JP3010854B2 - Starter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a starter having a pinion gear which improves the engagement between a pinion gear and a ring gear while reducing the space in the axial direction of the pinion gear.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional technique for improving the meshing property between a pinion gear and a ring gear of a starter is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-503.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 76-76, a pinion gear and an overrunning clutch are separately formed. This is because when the pinion gear collides with the ring gear by providing a pressing spring acting only on the pinion gear between the end formed integrally with the pinion gear and the armature shaft interposed on the inner diameter side of the end. This prevents scratches and abrasion of the tooth cross-section and improves meshing.

[0003]

However, according to such a conventional starter, a pressing spring is provided between an end formed integrally with the pinion gear and an armature shaft interposed on the inner diameter side of the end. Because it has, the outer diameter of the pressing spring is smaller than the outer diameter of the end,
Further, it is necessary to secure a long axial space for interposing the pressing spring between the pinion gear and the overrunning clutch, and there is a drawback that it cannot be used for a starter which cannot secure a long axial space.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a starter capable of improving the meshing property between a pinion gear and a ring gear while suppressing the axial space of the pinion gear.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an armature shaft which is driven to rotate by a starting motor, and an over-shaft which is driven by engaging with a helical spline formed on the armature shaft. A starter that includes a running clutch and a pinion gear that is driven via the overrunning clutch, and transmits a rotational driving force from the starting motor to a ring gear on the engine side via the pinion gear, wherein the pinion gear is connected to the ring gear. A spline is formed at the end of the clutch inner portion so that the gear portion slides in the axial direction. The spline is formed at the end of the clutch inner portion. A space is formed outside the end of the clutch inner portion, and the gear The is to employ the technical means of interposing an elastic member for pressing the ring gear side.

[0006]

According to the present invention, when the starter shown in FIG.
0 starts to move forward in the direction of the armature shaft 8.
After the start of the forward movement, the gear portion 1b of the pinion gear 1 shown in FIG.
Reaches the end of the ring gear on the engine (not shown),
At this time, the teeth of the gear and the ring gear interfere with each other. At this time, if the gear portion of the pinion gear cannot be further advanced, the gear portion bends the elastic member independent of the overrunning clutch via the elastic member 3 while the overrunning clutch further advances. .

Eventually, the starting motor is energized and the pinion gear rotates and moves to a position where the teeth of the gear portion of the pinion gear do not interfere. 1a
To the position of the tip of.

As a result, a fixed amount of pinion pushing force can be secured while keeping the space in the axial direction, and the meshing property between the pinion gear and the ring gear is effectively improved.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. In FIG. 1 showing a main part of the starter, an armature shaft 8 to which power from a starting motor 100 is transmitted at the time of starting the engine, a clutch outer 5 fitted and rotated with a helical spline 8a provided on the armature shaft 8, A clutch roller 6 disposed in a cam chamber 7 of the clutch outer 5; and a gear portion 1b inside one end of the clutch roller 6 meshing with a ring gear.
And a clutch inner portion 1a that engages with or disengages from the clutch roller 6 at the other end.

The pinion gear 1 is a large-diameter pinion gear in which the outermost diameter of the tooth tip of the gear portion 1b is larger than the outermost diameter of the clutch outer 5. This large diameter pinion gear 1
For example, it is used when the pinion gear 1 does not reach the ring gear, such as when the center axis distance between the ring gear on the engine side and the pinion gear 1 is large. In the large-diameter pinion gear 1, for example, a conical disc spring 3 as an elastic member as shown in FIG. 3 is disposed in a space provided inside the gear bottom of the gear portion 1b.

The gear portion 1b is provided with the clutch inner portion 1a.
Are slidably engaged in the axial direction by a radial spline 1d formed in the radial direction, and the rotational movement of the gear portion 1b and the clutch inner portion 1a is integrally rotated by the direct spline 1d. Further, a pinion stopper 4 for preventing the gear portion 1b of the pinion gear 1 from falling off is fitted to the axial end of the clutch inner portion 1a.

The pinion gear 1 has a clutch inner part 1a.
Is movable in the axial direction by the distance regulated by the bending allowance of the pinion stopper 4 and the disc spring 3.
Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When the starter is driven when the engine is started, the overrunning clutch 10 is pushed by the drive lever 9 and starts moving forward in the axial direction of the armature shaft 8. After the overrunning clutch 10 starts moving forward, the pinion gear 1
Gear portion 1b reaches a ring gear end (not shown).
At this time, since the gear portion 1b and the tooth portion of the ring gear interfere with each other, it is impossible to further advance the pinion gear 1 in the axial direction. However, the gear portion 1b of the pinion gear 1,
The clutch inner portion 1a is engaged with the direct spline 1d, and the axial movement is free as much as the movement is restricted by the disc spring 3, so that even if the gear portion 1b of the pinion gear 1 cannot move forward. The clutch outer 5 fitted to the clutch inner portion 1a and the clutch roller 6 is provided in the space 2 inside the bottom of the mesh.
Is further advanced while deflecting the disc spring 3 provided at the.

Then, when the starting motor is energized, the pinion gear 1 starts rotating together with the armature shaft 8, and when the gear portion 1b moves to a position where it does not interfere with the ring gear, the pushing force of the bent disc spring 3 is applied.
The gear portion 1b of the pinion gear 1 moves to the position of the pinion stopper 4 disposed at the tip of the clutch inner portion 1a while advancing at a stretch, and applies a rotational force to the ring gear.

The space in the axial direction is suppressed by disposing the disc spring 3 in the space 2 inside the mesh bottom of the large diameter pinion gear 1 in which the outermost diameter of the pinion gear 1 is larger than the outermost diameter of the clutch outer 5. However, since a certain amount of pinion pushing force can be secured, the meshing property between the pinion gear 1 and the ring gear can be improved.

In addition, since the operating point of the pressing force of the disc spring 3 is close to the circumferential portion 1e of the pinion gear 1, the inclination of the pinion gear 1 at the time of pushing is reduced, and the sliding of the pinion gear 1 becomes smooth.

Further, since there is room in the space 2 inside the bottom of the bite, the degree of freedom in designing the elastic member is increased. In the above embodiment, the elastic member disposed in the space 2 inside the mesh bottom of the large-diameter pinion gear 1 is a disc spring (particularly, the disc spring has a high centrifugal resistance by itself and does not require additional parts). This may be a rubber material or a coiled bamboo child spring. FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram in the case of the bamboo child spring. In this embodiment, the clutch inner portion 1a is formed with a brim portion 1c for preventing displacement of the bamboo shoot spring 3a when assembled. Since the bamboo child spring is inferior in centrifugal resistance to the disc spring, the bamboo child spring 3a, which is an elastic member, is provided with a brim portion 1c for preventing displacement, so that the bamboo child spring has a shape to compensate for the centrifugal resistance. Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, a round material is used for the bamboo child spring member, but this may be a plate material.

[0017]

As described above, in the present invention, the pinion gear is divided into a gear portion and a clutch inner portion, and a space inside the gear bottom is formed on the overrunning clutch side of the gear portion. By interposing an elastic member for pressing the gear portion toward the ring gear side in the space, the meshing property between the pinion gear and the ring gear can be improved while suppressing the axial space, and the mesh bottom of the gear portion of the pinion gear can be improved. Since the inside is a space, there is an excellent effect that the weight of the pinion gear having a large diameter and an increased weight can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an elastic member in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram including a cross section of a main part of the starter of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pinion gear 1a Clutch inner part 1b Gear part 1c Flange part 1d Straight spline 1e Circumferential part 2 Space inside biting bottom 3 Disc spring as elastic member 3a Bamboo child spring as elastic member 4 Pinion stopper 5 Clutch outer 6 Clutch roller 7 Cam Chamber 8 Armature shaft 8a Helical spline 9 Drive lever 10 Overrunning clutch 100 Motor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F02N 15/02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An armature shaft rotatably driven by a starting motor; an overrunning clutch driven by engaging a helical spline formed on the armature shaft; and a pinion gear driven via the overrunning clutch. A starter that transmits a rotational driving force from the starting motor to a ring gear on the engine side via the pinion gear, wherein the pinion gear is formed by dividing into a gear portion meshing with the ring gear and a clutch inner portion. At the same time, a spline is formed at the end of the clutch inner portion so that the gear portion slides in the axial direction, and a space is formed inside the gear bottom and outside the end of the clutch inner portion. elastic member for pressing the gear portion to the ring gear side is disposed within Both gear portion of the pinion gear
The diameter of the bite is larger than the outer diameter of the clutch outer.
A starter to mark.