JP2014231756A - Starter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a starter capable of further reducing abutment noise generated when a pinion strikes on a ring gear.SOLUTION: A starter is configured so that a pinion 6 includes a plurality of pieces 40 obtained by circumferential division, and each piece 40 is slidable on an inner tube 26 in an axial direction. According to this technique, the starter has a structure in which if the pinion 6 strikes on an inner gear R, not an entire mass of the pinion 6 but a weight corresponding to the piece 40A striking on the ring gear R is applied to the ring gear R in the axial direction. Owing to this, an impact force loaded on the ring gear R if the pinion 6 strikes on the ring gear R, is small and abutment noise can be reduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to a starter for starting an engine.

In the starter, when the pinion is pushed out to the ring gear, after the pinion and the ring gear collide with each other in the axial direction, the relative position in the rotational direction of the pinion and the ring gear may be adjusted to establish engagement. In this case, a collision sound between the pinion and the ring gear is generated.
Therefore, as a conventional technique, there is a technique of providing a collision mitigation member on a pinion (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

By the way, as a starter, when the vehicle is temporarily stopped due to a signal stop or traffic jam at an intersection, the engine is automatically stopped, and then the starter is automatically started by a restart request from the user. There is an idling stop starter installed in the idling stop system to be restarted.
In the starter for idling stop, it is necessary to start the engine under low noise while the engine is stopped and the frequency of starting the engine is higher than that of a normal starter.

  For this reason, the starter for idling stop is required to reduce the contact noise generated at the time of the collision between the pinion and the ring gear as described above and to improve the quietness at the start.

JP 2011-236776 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to further reduce the contact noise generated when the pinion collides with the ring gear.

  The starter of the present invention includes a motor that generates a rotational force when energized, a pinion shaft that is rotated by transmission of the rotational force of the motor, and is supported on the outer periphery of the pinion shaft and rotates integrally with the pinion shaft. And a pinion having gear teeth that can mesh with the ring gear of the engine.

  Then, by pushing the pinion toward the ring gear or by pushing the pinion shaft toward the ring gear integrally with the pinion, the pinion is engaged with the ring gear, and the rotational force of the motor is transmitted from the pinion to the ring gear.

  The pinion is composed of a plurality of pieces divided into at least two in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of pieces can slide in the axial direction on the pinion shaft.

According to this, when the pinion collides with the ring gear, the ring gear has a structure in which only the mass of the colliding piece is applied to the ring gear, not the total mass of the pinion.
For this reason, when the pinion collides with the ring gear, the impact force applied to the ring gear is small, and the contact noise is also reduced.

(Example 1) which is sectional drawing of a starter. (Example 1) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (A) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the ring gear side, (b) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the non-ring gear side (Example 1). (Example 1) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (Example 1) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (Example 1) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (Example 2) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (A) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the ring gear side, (b) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the non-ring gear side (Example 2). (Example 3) which is a principal part enlarged view of a starter. (A) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the ring gear side, (b) is the top view which looked at the pinion from the non-ring gear side (Example 3).

  The mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following examples.

[Example 1]
[Configuration of Example 1]
Example 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The starter 1 includes a motor 2 that generates a rotational force, an output shaft 4 to which the rotation of the motor 2 is transmitted via a speed reducer 3, a one-way clutch 5 and a pinion 6 that are arranged on the output shaft 4. The electromagnetic switch 8 has a function of pushing the clutch 5 and the pinion 6 to the ring gear side (left direction in FIG. 1) via the shift lever 7 and a function of intermittently energizing the motor 2.

The motor 2 is a well-known DC motor including a field that generates magnetic flux, an armature 10 having a commutator 9, and a brush 11 that is in sliding contact with the commutator 9. When the motor contact is closed by the electromagnetic switch 8, Power is supplied from a battery (not shown) to generate a rotational force on the armature 10.
The field is configured by arranging a plurality of permanent magnets 13 on the inner periphery of the yoke 12 forming the magnetic circuit. A field winding can be used in place of the permanent magnet 13.
In the armature 10, one end of the armature shaft 14 is supported by the output shaft 4 via a bearing 15 so as to be relatively rotatable, and the other end of the armature shaft 14 is supported by an end frame 17 through a bearing 16. Is supported rotatably.

The reduction gear 3 is a known planetary gear reducer having a plurality of planetary gears 19 meshing with a sun gear 18 formed on an armature shaft 14 and revolving around the sun gear 18 while the planetary gears 19 rotate. is there.
The output shaft 4 is disposed coaxially with the armature shaft 14 via the reduction gear 3, and the end on the side opposite to the motor is rotatably supported by the front housing 21 via the bearing 20.

The one-way clutch 5 includes an outer 5a that is fitted to a helical spline portion 4a provided on the outer periphery of the output shaft 4, an inner 5b that is relatively rotatably disposed on the inner periphery of the outer 5a, and an outer 5a and an inner 5b. The roller 5c etc. which intermittently transmit transmission of rotational force between them. A rotational force is transmitted only in one direction from the outer 5a to the inner 5b via the roller 5c.
The inner 5b has a large-diameter portion 24 on which the roller 5c is disposed on the outer periphery, and an inner tube 26 provided in a small diameter on the opposite side of the large-diameter portion 24 in the axial direction through a step.

  The pinion 6 is a rotating body having gear teeth 6 a that mesh with the ring gear R. For example, it includes a gear portion 6b that has a cylindrical body and gear teeth 6a on the outer periphery, and a boss portion 6c that has a cylindrical body with a diameter smaller than that of the gear portion 6b and extends toward the ring gear side of the gear portion 6b.

The pinion 6 is rotatably supported integrally with the inner tube 26 on the outer periphery of the inner tube 26. That is, the inner tube 26 becomes a pinion shaft that supports the pinion 6.
The pinion 6 is arranged so as to be movable in the axial direction on the inner tube 26. For example, in this embodiment, the inner tube 26 can rotate the pinion 6 integrally and axially by fitting the straight spline 6 d formed on the inner periphery of the pinion 6 and the straight spline formed on the outer periphery of the inner tube 26. Is slidably supported.

  The tip of the inner tube 26 is provided with a pinion stopper 27 for restricting the movement of the pinion 6 on the inner tube 26 to the side opposite to the motor in the axial direction. The pinion 6 is moved to the ring gear side (extrusion direction) by a spring 29. The tip end surface of the pinion 6 is in contact with the pinion stopper 27.

  The spring 29 is a compression coil spring mounted on the outer periphery of the inner tube 26 inside the boss portion 6 c, and includes a spring seat 6 e formed on the end face of the one-way clutch side of the pinion 6 in the axial direction, and the inner tube 26. The spring seat 26a is formed between the spring seat 26a and the spring seat 26a.

  The electromagnetic switch 8 includes a first solenoid 31 that pushes the starter pinion in the axial direction using the magnetic force generated by the exciting coil, and a main switch for intermittently supplying a current that flows to the motor 2 in accordance with excitation / de-excitation of the coil. And a second solenoid (not shown) for opening and closing.

The first solenoid 31 has a plunger 32 that moves in the axial direction by the magnetic force generated by the exciting coil, and the plunger 32 is provided with a joint 32 a for transmitting the movement of the plunger 32 to the shift lever 7.
The shift lever 7 has one end connected to the joint 32a and the other end connected to the one-way clutch 5, and swings around a fulcrum portion 7a provided between the one end and the other end. Thereby, the movement of the plunger 32 is transmitted to the one-way clutch 5, and the one-way clutch 5 moves in the axial direction.

[Features of this embodiment]
According to the starter 1 of the present embodiment, the pinion 6 is composed of a plurality of pieces 40 divided in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of pieces 40 can slide on the inner tube 26 in the axial direction.
The pinion 6 is divided radially when viewed from the axial direction, and the dividing line passes between the gear teeth 6a and the gear teeth 6a. The piece 40 is in contact with the adjacent piece 40 in the circumferential direction.

  In the present embodiment, the pinion 6 is divided between the gear teeth 6a so that one piece 40 includes one gear tooth 6a.

A ring member 42 that restricts the movement of the piece 40 in the radial direction is attached to the outer periphery of the pinion 6.
In the present embodiment, a ring member 42 is mounted on the outer periphery of the boss portion 6 c of the pinion 6. The ring member 42 bundles a plurality of pieces 40 so as to restrict the movement in the radial direction while allowing the movement of the pieces 40 in the axial direction.
A stopper 44 is provided on the side opposite to the ring gear of the boss portion 6c to prevent the ring member 42 from dropping off by restricting the movement of the ring member 42 relative to the piece 40 toward the axially opposite ring gear.

The operation of the starter 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4, 5, and 6. FIG.
a) FIG. 2 shows an initial state before the pinion 6 is pushed out. At this time, the pinion 6 is pressed against the pinion stopper 27 by the spring 29.

  b) From the state of FIG. 2, the one-way clutch 5 is pushed out to the ring gear side through the shift lever 7 by the movement of the plunger 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the gear teeth 6 a of the pinion 6 abut on the axial end surface of the ring gear R. At this time, the mass of the piece 40 (referred to as the contact piece 40) that contacts the ring gear R is applied.

  The collision load between the ring gear R and the contact piece 40 is absorbed by the spring 29 acting as a cushioning material and bending. When the abutting piece 40 moves backward on the inner tube 26 and the spring 29 is bent, the ring member 42 is also pushed back by the gear portion 6b of the abutting piece 40, but the stopper 44 of the other piece 40 is also retracted. This prevents the ring member 42 from falling off.

c) Then, after the contact piece 40 contacts the end surface of the ring gear R, the one-way clutch 5 moves forward on the output shaft while further bending the spring 29. At this time, the pinion 6 rotates to a position where it can mesh with the ring gear R by the helical spline portion 4a while relatively retreating on the inner tube 26.
And if it rotates to the position which can mesh with the ring gear R, it will be pushed into the ring gear R by the urging | biasing force of the spring 29 (refer FIG. 6).

  d) In the state of FIG. 6, the main switch is closed by the second solenoid, and energization of the motor 2 is started. Thereby, the rotational force of the motor 2 is transmitted from the pinion 6 to the ring gear R to drive the engine.

[Effect of this embodiment]
According to the present embodiment, the pinion 6 is composed of a plurality of pieces 40 divided in the circumferential direction, and the plurality of pieces 40 can slide on the inner tube 26 in the axial direction.

According to this, when the pinion 6 collides with the ring gear R, only the mass of the colliding piece is applied to the ring gear R in the axial direction, not the total mass of the pinion 6.
For this reason, when the pinion 6 collides with the ring gear R, the impact force applied to the ring gear R is small, and the contact noise is also reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the adjacent pieces 40 are in contact with each other in the circumferential direction. If the adjacent pieces are not in contact with each other in the circumferential direction and each of them is only fitted to the inner tube 26 (pinion shaft), the rotational force applied to the gear teeth 6a meshing with the ring gear R is reduced. Since it receives only by the part fitted to the inner tube 26, the load concerning the gear tooth 6a will concentrate. When the adjacent pieces 40 are in contact with each other in the circumferential direction, not only the engagement portion with the inner tube 26 but also the adjacent pieces 40 can receive the rotational force, and the load applied to the gear teeth 6a is dispersed. be able to.

In the present embodiment, the pinion 6 is radially divided when viewed from the axial direction, and the dividing line passes between the gear teeth 6a and the gear teeth 6a. That is, the dividing line is prevented from passing through the gear teeth 6a.
According to this, since each gear tooth 6a is not divided, the meshing performance with the ring gear R can be maintained.

  Further, by providing the spring 29, the spring 29 functions as a cushioning material, the impact when the piece 40 abuts against the ring gear R is alleviated, and the abutment sound is further reduced.

[Example 2]
A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.
In addition, the same code | symbol as Example 1 shows the same functional thing, Comprising: The previous description is referred.
In this embodiment, in place of the spring 29, each piece 40 has a spring 29A that urges the pinion 6 toward the ring gear. For example, each of the springs 29 is a compression coil spring and is arranged for each piece in a space formed inside the boss portion 6c.

Also according to this embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained.
Further, according to the present embodiment, only the spring 29A acting on the abutment pinion is bent and the spring 29A acting on the other piece 40 is not deformed, so that the other piece 40 is reliably urged toward the ring gear. Can be pushed out. For this reason, the meshing depth at the start of rotation can be further secured.

Example 3
A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 with a focus on differences from the first embodiment.
In addition, the same code | symbol as Example 1 shows the same functional thing, Comprising: The previous description is referred.
In this embodiment, instead of the ring member 42, by providing an engaging portion 50 that engages the adjacent pieces 40 in an uneven manner, the pieces are connected so as not to move relative to each other in the radial direction.

The engaging part 50 is configured by providing a convex part 51 on one side and a concave part 52 on the other side in the circumferential contact surface between the pieces 40.
In the present embodiment, for example, the convex portions 51 and the concave portions 52 are formed in an arc shape, and the convex portions 51 are held by the claws 53 to be more firmly connected.
Also according to the present embodiment, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be achieved.

[Modification]
The electromagnetic switch 8 of the starter 1 of the first to fifth embodiments includes a first solenoid 31 that pushes the pinion 6 in the axial direction using the magnetic force generated by the exciting coil, and a second solenoid for turning on / off the energization current of the motor. It was a tandem type with two solenoids. However, the electromagnetic switch 8 which consists of one solenoid may be sufficient. That is, it may be of a type in which the shift lever 7 is moved by turning the plunger of one solenoid in the axial direction and the main switch of the motor 2 is switched on / off.

  Moreover, although the starter 1 of Examples 1-5 was a type which pushes out both the pinion 6 and the one-way clutch 5 with the shift lever 7, the type which pushes out only the pinion 6 may be sufficient.

1 starter, 2 motor, 4 output shaft, 5 one-way clutch, 6 pinion, 6a gear teeth, 26 inner tube (pinion shaft), 29 spring (elastic member), 40 pieces, 50 engaging portion, R ring gear

Claims (7)

A motor (2) that generates rotational force when energized;
A pinion shaft (26) which is rotated by the rotational force of the motor (2) being transmitted;
A pinion (6) supported on the outer periphery of the pinion shaft (26) and rotating integrally with the pinion shaft (26) and having gear teeth (6a) meshable with the ring gear (R) of the engine. Prepared,
By pushing the pinion (6) toward the ring gear (R) or by pushing the pinion shaft (26) toward the ring gear (R) integrally with the pinion (6), the pinion is A starter that is meshed with the ring gear (R) and that transmits the rotational force of the motor from the pinion (6) to the ring gear (R),
The pinion (6) comprises a plurality of pieces (40) divided into at least two in the circumferential direction,
The starter characterized in that each of the plurality of pieces (40) can slide in the axial direction on the pinion shaft (26). The starter according to claim 1,
The starter characterized in that the piece (40) is in contact with the adjacent piece (40) in the circumferential direction. The starter according to claim 1 or 2,
The pinion (6) is radially divided into at least two when viewed from the axial direction, and the dividing line passes between the gear teeth (6a) and the gear teeth (6a). . The starter according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A starter comprising an elastic member (29) disposed between the pinion (6) and the pinion shaft (26) and biasing the pinion (6) toward the ring gear. The starter according to claim 4,
The elastic member (29) biases the pinion (6) toward the ring gear for each piece. In the starter in any one of Claims 1-5,
A starter comprising a ring member (42) mounted on the outer periphery of the pinion (6) and restricting the movement of the piece (40) in the radial direction. In the starter in any one of Claims 1-5,
The piece (40) has an engaging portion (50) that engages with the adjacent piece (40) in an uneven manner,
The engagement portion (50) connects the pieces so as not to move relative to each other in the radial direction.

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