Internal-combustion engines – Starting device – Mechanical
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-16
2003-01-21
Dolinar, Andrew M. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Starting device
Mechanical
C123S185300, C185S0410WW
Reexamination Certificate
active
06508220
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a starter for an internal combustion engine and, in particular, to a starter wherein fluctuations in the force required to pull the starter rope can be minimized, thereby enabling the starter rope to be smoothly pulled and providing excellent performance of the starter. Specifically, the present invention relates to a power-accumulation type starter wherein the rotational force of the starter is accumulated by means of a spiral spring for starting an internal combustion engine.
In some conventional manual starters for an internal combustion engine, the starting of the internal combustion engine is performed through a process wherein the starter rope is pulled to rotate the rope pulley, and the rotation of the rope pulley is directly transmitted to the crank shaft of the engine so as to start the engine. There is also known a starter wherein a decompressor is employed with a view to minimizing the force for pulling a starter rope handle.
There is also known, as another type of conventional starter for internal combustion engines, a power-accumulation type starter wherein a spiral spring is manually wound up so as to accumulate the rotational force, and the power thus accumulated is then released all at once. According to the conventional starter, a pulley is rotated by pulling a starter rope by means of the starter rope handle, and the rotational force of the pulley is accumulated in the spiral spring, the rotational force being subsequently transmitted to the crank shaft of the internal combustion engine through an actuating pulley so as to start the engine.
The conventional starter constructed as described above is, however, accompanied with a problem in that the starter rope handle for pulling the starter rope is required to be pulled at a relatively high speed and for a long distance, so that it is difficult for a person having weak physical strength to easily start the engine. Moreover, since the rope handle-pulling operation is accompanied with a large fluctuation in the pulling force due to the load to be imposed by the internal combustion engine side in accordance with the rotation of the crank shaft, it is difficult to perform a smooth pulling operation. Hence, it is difficult for a person having weak physical strength to easily start the engine. When a decompressor is employed for the purpose of alleviating the pulling force, an unburned air-fuel mixture is allowed to be released to the external atmosphere, thus causing environmental problems.
On the other hand, a starter having a mechanism wherein the actuating pulley is arranged to be automatically rotated as the rotational force is accumulated up to a predetermined degree is accompanied with problems that the structure thereof becomes complicated, thus making the starter larger in size and weight, and hence unsuitable for use in a small working machine.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made to solve the aforementioned problems. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a starter which is capable of minimizing fluctuations in the pulling force of the rope handle so as to make it possible to perform a smooth pulling operation and so that the starter can be easily manipulated even by a person having weak physical strength in starting the engine. Another object of the present invention to provide a starter which is excellent in its performance in starting an internal combustion engine and free from environmental problems.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a power-accumulation type starter which, in contrast to the conventional recoiling rope type starter, is capable of easily and reliably starting the engine, irrespective of the pulling speed as well as pulling distance of the starter rope by means of the rope handle, while allowing the starter to be employed in the same manner as the conventional recoil starter by canceling a power accumulation mechanism if the accumulation of rotational force is not required.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a power-accumulation type starter that is simple in construction and light in weight, thereby making it suited for use in a small working machine, that can be easily operated to start the engine while a machine equipped with an internal combustion engine having the starter of the present invention is carried on an operator's back by locating a rope handle and a start reset lever near the operator's hands. In addition, if accumulation of rotational force in a spring is not required to start the engine, the starter of the present invention can be used as a recoil type starter having a mechanism for buffering the load to be imposed thereon from the engine side.
With a view to attaining the aforementioned objects, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a starter comprising a driving section, a driven section, and a buffering/power-accumulating device interposed between the driving section and the driven section. The buffering/power-accumulating device is enabled, during the driving process of the driving section, to buffer a load from an engine side and to accumulate the power supplied by the driving of the driving section, and the driven section is arranged to be actuated by the accumulated power.
With the starter of the present invention having the aforementioned structure, since the buffering/power-accumulating device is interposed between the starter rope constituting the driving section and the crank shaft of the internal combustion engine constituting the driven section, all of the force for pulling the starter rope is not directly related to the starting of the engine, but part of the pulling force of the starter rope is accumulated in the spiral spring mechanism in an initial part of the process of recoiling, and the accumulated pulling force is afterward combined with the actual pulling force of the starter rope in a later part of the process of recoiling, thereby presenting a resultant force to start the engine. Therefore, even if the force for pulling the starter rope is weak, the engine can be reliably started. In particular, the buffering/power-accumulating device is capable of not only functioning to buffer and accumulate the pulling force of the starter rope but also providing an additional force for starting the engine by releasing the power accumulated therein.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the driving section comprises a reel, and the driven section comprises an interlocking pulley provided with a transmission mechanism through which the interlocking pulley is linked to the driving section. The buffering/power-accumulating device may be constituted by a spiral spring mechanism in which a spiral spring is interposed between a spiral spring box disposed on the driving section side and an actuating pulley disposed on the driven section side. An input device is provided to unidirectionally rotate the spiral spring box. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the input device for unidirectionally rotating the spiral spring box includes a one-way clutch, and the transmission mechanism is a centrifugal clutch which is constituted by engaging projections and start-up claws pivotally supported by the interlocking pulley so as to engage with the engaging projections, thereby enabling the rotation of the reel to be transmitted through the spiral spring mechanism to the interlocking pulley linked with the crank shaft of the internal combustion engine.
According to the starter constructed as described above and representing one embodiment of the present invention, the reel is manually rotated by a starter rope wound onto a starter pulley, and the resultant rotational force is once transmitted to the spiral spring mechanism before it is utilized for the rotation of the actuating pulley, so that the fluctuating load due to the working strokes of the internal combustion engine can be absorbed by the spiral spring mechanism, thereby making it possible to smoothly
Aiyama Fumihiko
Akaike Junichi
Kawasaki Hiroji
Kuwano Michiyasu
Sugaya Masaki
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Dolinar Andrew M.
Kioritz & Corporation
LandOfFree
Starter does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Starter, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Starter will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3073431