JP2015183653A - starter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a starter 1 capable of suppressing an inrush current at a time of starting a motor without using a constituent component to serve as current suppression means such as a resistor.SOLUTION: Pinion-rotation restriction means includes an engagement groove 17 formed in an outer circumferential surface of a clutch 11; and an engagement member 18 disposed radially outward of the clutch 11 and energized by a spring 19, and a tip end portion of the engagement member 18 is engaged with the engagement groove 17 at a stop position of a pinion 4. As a result, if a pinion moving body is pressed in a direction opposite to a motor 2 in a state of restricting rotation, a rotation force is applied to an output shaft 3 by an action of a helical spline and the rotation of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to an armature 8 of the motor 2. That is, the armature 8 can be rotated in advance before a current is supplied to the motor 2, so that an inrush current generated when the current is supplied to the motor 2 can be suppressed. As a consequence, a voltage drop of a battery can be reduced and a battery life can be, therefore, extended.

Description

  The present invention relates to a starter that drives a shift lever using the attractive force of an electromagnet and pushes a pinion to the ring gear side of the engine via the shift lever.

Conventionally, in a starter for starting an engine, when a main contact is closed, a large current called an inrush current flows into the motor, resulting in a battery voltage drop. For this reason, when the terminal voltage of the battery falls below the operating voltage of an electric device (meters, navigation, etc.) mounted on the vehicle, a phenomenon called “instantaneous interruption” occurs in which the electric device stops instantaneously. . In addition, a large voltage drop of the battery also affects the battery life.
On the other hand, a technique is known in which an inrush current is suppressed by connecting an electromagnetic relay with a built-in resistor to an energization circuit of a motor (see Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, an inrush current is suppressed by opening a contact of an electromagnetic relay when a motor is energized and causing a current to flow through a resistor. Further, the voltage drop of the battery can be reduced by suppressing the inrush current to the motor.

JP 2009-224315 A

However, in the prior art of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to add an electromagnetic relay with a built-in resistor in the energization circuit of the motor. That is, since an electromagnetic relay is required in addition to the starter, there is a problem that the circuit configuration is complicated and the cost is increased.
Further, since the input current to the motor is suppressed by the resistor, the output torque of the motor is naturally reduced when the current is suppressed, and the engine startability is deteriorated. In other words, the engine start time becomes longer even if the time is short. In particular, in a vehicle equipped with an idling stop, when the engine is restarted from a state where it is temporarily stopped at an intersection or the like, a long engine start time causes a psychological burden on the driver. .
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a starter that can suppress an inrush current at the time of starting a motor without using a component serving as a current suppressing means such as a resistor. Is to provide.

  The present invention according to claim 1 includes a motor that generates a rotational force, an output shaft that is driven by the motor to rotate, a pinion for transmitting motor torque to the ring gear of the engine, and the output shaft A pinion moving body that is fitted with a helical spline on the outer periphery and arranged to be movable on the axis of the output shaft, and a shift lever is driven using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and the pinion moving body is connected to the ring gear via the shift lever. A starter including an electromagnetic solenoid that pushes out toward the side, and includes a pinion rotation restricting means that restricts rotation of the pinion moving body when the pinion moving body is pushed out toward the ring gear.

  In the configuration of the first aspect, since the pinion moving body is fitted with the helical spline on the outer periphery of the output shaft, when the pinion moving body moves to the ring gear side on the output shaft while the rotation of the pinion moving body is restricted, the helical spline The output shaft is rotated by the action. The rotation of the output shaft is transmitted to the motor, so that a rotational force can be applied to the motor. Thus, since the motor can be rotated in advance before the motor is energized, the inrush current generated when the motor is energized can be reduced as compared with the case where the motor is energized while the motor is stopped.

  The present invention according to claim 2 includes a motor that generates a rotational force, an output shaft that is driven by the motor to rotate, a pinion for transmitting motor torque to the ring gear of the engine, and the output shaft A pinion moving body that is directly splined to the outer periphery and arranged so as to be movable on the axis of the output shaft, and a shift lever is driven using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and the pinion moving body is ring geared through the shift lever. A starter having an electromagnetic solenoid that pushes out to the side, and when the pinion moving body is pushed out to the ring gear side, the pinion moving body restricts the orbit of the pinion moving body in a spiral manner to provide a rotational motion to the pinion moving body It is characterized by providing.

  In the configuration of claim 2, since the pinion moving body is directly splined to the outer periphery of the output shaft, if the rotational motion is applied when the pinion moving body is pushed out to the ring gear side, the rotational motion is converted to the output shaft. Is transmitted to the output shaft. By transmitting the rotation of the output shaft to the motor, a rotational force can be applied to the rotor of the motor. Thus, since the motor can be rotated in advance before the motor is energized, the inrush current generated when the motor is energized can be reduced as compared with the case where the motor is energized while the motor is stopped.

The present invention according to claim 3 includes a motor that generates a rotational force, an output shaft that is driven by the motor to rotate, a pinion for transmitting motor torque to the ring gear of the engine, and the output shaft A pinion moving body that is fitted with a helical spline on the outer periphery and arranged to be movable on the axis of the output shaft, and a shift lever is driven using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and the pinion moving body is connected to the ring gear via the shift lever. A starter having an electromagnetic solenoid that pushes out to the side, wherein the inertial mass of the rotor of the motor is defined as m1 and the inertial mass of the pinion moving body is defined as m2, the following relationship (1) is established: .
m1 <m2 …………………… (1)

  In the third aspect of the present invention, since the pinion moving body is fitted with the helical spline on the outer periphery of the output shaft, if the pinion moving body is pushed out to the ring gear side in the state where the relationship (1) is established, The output shaft is rotated by the action. By transmitting the rotation of the output shaft to the motor, a rotational force can be applied to the rotor of the motor. As a result, the rotor can be rotated in advance before the motor is energized, so the inrush current generated when the motor is energized is smaller than when the motor is energized while the rotor is stopped. Can be small.

It is a half view at the time of the starter stop concerning Example 1. (Example 1) which is a half sectional view of the starter which shows the state which the pinion contact | abutted to the ring gear. (Example 1) which is a half sectional view of the starter which shows the state which the pinion and the ring gear meshed. It is a half view at the time of the starter stop concerning Example 2. It is explanatory drawing of the pinion track | orbit control means which concerns on Example 2, and shows the state at the time of (a) pinion stop, (b) pinion contact, (c) pinion meshing. (Example 2) which is a semi-sectional view of the starter which shows the state which the pinion and the ring gear meshed. It is a half view at the time of the starter stop concerning Example 3.

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

[Example 1]
In the first embodiment, an example of the starter 1 according to claim 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the starter 1 includes a motor 2 that generates a rotational force, an output shaft 3 that is driven by the motor 2, a pinion 4 that is disposed on the shaft of the output shaft 3, and the pinion 4 includes an electromagnetic switch 5 that pushes out 4 and a pinion rotation restricting means that will be described later.
The motor 2 includes a field element configured by arranging a plurality of permanent magnets 7 on the inner periphery of a yoke 6 forming a magnetic circuit, an armature 8 disposed on the inner periphery of the field element, and the electric machine The DC motor includes a brush (not shown) that slides on the outer periphery of a commutator 9 provided on the shaft of the child 8. The field element may be an electromagnet field using a field coil instead of the permanent magnet 7.

The output shaft 3 is arranged on the same axis as the rotating shaft of the armature 8 (referred to as an armature shaft) via a reduction gear (not shown), and rotates by receiving the driving torque of the motor 2 amplified by the reduction gear.
The speed reducer is, for example, a known planetary gear speed reducer in which a plurality of planetary gears rotate and revolve, and the revolving motion of the planetary gear is transmitted to the output shaft 3.
The pinion 4 is disposed on the outer periphery of the output shaft 3 via a bearing 10 and is integrally coupled to a clutch 11 described below, and constitutes the pinion moving body of the present invention together with the clutch 11.
The clutch 11 is fitted to a helical spline 12 formed on the outer periphery of the output shaft 3 to transmit the rotation of the output shaft 3 to the pinion 4, while blocking the torque transmission from the pinion 4 to the output shaft 3. It is.

The electromagnetic switch 5 has a coil that forms an electromagnet when energized, and a plunger that is attracted by the electromagnet and moves to the right in FIG. 1, and the pinion moving body is connected to the engine via a shift lever 13 connected to the plunger. To the ring gear 14 side. The electromagnetic switch 5 has a main contact for turning on / off the energization current of the motor 2 and opens and closes the main contact according to the axial movement of the plunger.
The main contact is between a set of fixed contacts (not shown) connected to the energization circuit of the motor 2 via two terminal bolts 15 and 16 and a set of fixed contacts according to the movement of the plunger. It is comprised with the movable contact (not shown) electrically opened and closed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pinion rotation restricting means includes an engagement groove 17 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch 11, an engagement member 18 disposed on the radially outer side of the clutch 11, and the engagement member 18. And an urging spring 19.
The engagement groove 17 is formed along the axial direction from the end surface on the axial pinion side of the clutch 11 toward the anti-pinion side, and the groove depth is gradually reduced (shallow) toward the anti-pinion side. The axial length of the engagement groove 17 corresponds to the movement stroke from the stop position of the pinion 4 shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2 where the pinion 4 contacts the ring gear 14.

The engagement member 18 has, for example, a rod shape having a circular cross section or a polygonal shape, and an end portion on the rear end side with respect to the clutch 11 is inserted into a cylindrical hole 21 formed in the starter housing 20. At the stop position, the end on the distal end side is engaged with the engagement groove 17.
The spring 19 is disposed inside the cylindrical hole 21 and biases the engaging member 18 toward the clutch 11. Note that the load of the spring 19 that biases the engaging member 18 is large enough that the front end surface of the engaging member 18 contacts the bottom surface of the engaging groove 17. That is, after the pinion moving body moves to the ring gear 14 side and the engaging member 18 comes out of the engaging groove 17, the front end surface of the engaging member 18 is not strongly pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the clutch 11. It is a load of the grade which contacts moderately with the outer peripheral surface.

Next, the operation of the starter 1 will be described.
When the electromagnet is formed by energizing the coil of the electromagnetic switch 5, the plunger is attracted to the electromagnet and moves to the right in FIG. By this movement of the plunger, the pinion moving body (clutch 11 and pinion 4) is pushed out on the shaft of the output shaft 3 in the counter-motor direction (left direction in FIG. 1) via the shift lever 13. At this time, since the tip end portion of the engaging member 18 is engaged with the engaging groove 17 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the clutch 11, the rotation of the pinion moving body is restricted. That is, the pinion moving body moves in the counter-motor direction without rotating on the output shaft 3. Thereby, a rotational force is given to the output shaft 3 by the action of the helical spline, and the rotation of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to the armature 8 of the motor 2 through the reduction gear.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movement of the pinion moving body pushed in the direction opposite to the motor stops when the pinion 4 comes into contact with the ring gear 14. At this point, the rotation of the pinion moving body is released by the engagement member 18 coming out of the engagement groove 17. Immediately thereafter, the motor 2 is energized from the battery by the movable contact contacting a set of fixed contacts and the main contact closing.
When the armature 8 is rotated by energizing the motor 2, the rotation of the armature 8 is decelerated by the speed reducer and transmitted to the output shaft 3, and the rotation of the output shaft 3 is further transmitted to the pinion 4 via the clutch 11. .

  When the pinion 4 rotates to a position where it can mesh with the ring gear 14, the teeth of the pinion 4 are pushed between the teeth of the ring gear 14 by the reaction force of a drive spring (not shown) incorporated in the electromagnetic switch 5. Is completed (see FIG. 3). The movement of the pinion 4 comes into contact with the pinion stopper 22 attached to the distal end side of the output shaft 3 and stops. As a result, the motor torque amplified by the reduction gear is transmitted from the pinion 4 to the ring gear 14 to crank the engine.

[Operation and Effect of Example 1]
In the starter 1 of the first embodiment, since the clutch 11 is helically splined to the outer periphery of the output shaft 3, if the clutch 11 is moved on the shaft of the output shaft 3 toward the ring gear 14 with the rotation restricted, the helical A rotational force is applied to the output shaft 3 by the action of the spline. The rotation of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to the armature 8 of the motor 2 so that a rotational force can be applied to the armature 8. That is, since the armature 8 can be rotated in advance before the motor 2 is energized, the rush that occurs when the motor 2 is energized compared to the case where the motor 2 is energized with the armature 8 stopped. The current can be reduced. As a result, the battery voltage drop is also reduced, so that the battery life can be improved.

Further, since it is not necessary to provide a current suppressing means such as a resistor in the energization circuit of the motor 2, the input current is not suppressed when the motor 2 is energized, and a reduction in motor performance can be prevented. In particular, in a vehicle equipped with an idling stop, the engine can be restarted promptly when an engine restart request is generated, so the psychological burden on the driver can be reduced. Furthermore, when compared with Patent Document 1 which is a prior art, an electromagnetic relay with a built-in resistor can be abolished, so that cost reduction can be realized by simplifying the circuit configuration.
The pinion rotation restricting means biases the engaging member 18 while the tip end surface of the engaging member 18 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the clutch 11 while the pinion 4 is engaged with the ring gear 14 and rotated. Since the load of the spring 19 is small, no braking force acts on the rotation of the pinion 4.

Hereinafter, other embodiments according to the present invention will be described.
In addition, what shows the component and structure which are common in Example 1 is provided with the same code | symbol as Example 1, and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
[Example 2]
The second embodiment will explain a case of the starter 1 according to claim 2.
As shown in FIG. 4, the starter 1 of the second embodiment is engaged with the straight spline 23 formed on the outer periphery of the output shaft 3, and the clutch 11 is pushed together with the pinion 4 in the anti-motor direction. In addition, a pinion trajectory regulating means for regulating the trajectory of the clutch 11 in a spiral shape is provided.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pinion trajectory restricting means includes a large-diameter portion 11a provided on the axial pinion side (the left side in the figure) of the clutch 11, and an inclined groove 24 recessed in the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter portion 11a. And the engaging member 18 whose front end engages with the inclined groove 24 when the pinion 4 is stopped.
The axial width of the large-diameter portion 11a corresponds to a movement stroke L1 (see FIG. 5B) from the stop position of the pinion 4 shown in FIG. 4 until the pinion 4 comes into contact with the ring gear 14.
As shown in FIG. 5, the inclined groove 24 is formed to have a full axial width of the large-diameter portion 11 a by inclining at a predetermined angle with respect to the axial direction (left-right direction in the drawing) of the clutch 11.
The engaging member 18 has a bar shape similar to that of the first embodiment, for example, and the rear end portion is fixed to the starter housing 20.

  According to the above configuration, since the clutch 11 is directly splined to the outer periphery of the output shaft 3, when the pinion moving body (the clutch 11 and the pinion 4) is pushed out to the ring gear 14 side, The clutch 11 is rotated by the engagement with the inclined groove 24. The engaging member 18 is positioned at the foremost end (left end portion in the drawing) of the inclined groove 24 at the stop position of the pinion 4 as shown in FIG. 5A, and the pinion 4 abuts against the ring gear 14. At this point, the slant groove 24 exits as shown in FIG. Thereafter, until the engagement between the pinion 4 and the ring gear 14 is completed, in other words, until the pinion 4 abuts on the pinion stopper 22 and stops, the clutch 11 relatively moves in the axial direction. In a state where the pinion 4 is engaged with the ring gear 14, the pinion 4 is positioned at the rearmost end (the right end portion in the figure) of the clutch 11 as shown in FIG. In addition, L2 shown in the figure is a movement distance (maximum stroke) from the stop position until the pinion 4 comes into contact with the pinion stopper 22.

When the rotational motion of the clutch 11 is transmitted to the output shaft 3 and the output shaft 3 rotates, the rotation of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to the armature 8 of the motor 2 through the reduction gear, thereby causing the armature 8 to rotate. Can be given. That is, since the armature 8 can be rotated in advance before the motor 2 is energized, the rush that occurs when the motor 2 is energized compared to the case where the motor 2 is energized with the armature 8 stopped. The current can be reduced. As a result, the battery voltage drop is also reduced, so that the battery life can be improved.
Thereafter, as in the first embodiment, the main contact is closed and the motor 2 is energized, and as shown in FIG. 6, the pinion 4 meshes with the ring gear 14, so that the motor torque amplified by the reduction gear is reduced. 4 is transmitted to the ring gear 14 to crank the engine.

Example 3
The third embodiment will explain an example of the starter 1 according to claim 3.
In the starter 1 of the third embodiment, the clutch 11 is helically splined to the outer periphery of the output shaft 3 as in the first embodiment. However, when the inertial mass of the armature 8 of the motor 2 is defined as m1 and the inertial mass of the pinion moving body is defined as m2 (see FIG. 7), the following relationship (1) is established.
m1 <m2 …………………… (1)

  When the relationship (1) is established, the output shaft 3 is rotated by the action of the helical spline when the pinion moving body is pushed out to the ring gear 14 side. The rotation of the output shaft 3 is transmitted to the armature 8 of the motor 2 so that a rotational force can be applied to the armature 8. That is, as in the first embodiment, the armature 8 can be rotated in advance before the motor 2 is energized, so that the motor is compared with the case where the motor 2 is energized with the armature 8 stopped. The inrush current generated when the current is supplied to 2 can be reduced. As a result, the battery voltage drop is also reduced, so that the battery life can be improved.

[Modification]
In the first embodiment, an example of the starter 1 including a reduction gear between the armature shaft of the motor 2 and the output shaft 3 is described. However, the armature shaft and the output shaft of the motor 2 are used without using the reduction gear. 3 may be directly connected.
In the starters 1 described in the first to third embodiments, the pinion 4 and the clutch 11 constitute the pinion moving body of the present invention, but the pinion 4 and the clutch 11 are separated, and only the pinion 4 moves on the output shaft 3. It may be configured to move.
The starter 1 described in the first embodiment uses the electromagnetic switch 5 to push out the pinion 4 and open and close the main contact. It can also be adopted.

  In the first embodiment, the case of the starter 1 using the DC motor 2 has been described. However, an AC motor can be used instead of the DC motor 2. However, since the AC motor needs to grasp the rotor angle while the rotor is stopped, a rotation angle sensor is required. However, even when an AC motor is used, by adopting the configuration of any one of the first to third embodiments, the rotor can be rotated before the motor is energized, so that the rotation angle sensor can be eliminated. Can also be expected.

1 Starter 2 Motor 3 Output shaft 4 Pinion (Pinion moving body)
5 Electromagnetic switch (electromagnetic solenoid)
8 Armature (Motor rotor)
11 Clutch (Pinion moving body)
13 Shift lever 14 Ring gear 17 Engagement groove (pinion rotation restricting means)
18 engaging member (pinion rotation restricting means, pinion trajectory restricting means)
24 Inclined groove (Pinion track control means)

Claims (6)

A motor (2) for generating a rotational force;
An output shaft (3) driven and rotated by the motor (2);
It has a pinion (4) for transmitting motor torque to the ring gear (14) of the engine, and is fitted on a helical spline on the outer periphery of the output shaft (3) to move on the output shaft (3). A pinion movable body (4, 11) arranged in a possible manner;
An electromagnetic solenoid (5) that drives the shift lever (13) using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and pushes the pinion moving body (4, 11) toward the ring gear (14) via the shift lever (13); A starter (1) comprising
It comprises pinion rotation restricting means (17, 18) for restricting the rotation of the pinion moving body (4, 11) when the pinion moving body (4, 11) is pushed out toward the ring gear (14). Starter. A motor (2) for generating a rotational force;
An output shaft (3) driven and rotated by the motor (2);
It has a pinion (4) for transmitting motor torque to the engine ring gear (14), and is directly splined to the outer periphery of the output shaft (3) to move on the output shaft (3). A pinion movable body (4, 11) arranged in a possible manner;
An electromagnetic solenoid (5) that drives the shift lever (13) using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and pushes the pinion moving body (4, 11) toward the ring gear (14) via the shift lever (13); A starter (1) comprising
When the pinion moving body (4, 11) is pushed out toward the ring gear (14), the orbit of the pinion moving body (4, 11) is restricted in a spiral manner, thereby the pinion moving body (4, 11). And a pinion trajectory restricting means (24, 18) for imparting rotational motion to the starter. A motor (2) for generating a rotational force;
An output shaft (3) driven and rotated by the motor (2);
It has a pinion (4) for transmitting motor torque to the ring gear (14) of the engine, and is fitted on a helical spline on the outer periphery of the output shaft (3) to move on the output shaft (3). A pinion movable body (4, 11) arranged in a possible manner;
An electromagnetic solenoid (5) that drives the shift lever (13) using the attractive force of the electromagnet, and pushes the pinion moving body (4, 11) toward the ring gear (14) via the shift lever (13); A starter (1) comprising
When the inertial mass of the rotor of the motor (2) is defined as m1, and the inertial mass of the pinion moving body (4, 11) is defined as m2,
m1 <m2 …………………… (1)
A starter characterized in that the relationship (1) is established. The starter (1) according to claim 1,
The pinion moving body (4, 11) includes a clutch (11) configured integrally with the pinion (4) and transmitting the rotation of the output shaft (3) to the pinion (4).
The pinion rotation restricting means (17, 18) can be engaged with the engagement groove (17) formed on the outer periphery of the clutch (11) and the engagement groove (17) when the pinion (4) is stopped. And an engagement member (18) that is movable in a radial direction opposite to the clutch (11), and a spring (19) that biases the engagement member (18) toward the clutch (11). ) And the engagement member (4, 11) from when the pinion moving body (4, 11) is pushed out toward the ring gear (14) until the pinion (4) contacts the ring gear (14). 18) The starter characterized in that the rotation of the pinion moving body (4, 11) is regulated by being biased by the spring (19) and engaging with the engagement groove (17). Starter (1) according to claim 2,
The pinion moving body (4, 11) includes a clutch (11) configured integrally with the pinion (4) and transmitting the rotation of the output shaft (3) to the pinion (4).
The pinion track restricting means (24, 18) includes an inclined groove (24) formed on an outer periphery of the clutch (11) and inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to an axial direction of the clutch (11), and the pinion ( 4) and the engaging member (18) that engages with the inclined groove (24) when the pinion moving body (4, 11) is pushed out toward the ring gear (14). The pinion moving body (4, 11) is given rotational motion by the engagement member (18) engaging with the inclined groove (24) until 4) contacts the ring gear (14). A starter characterized by that. Starter (1) according to claim 3,
The pinion moving body (4, 11) includes a clutch (11) configured integrally with the pinion (4) and transmitting the rotation of the output shaft (3) to the pinion (4). Starter.

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