the top and bottom of the pinion agree those of the ring gear after the end surface of the pinion contacts the end surface of the ring gear.
A contact shaft moving means is provided to move the contact shaft in such a direction as to cause the movable contact to contact the stationary contact after the plunger is attracted and moved for a certain time by the exciting coil.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5839318 (1998-11-01), Kimura et al.
patent: 5901604 (1999-05-01), Sato et al.
patent: 2 710 696 (1995-04-01), None
patent: 1-7962 (1989-03-01), None
patent: 10-159693 (1998-06-01), None
Kamei Koichiro
Katayama Hidekazu
Kuragaki Akira
Shiroyama Shigeru
Herrmann Allan D.
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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