Internal-combustion engines – Starting device – Having specific mounting or drive connection for electric...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-25
2002-04-30
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3765)
Internal-combustion engines
Starting device
Having specific mounting or drive connection for electric...
C123S179240
Reexamination Certificate
active
06378479
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a starting system (a starter) for an internal combustion engine.
In a conventionally well known starting system for an internal combustion engine, a pinion is mounted on a rotary shaft (an output shaft) of a starting motor via a one-way clutch and a helical spline, a ring gear is fixed on a crankshaft, the pinion is located not yet to bring in mesh with the ring gear when an engine key switch (a starting switch) is turned OFF. The starter is designed so that when the engine key switch is turned ON, the pinion moves in an axial direction so as to be brought in mesh with the ring gear via a shift mechanism, further with an operation of a motor, rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the crankshaft via the pinion and the ring gear.
There are various modes for a mechanism for bringing them in mesh with each other between the pinion and the ring gear. For example, in a magnetic shift mode, the pinion is brought in mesh with the ring gear by utilizing attractive force of an electromagnet and by means of a torsion spring and a shift lever, a plunger is moved by means of electromagnetic attractive force so as to push out the pinion, when the pinion is not collided with the ring gear, both of them are smoothly brought in mesh with each other so as to close a contact for rotation of the motor (the starting motor) Further, when both of them are not yet brought in mesh with each other by colliding teeth of the pinion with that of the ring gear at end faces, a torsion spring is deflected so as to close the contact, an armature is rotated by carrying a current to the motor, then the pinion is rotated while being pushed to the ring gear by means of pressure of the torsion spring and thrust due to a helical spline on the rotary shaft of the motor, so that the pinion is brought in mesh with the ring gear by deviating the teeth of the pinion.
Other than that, as a mode to decrease to least possible impact force due to collision of the pinion with the ring gear, there is such a mode as that when the key switch is turned ON, the pinion is moved up to the end faces of the teeth of the ring gear via a shift mechanism, simultaneously, the motor is rotated with its fine speed by carrying a fine current to the motor via an attraction coil employed for the shift mechanism, with this rotation, the pinion is moved from a pressurizing state against the teeth of the ring gear so as to be brought in mesh with each other, and at the time of being brought in deep mesh with each other for both of them, the contact of a magnetic switch is closed so that the motor is to be rotated with full power.
Further, recently, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication H9-53550, for example, such a mode is proposed as that, the ring gear is mounted on a rotary shaft (an input shaft) of a vehicular generator (an alternator) without mounting on the crankshaft, the engine switch is turned ON so as to move the pinion on a side of the ring gear via the helical spline, so that the pinion and the ring gear are brought in mesh with each other, thereafter, when the motor is rotated, its rotational force of the motor is transmitted with power to the crankshaft via a route from the pinion, the ring gear, the input shaft of the generator and a pulley, belt, and to the crankshaft.
In this conventional example, when the key switch is turned ON, the magnetic switch is turned ON so as to carry a current to the armature of the motor, thereby, the output shaft of the motor is rotated, so that the pinion and the ring gear are brought in mesh with each other by means of an advanced movement of the pinion due to the rotation of the output shaft of the motor and the thrust from the helical spline.
After completion of starting operation, the pinion is separated from the ring gear by mean of action of a return spring and the one-way clutch and action of the helical spline, when engine speed further increases, the rotation of the crankshaft is transmitted to the input shaft of the generator, and the input shaft can rotate with a sufficient revolutionary speed for a power generation operation.
As described above, in a case where the ring gear is mounted on the input shaft of the generator, since a power transmission mechanism ranging from the pinion to the crankshaft is constituted of two stage reduction gear mechanisms of the pinion and the ring gear, and of the belt and the pulleys, so that a reduction gear ratio between the ring gear and the pinion can be reduced by an amount of that degree, there is advantage for realizing a decrease in diameter of the ring gear.
In any of modes of the prior art described above, since collision force is occurred when the pinion and the ring gear are brought in mesh with each other, it is desired from the point of view for preventing the gears from wearing and damaging that the collision force is to be decreased to least possible degree.
Especially, in a recent vehicle, such a mode of operation is proposed as that other than exerting a starting operation by means of an engine key switch operation, when the vehicle becomes, for example, at its zero speed state, that is, a vehicle stoppage state due to a red light of a traffic signal or the like during driving of an internal combustion engine, a temporal fuel stoppage is carried out by means of an engine controller so as to stop the engine(Idling stop), when a driver depresses an accelerator, the engine controller determines that traveling is required and the engine is controlled for restarting. However, with the adoption this mode, the conventional starting system tends to increase in a frequency of collisions. Therefore, a reduction in above-described collision force is furthermore demanded.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, firstly, to provide a starting system of an internal combustion engine capable of remarkably improving durability and service life of the ring gear and the pinion by eliminating collision of the pinion with the ring gear caused by bringing in conventional mesh with each other between the pinion and the ring gear.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a starting system of an internal combustion engine capable of realizing a decrease in diameter of a ring gear, miniaturization of the system, and in turn, a reduction in load of an internal combustion engine.
(1) A first aspect of the invention is characterized in that in a starting system for an internal combustion engine including a pinion mounted on a rotary shaft of a starting motor and a ring gear for transmitting rotational force of the motor to a crankshaft of the internal combustion engine by bringing the ring gear in mesh with the pinion, a rotatable shaft (hereinafter, this shaft is called “an intermediate shaft”) is interposed between an output shaft of the motor and the crankshaft, the ring gear is mounted on this intermediate shaft via a bearing, this ring gear is normally brought in mesh with the pinion directly or indirectly via a rotation transmission member, one clutch element for coupling and releasing of the coupling both the intermediate shaft and the ring gear is fitted by a spline to the intermediate shaft, the other clutch element is provided on the ring gear, and the one clutch element fitted by the spline is set so as to move on a side of the ring gear via a shift mechanism when a starting switch of the internal combustion engine is turned ON and so as to be separated from the ring gear when the starting switch is turned OFF, and the intermediate shaft is coupled with the crankshaft via a power transmission mechanism to constitute a reduction gear mechanism when viewed from a side of the intermediate shaft toward a side of the crankshaft.
According to a structure described above, the pinion and the ring gear are normally in a state for bringing them in mesh with each other, however, since a clutch element (hereinafter it is called “a movable clutch”) fitted by the spline to the intermediate shaft is not in a joining state
Nishidate Keisuke
Ueta Koki
Yumiyama Shigeru
Crowell & Moring LLP
Hitachi , Ltd.
Mohanty Bibhu
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