Starter having pinion movement restricting member

Details Starter having pinion movement restricting member Starter having pinion movement restricting member

2001-10-16

2004-09-14

Mullins, Burton S. (Department: 2834)

Prime-mover dynamo plants

Electric control

Electric-starting motor

C290S048000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06791201

ABSTRACT:

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The present application relates to and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Applications No. 2000-321160 filed on Oct. 20, 2000, and No. 2001-181278 filed on Jun. 15, 2001.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a starter, in which a pinion shaft integrally moves backward and forward with a pinion.
In a conventional starter disclosed in JP-A-2000-9003, a pinion shaft is integrated with an inner surface of a one-way clutch and a pinion is fitted to the pinion shaft in a rotation-restricted manner. The pinion shaft is integrally pushed forward with the pinion by using an attracting force (pull-in force for pulling a plunger) of a magnet switch. As shown in
FIG. 9
, a clip
100
is fitted in a circumferential recess
120
provided on the pinion shaft
110
to restrict the pinion from moving in an axial direction.
However, a width of the circumferential recess
120
is set larger than a thickness of the clip
100
for installing the clip
100
. Therefore, a clearance remains between the clip
100
and the pinion
130
so that the pinion
130
becomes unsteady against the pinion shaft
110
. In this case, the pinion
130
is abraded by fretting due to small vibrations. As a result, a harsh chattering sound is generated at the time of starting an engine. Also, by the vibrations of the pinion
130
, an abrasion of a ring gear which meshes with the pinion
130
is likely to increase. Further, right after the engine starts, if the pinion
130
is turned by a ring gear at high speeds, the clip
100
is expanded by a self-centrifugal force and disengaged from the recess
120
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to restrict vibrations of a pinion against a pinion shaft in a starter, in which the pinion is integrally pushed forward with the pinion shaft at the time of starting an engine.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a pinion is fitted on a pinion shaft such that a rear end surface of the pinion is pressed against a step provided on the pinion shaft while a front end surface of the pinion is pressed backward through a restricting member such as a detent ring. Since the pinion is restricted from moving in an axial direction by being pressed against the pinion shaft, the vibrations of the pinion is decreased.
Further, the restricting member fitted in a recess of the pinion shaft has a tapered surface on a front side inner periphery thereof. Also, a front rising wall defining the recess has a tapered wall so as to correspond to the tapered surface of the restricting member. When resiliency of the detent ring contracting radially inward is applied to the tapered wall defining the recess, a component force of the resiliency pressing the pinion axially backward is generated. Thus, the pinion is press-fitted against the step of the pinion shaft. In addition, a cover is provided for restricting the detent ring from expanding in the radial direction and being disengaged from the pinion shaft when the pinion shaft rotates at high speeds.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a pinion shaft has a thrust receiving wall for restricting a pinion from moving axially backward. The pinion is fitted on the pinion shaft such that a rear end surface of the pinion adjacently faces the thrust receiving wall of the pinion shaft in an axial direction. When the pinion meshes with a ring gear of an engine at the time of starting the engine, the rear end surface of the pinion contacts the thrust receiving wall of the pinion shaft by a relative movement with the pinion shaft. Therefore, the pinion is restricted from inclining with respect to the pinion shaft.
Further, a pressing member is provided between the pinion and the pinion shaft at the rear side of the pinion to press the pinion against the detent ring with respect to the pinion shaft. Thus, the vibrations of the pinion against the pinion shaft are suppressed.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4260903 (1981-04-01), Mazzorana
patent: 4818889 (1989-04-01), Kinoshita
patent: 4902905 (1990-02-01), Morishita
patent: 4907464 (1990-03-01), Isozumi
patent: 4931663 (1990-06-01), Morishita et al.
patent: 5052235 (1991-10-01), Isozumi
patent: 5081874 (1992-01-01), Isozumi
patent: 63-090665 (1998-04-01), None
patent: 11-280624 (1999-10-01), None
patent: A-2000-9003 (2000-01-01), None

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