JP2000064935A - Starter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent inclination of a pinion and to prevent a spring from being spread by a centrifugal force by a method wherein a step part is formed in a washer member to regulate axial movement of a pinion and effect radial regulation of the pinion, and the spring is disposed at the inner peripheral part of the pinion. SOLUTION: When a magnetic switch 22 is carried with a current, a plunger 22a is attracted, a shift lever 21 is rotated counterclockwise around the fulcrum 23a of a meshing spring 23 and by pushing out a pinion shaft 4, a pinion 5 is meshed with a ring gear 30. Torque of a motor is transmitted from an armature gear 2 at the tip of a shaft 1 to an engine through a pinion clutch 3, a pinion shaft 4, a pinion 5, and a ring gear 30. In this case, since radial regulation of the pinion 5 is effected by the step part 19a of a washer 19, the pinion 5 is not inclined. Further, since the outer periphery of a spring 20 is covered with the inner peripheral part 5a of the pinion 5, the spring 20 is prevented from radial jump-out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a starter for starting an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a shape of a washer member for restricting axial movement of a pinion installed in front of a pinion shaft of the starter. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As disclosed in JP-A-64-56966, a conventional device has a pinion installed in front of a pinion shaft, and an inner peripheral front portion of the pinion is formed with a spline formed at the tip of the pinion shaft. A cushion spring is suspended at a step portion in the middle of the inner periphery of the pinion, and constantly presses the pinion in a stopper direction in front of the pinion shaft. The structure restricts axial movement.

[0003]

In the above prior art, no consideration has been given to preventing the pinion from tilting when the pinion meshes with the ring gear of the engine during starter operation. Also, no consideration has been given to preventing the cushion spring from expanding due to centrifugal force.

The present invention has been made in view of this point. The object of the present invention is to prevent the pinion from tilting by restricting the pinion in the axial direction and the radial direction by using a washer member, and to prevent the cushion spring from rotating. An object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and highly reliable starter by adopting a structure capable of preventing expansion by centrifugal force.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a stepped portion for a washer member, to restrict the radial direction of the pinion so that the stepped portion of the washer member and the inner peripheral rear portion of the pinion slide, and to provide a cushion. This is achieved by disposing a spring on the inner periphery of the pinion.

[0006] According to this structure, the inclination of the pinion is prevented, the transmission efficiency of the motor rotational power at the time of engine start is improved, the meshing noise between the pinion and the ring gear is reduced, and the spline portion and the pinion are partially worn. Can be prevented, and the durability can be improved.

[0007] In addition, the storage space for the cushion spring is lengthened, and the optimum design of the spring characteristics of the cushion spring can be achieved.

Further, even in an overrun state in which the pinion is rotated at a high speed by the ring gear after the engine is started, the cushion spring does not expand due to the centrifugal force, and the reliability can be improved.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, an armature gear 2 is provided at the tip of a shaft 1 of a motor (not shown).
A clutch gear 3b is provided on the outer periphery of a clutch outer 3a constituting the pinion clutch 3. The armature gear 2 and the clutch gear 3b constitute a speed reducer. Both ends of the clutch inner 3c are held by a housing 8 via ball bearings 6,7. A one-way clutch mechanism is formed by the outer periphery of the clutch inner 3c, the roller 3d, and the clutch profile 3e provided on the inner periphery of the clutch outer 3a.

The pinion shaft 4 is spline-engaged with the clutch inner 3c by a first helical spline 4a. At the tip of the pinion shaft 4,
The pinion 5 is provided via the second helical spline 4b. In front of the pinion 5, a stopper 1
The pinion 7 and the clip 18 are arranged to regulate the axial movement so that the pinion 5 does not come off the pinion shaft 4. A washer 19 and a cushion spring 20 are arranged behind the pinion 5, and the pinion 5 is pressed and held by the stopper 17 by the spring force of the cushion spring 20. Behind the pinion shaft 4, a shift lever 21 is disposed, and the shift lever 2
One end of one is engaged with the plunger 22a of the magnetic switch 22. The shift lever 21 is supported by a biting spring 23, and is rotatable around a fulcrum 23 a of the biting spring 23.

A ring gear 30 of the engine is arranged in front of the pinion 5. Next, the operation of the thus configured device will be described. When a current flows from the battery (not shown) to the magnetic switch 22, as shown in FIG. 2, the plunger 22a is attracted by the electromagnetic force of the magnetic switch 22, and the shift lever 21 is turned counterclockwise around the fulcrum 23a of the biting spring 23. The pinion 5 is rotated around to push out the pinion shaft 4 and engage with the tip of the pinion shaft 4.
Are engaged with the ring gear 30. When the internal contacts of the magnetic switch 22 are closed, a current flows to a motor (not shown), and the generated torque of the motor is transmitted from the armature gear 2 at the tip of the shaft 1 to the clutch gear 3b on the outer periphery of the clutch outer 3a, and is transmitted via the roller 3d. From the helical spline of the clutch inner 3c to the pinion shaft 4
To the first helical spline of the pinion shaft 4, and further from the second helical spline of the pinion shaft 4 to the pinion 5
Is transmitted to the motor.

An axial force generated by the helical spline acts on the pinion shaft 4 by the axial force of the shift lever 21 and the torque of the motor, and the pinion shaft 4 moves forward and engages with the tip of the pinion shaft 4. The pinion 5 meshes with the ring gear 30. The rotating power of the motor is armature gear 2, pinion clutch 3,
The power is transmitted to the engine via the pinion shaft 4, the pinion 5, and the ring gear 30, and the engine is started.

At this time, since the pinion 5 meshes with the ring gear 30 at its front portion, when a torque acts on the pinion 5, a meshing reaction force for tilting the pinion 5 is generated. However, the step 19a of the washer 19
Since the pinion 5 is restricted in the radial direction, the pinion 5 does not tilt.

When the engine is started, the rotation speed of the ring gear 30 increases, and the pinion 5 having a small number of teeth is rotated at a very high speed by the ring gear 30 having a large number of teeth.
For this reason, since a large centrifugal force acts on the cushion spring 20 and tends to expand in the radial direction, the cushion spring 20 jumps out from between the washer 24 and the pinion 5 as shown in FIG. According to the structure of the present invention, the inner periphery 5a of the pinion 5 covers the outer periphery of the cushion spring 20, so that the cushion spring 20 does not jump out in the radial direction.

With such a structure, the pinion 5
To prevent the inclination of the pinion 5 and the ring gear 3
In addition to reducing the meshing sound of 0, uneven wear of the teeth of the pinion 5 and the ring gear 30 and the second helical spline can be prevented, and the durability can be improved.

In the prior art, when the storage space L3 of the cushion spring 20 is increased as shown in FIG. 4, the spline length L4 of the pinion 5 is reduced,
The inclination of the pinion 5 increases. However, in the structure of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
Even if the storage space L1 of the pinion 5 is lengthened and the spline length L2 of the pinion 5 is reduced, the inclination of the pinion 5 does not change, so that the design flexibility of the cushion spring 20 is maintained without sacrificing durability and quietness. And the optimal design of the spring characteristics of the cushion spring 20 becomes possible.

Further, after the engine is started, the ring gear 30
Thus, even if the pinion 5 is rotated at a high speed, the expansion of the cushion spring 20 due to the centrifugal force can be prevented by the inner peripheral portion 5a of the pinion 5, so that a highly reliable starter can be provided.

[0019]

According to the present invention, the inclination of the pinion is prevented, the transmission efficiency of the motor rotational power at the time of starting the engine is improved, the meshing noise between the pinion and the ring gear is reduced, and the spline portion and the pinion are reduced. Uneven wear can be prevented and durability can be improved.

Further, the storage space for the cushion spring is lengthened, so that the optimum design of the spring characteristics of the cushion spring can be realized.

Further, even in an overrun state in which the pinion is rotated at a high speed by the ring gear after the engine is started, the spring does not expand due to the centrifugal force, and the reliability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional structural view of a pinion mechanism of a starter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional structural view of the pinion mechanism of the starter according to the embodiment of the present invention during operation.

FIG. 3 is a sectional structural view of a pinion portion of a starter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional structural view of a pinion portion of a conventional starter.

FIG. 5 is a sectional structural view of a pinion portion of a conventional starter.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... shaft, 2 ... armature gear, 3 ... pinion clutch, 4 ... pinion shaft, 4a ... 1st helical spline, 4b ... 2nd helical spline, 5 ... pinion, 5a ... inner peripheral part, 17 ... stopper, 18 ... Clip, 19 ... Washer, 19a ... Step portion of washer, 20
... Cushion spring, 30 ... Ring gear.

Claims (2)

[Claims] A pinion is fitted in front of a pinion shaft, a spring is suspended around the inner periphery of the pinion, and the pinion is constantly pressed in a stopper direction in front of the pinion shaft. In the starter in which the axial movement of the pinion is restricted, the washer member is provided with a stepped portion, and the pinion is restricted in the radial direction so that the stepped portion of the washer member and the pinion inner peripheral rear portion slide. Starter that features. 2. The starter according to claim 1, wherein the outer periphery of the spring suspended on the step portion in the middle of the inner periphery of the pinion is covered by the inner periphery of the pinion.