Prime-mover dynamo plants – Electric control – Electric-starting motor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-13
2004-03-09
Ponomarenko, Nicholas (Department: 2834)
Prime-mover dynamo plants
Electric control
Electric-starting motor
C290S03800C
Reexamination Certificate
active
06703717
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starter device for a four-wheeled all terrain vehicle that is capable of operating a starter motor to start an engine regardless whether a transmission gear is at a neutral position or a brake is being operated, and a straddle-type four wheeled all terrain vehicle comprising the starter device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since four-wheeled all terrain vehicles (ATVs) are capable of stably traveling over sandy soil, rough terrain, and wet terrain, and carrying a great deal of luggage and equipment, they are utilized in various uses including leisure, sport activities, field work, etc.
Among four wheeled all terrain vehicles, many straddle-type four wheeled all terrain vehicles are equipped with bar-type steering handles as in the case of motorcycles. A rider grips the steering handle with both hands and operates a throttle lever provided on the steering handle to control engine speed. Also, in recent years, with diversification of users, automatic all terrain vehicles with belt converters have been put on the market. The automatic all terrain vehicle is provided with a transmission lever on the vehicle's body in the vicinity of the steering handle. By operation of the transmission lever, switching among “L (low speed)”, “H (high speed)”, “N(neutral)”, and “R (reverse)”, can be carried out.
In the above-described straddle-type four wheeled all terrain vehicle, when an engine of the vehicle stalls during traveling or stopping, the rider turns on a starter switch for re-starting. Conventionally, in this type of all terrain vehicle, the starter motor is not energized even if the starter switch is turned on, unless the transmission lever is returned to its neutral position prior to the start operation.
Accordingly, in the above constitution, the rider needs to return the transmission lever to its neutral position in every re-start and therefore its operation is burdensome. As an improvement of this, Publication of (Unexamined) Japanese Patent Application No. Showa 61-167166, discloses a starter device, in which a starter motor is energized when a starter switch is turned on, by operation of a brake instead of returning a transmission lever to its neutral position.
The starter device in
FIG. 1
includes a drive circuit and a starter circuit. In the drive circuit, a starter motor M for driving the engine is connected to a power supply PS through a contact
3
a
of a start relay
3
. In the starter circuit, a coil portion
3
b
of the start relay
3
is connected to the power supply PS through a contact
5
a
of a start check relay
5
and a starter switch
6
. A neutral switch
9
is connected to a coil portion
5
b
of the start check relay
5
through a diode
8
, and a brake switch
10
is connected in parallel with the neutral switch
9
.
When the transmission gear is placed at the neutral position, the neutral switch
9
is responsively closed to cause the neutral lamp
11
to be lighted up. Under the condition, when the starter switch
6
is closed, an excitation current flows through the coil portion
5
b
of the start check relay
5
to cause the contact
5
a
to be closed.
Meanwhile, the brake switch
10
is closed according to a brake operation. In association with the brake switch
10
, a contact
12
is closed to cause a brake lamp
13
to be lighted up. Under the condition, when the starter switch
6
is closed in the same manner, the excitation current flows through the coil portion
5
b
of the start check relay
5
, thereby closing the contact
5
a
. At this time, since the current flowing from the side of the neutral switch
9
toward the brake switch
10
is blocked by the diode
8
, the neutral lamp
11
is not lighted up when the brake switch
10
is closed.
In the configuration of this disclosure, the brake switch
10
is provided between the neutral switch
9
and the starter circuit so as to be in parallel with the neutral switch
9
. Therefore, when one of the neutral switch
9
and the brake switch
10
is closed, the start check relay
5
is closed, in which state, when the starter switch
6
is closed, the start relay
3
is closed to cause the starter motor M to be connected to the power supply PS, thus starting the engine.
However, in the above-identified conventional starter device, for the purpose of reliable functioning of the brake switch
10
even in the case of the burning out of the brake lamp
13
in which a heating element in a light bulb is disconnected and a circuit is open, the brake lamp
13
is not connected in series to the brake switch
10
. Instead, the brake lamp
13
is connected in parallel to the brake switch
10
and the contact
12
operating in association with the brake switch
10
is provided in series with the brake lamp
13
. For this reason, in order to light up the brake lamp
13
and close the starter circuit, two contacts, i.e., the brake switch
10
and the contact
12
, are needed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention addresses the above-described conditions and an object of the present invention is to provide a starter device of a four wheeled all terrain vehicle which includes a switch that reliably functions even when a brake lamp or a neutral lamp has burned out, and which, when lighting up a brake lamp and/or closing a starter circuit, does not need two contacts, as well as a straddle-type four wheeled all terrain vehicle comprising the same.
To address the above-described conditions, there is provided a starter device of a four wheeled all terrain vehicle, in which a drive circuit for connecting a starter motor for driving the engine to a power supply, a start relay, a starter circuit for connecting the start relay to the power supply through a starter switch, a first relay, a neutral switch is provided between the starter circuit and a ground, and a brake switch is provided between the starter circuit and the ground so as to be in parallel with the neutral switch, and a second relay is provided in parallel with the first relay and in series with the neutral switch, and the starter motor is energized:
by at least either one of responsively closing the neutral switch to cause the neutral lamp connected to the power supply to be lighted up and to cause the second relay to be closed, when a transmission lever of the vehicle is operated to cause the transmission to be at a neutral position, and
responsively closing the brake switch to cause the brake lamp connected to the power supply to be lighted up and to cause the first relay to be closed, when the brake of the vehicle is operated, and
when the starter switch is operated to be closed to cause the start relay to be responsively closed.
In this configuration, two relays are connected in parallel to the starter circuit, while the brake switch and the neutral switch are connected in parallel between the starter circuit and the ground. By closing each of the switches, the corresponding relay is operated to close the starter circuit. Accordingly, it is possible to attain a highly-reliable starter device of the four wheeled all terrain vehicle which is capable of lighting up the brake lamp and closing the starter circuit without a need for two contacts, i.e., the brake switch
10
and the contact
12
. It should be noted that the starter device of the present invention is applicable to four wheeled all terrain vehicles of any other types.
It is preferable that in the starter device, the brake lamp is provided in parallel with the first relay and in series with the brake switch. Thereby, even if the brake lamp has burned out, the corresponding brake switch can function reliably.
It is preferable that in the starter device, the neutral lamp is provided in parallel with the second relay and in series with the neutral switch. Thereby, even if the neutral lamp has burned out, the corresponding neutral switch can function reliably.
Further, it is preferable that the starter device is mounted in a straddle-type four wheeled all terrain vehicle, in which a transmission l
Kawamoto Yuichi
Maeda Kazuhiro
Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Kolisch & Hartwell, P.C.
Ponomarenko Nicholas
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