JP3155905B2 - Engine starter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an engine starting device, and more particularly to an engine starting device in which a rotating shaft of an electric motor, a sliding shaft of a pinion, and an electromagnetic device for driving a pinion and a switch are coaxially arranged. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional engine starting device, an output shaft supporting a pinion meshing with a ring gear so as to be movable in the axial direction, and an axial center of an electromagnetic device for driving the pinion in the axial direction are formed by:
It is common for them to be arranged in parallel with each other. In the starting device having the two-axis configuration, the electromagnetic device protrudes to the side of the electric motor, so that the radial dimension cannot be reduced, and there are considerable restrictions in securing the mounting space.

In order to improve such inconveniences, coaxial starters provided with an electromagnetic device at a position surrounding an output shaft are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos.
90666.

[0004]

However, as in the configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a starting device in which an output shaft and an electromagnetic device are coaxially arranged has a lever in which an axial force generated in an armature by a magnetic flux of an exciting coil is applied to a lever. Therefore, an additional output of the exciting coil is required to directly drive the pinion. For this reason, the size of the excitation coil had to be increased, and the miniaturization could not be promoted as much as desired.

The present invention has been devised to solve such disadvantages of the prior art, and its main objects are as follows.
An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration in which an exciting coil in an engine starting device in which a rotating shaft of a motor, a sliding shaft of a pinion, and an electromagnetic device for driving a pinion and a switch are coaxially arranged can be further reduced in size.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems] The above object, the present gun
According to the invention of claim 1 , an electric motor, an output shaft driven by the electric motor, a ring gear driving pinion coupled to the output shaft via a helical spline, and movement of the pinion to open and close a power supply path to the electric motor. Can be closed independently of operation
A switch that Do, the armature in the engine starting device having an output shaft and an electromagnetic device comprising a cylindrical armature and the excitation coil provided to the outer circumference of the order to drive the movable contact plate of the pinion and the switch in the axial direction, Yes
A first portion connected to the moving contact plate, and a first portion connected to the pinion;
With the second part, which can be displaced in the relative axial direction.
Achieved by engaging. In particular,
In addition to the above, the configuration according to claim 2, that is, the motor and the pinion
Place the electromagnetic device between the motors and
Place it on the electromagnetic device side, and place the switch between a pair of brushes
The pigtails of the pair of brushes directly to the movable contact plate.
It is good to tie.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the movable contact plate is driven.
Armature and pinion drive armature
The excitation coil is divided by
Eliminates the need for extra axial space before and after the file
Therefore, when starting the motor, the helical spline
Excitation for pinion drive because axial force acts on pinion
Combined with the ability to reduce the size of the coil,
The size can be further reduced. In addition, contract
If the configuration of claim 2 is added, the connection terminal of the battery and the anode block
It can be intermittent with a set of contacts between the pigtail of the lash
Therefore, the area around the switch is made compact.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The construction of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a starter with a reduction gear as a starting device for an engine constructed according to the present invention. The upper part of the center line shows a stationary state, and the lower part shows an energized state. The starter 1 generates a rotational force required for starting the engine, and includes an electric motor 3 having a planetary gear type reduction gear 2, an output shaft 4 connected to the electric motor 3 via the reduction gear 2, and A one-way roller clutch 5 and a pinion 6 slidably provided on the output shaft 4, a switch unit 7 for opening and closing a power supply path to the electric motor 3, and a movable contact plate 8 and a pinion 6 of the switch unit 7 in the axial direction. And an electromagnetic device 9 for moving it.

The electric motor 3 is composed of a known commutator type DC motor. The rotor shaft 10 has a right end pivotally connected to the center of a bottom plate 11 in the figure, and a left end shown in FIG. It is pivotally attached to the center of the right end of the output shaft 4 arranged coaxially.

The reduction gear 2 is a top plate 1 of the electric motor 3.
2 are provided on the inner surface. The reduction gear 2 includes a sun gear 13 formed at a position adjacent to a support portion of the rotor shaft 10 with respect to the output shaft 4, a plurality of planetary gears 14 meshed with the sun gear 13, and a top plate 12 so that the plurality of planetary gears 14 mesh with each other. And an internal gear 15 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the inner ring. A support plate 16 supporting a plurality of planetary gears 14 is coupled to the right end of the output shaft 4 pivotally supported at the center of the top plate 12.

A pinion housing 17 also serving as a fixing bracket for the engine is joined to the top plate 12. The left end of the output shaft 4 is pivotally attached to the center of the inner surface of the left wall of the pinion housing 17.

An inner peripheral portion of a clutch outer 18 of the one-way roller clutch 5 is connected to an outer peripheral surface of an intermediate portion of the output shaft 4 via a helical spline 19. The clutch outer 18 is constantly moved to the right by a return spring 21 contracted between a coupling portion 18a of the output shaft 4 by a helical spline 19 and the stopper plate 20 supported at the left end of the output shaft 4. Has been urged to fire. The return spring 21 is wound around a gap defined between the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve-like portion 18 b formed on the inner peripheral portion of the clutch outer 18 and the outer peripheral surface of the output shaft 4. By doing so, the one-way roller clutch 5
Since the return spring 21 is disposed inside the inside, the influence on the axial dimension is minimized.

A clutch inner 22 of the one-way roller clutch 5 is engaged with the clutch outer 18 so as not to be displaceable in the relative axial direction and to be relatively rotatable. A ring gear 23 of the engine is provided on the outer peripheral portion at the left end of the clutch inner 22.
The above-mentioned pinion 6 is integrally formed in order to mesh with and drive the engine. The clutch inner 22 integrally formed with the pinion 6 is rotatably and axially displaceably fitted to the left end of the output shaft 4.

An excitation coil 24 surrounding the output shaft 4 made of a non-magnetic material is provided at an intermediate portion of the pinion housing 17.
Is fixed. The exciting coil 24 is surrounded by a yoke constituted by a cup-shaped holder 25 having an inward flange 25a through which the output shaft 4 passes and a ring-shaped disc 26. In the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the exciting coil 24 and the outer peripheral surface of the output shaft 4, an armature outer 27 and an armature inner 28 formed of a magnetic material are mounted so as to be relatively slidable inside and outside double. ing. The left end surfaces of the armatures 27 and 28 are opposed to the inner surface of the center of the inward flange 25a of the holder 25, and the center of the inward flange 25a is a pole for both the armatures 27 and 28. In this way, by forming the output shaft 4 surrounding the electromagnetic device 9 from a non-magnetic material,
Since the magnetic path is formed exclusively in the armature, and the air gap between the armature and the output shaft can be substantially eliminated, the radial dimension around the electromagnetic device 9 is reduced.

The right end of the armature outer 27, which is the first part of the armature, is disposed adjacent to the commutator portion 31 of the motor 3 via a connecting plate 29 and a connecting rod 30 penetrating the top plate 12 of the motor 3. The switch unit 7 is connected to a movable contact plate 8. The movable contact plate 8 is attached to the connecting rod 30 so as to be displaceable in the axial direction, is floatingly supported by a coil spring 32, and is fixed to a brush stay 33 provided around the commutator 31. The switch unit 7 can be moved toward and away from the fixed contact plate 34 of the provided switch unit 7. The armature outer 27 is always urged to the right by a return spring 35 contracted and provided between the armature outer 27 and an inward flange 25a provided on the holder 25 of the excitation coil 24. Usually, the contact between the contacts is opened. It is stationary with

The armature inner 28, which is the second part of the armature, has a coil spring 36 having a spring force weaker than that of the return spring 21 provided on the clutch outer 18, and constantly springs leftward from the top plate 12. Being energized. Further, a shifter member 37 formed of a non-magnetic material and having a left end in contact with a right end of the clutch inner 22 is coupled to the armature inner 28.

Thus, the armature 27 for driving the movable contact plate 8 and the armature 28 for driving the pinion 6
Is divided and these components can be moved independently of each other, so that there is no need to provide a useless axial space before and after the exciting coil 24, so that the axial dimension around the electromagnetic device 9 is reduced. .

The clutch outer 18 and the shifter member 3
A suitable gap is provided between the end faces facing the gear 7 so that the pinion 6 comes into non-contact with the ring gear 23 in a completely engaged state. This gap is formed between the pinion 6 and the ring gear 2.
It is preferable that the length is not more than の of the engagement size with the third member.

The excitation coil 24 is electrically connected to an ignition switch (not shown) via a connector 38 (see FIG. 2) provided on the switch unit 7.

The fixed contact plate 34 of the switch unit 7 is electrically connected to the anode of a battery (not shown), and the movable contact plate 8 of the switch unit 7 has a pair of movable contacts, as shown in FIG. A pair of pigtails 40 connected to the anode brush 39 are fixed by spot welding. A pair of cathode brushes 41 are provided at a position symmetrical with the pair of anode brushes 39. This cathode brush 41
The pigtail 42 is connected to a center plate 43, which will be described later, and to the cathode of the battery via the pinion housing 17 and a vehicle body (not shown). Note that the switch unit 7 is provided in a space between the pair of anode brushes 39. By doing this,
Pigtail 40 of battery connection terminal and anode brush 39
Since the gap can be interrupted by one movable contact plate 8 and one fixed contact plate 34, the number of components around the switch unit 7 is reduced, and at the same time, the radial and axial dimensions are reduced. You.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In a stationary state in which no current is applied to the exciting coil 24, the armature outer 27 is
And the movable contact plate 8 connected thereto is separated from the fixed contact plate 34.
At the same time, the clutch outer 18 biased by the return spring 21 is connected to the clutch inner 22, the shifter member 37 and the armature inner 2 which are integral with the pinion 6.
8, the pinion 6 and the ring gear 23 are disconnected from each other.

When the ignition switch is set to the starter ON position, the exciting coil 24 is energized to be excited. Then both outer and inner armature 27
A magnetic path through which the magnetic flux passes through is formed, and the outer and inner armatures 27 and 28 move to the left. At this time, since the armature outer 27 side is closer to the center portion (pole) of the inward flange 25a of the holder 25, it moves prior to the armature inner 28. Then, the movable contact plate 8 moves to the left via the connecting plate 29 and the connecting rod 30, and comes into contact with the fixed contact plate 34. Thereby, the electric power of the battery is supplied to the electric motor 3, and the rotor shaft 10 rotates. Here, the movable contact plate 8 comes into contact with the fixed contact plate 34 earlier than the full stroke of the armature outer 27, and the movable contact plate 8 is floatingly supported so as to be axially displaceable with respect to the connecting rod 30. The pressing force of the coil spring 32 is applied between the contacts 8 and 34. On the other hand, when the outer flange 27a integrally formed on the right end side of the armature outer 27 abuts on the ring-shaped disk 26, a gap is formed between the left end surface thereof and the center of the inward flange 25a. To stop in

When the rotor shaft 10 rotates, the torque is reduced by the speed reducer 2 and transmitted to the output shaft 4. At this time, the clutch outer 18 engaged with the output shaft 4 via the helical spline 19 tends to stop due to inertial resistance, so that an axial force due to the action of the helical spline 19 is applied to the clutch outer 18 and the clutch outer 18 is disengaged. Start moving to the left. At the same time, the leftward attractive force of the exciting coil 24 and the pressing force of the coil spring 36 are simultaneously acting on the armature inner 28, and the armature inner 28 also starts moving leftward. Thus, the moving force is also applied to the clutch outer 18 via the shifter member 37 as an axial force.

Due to these axial forces, the clutch outer 18 is pushed to the left against the urging force of the return spring 21, and the pinion 6 integral with the clutch inner 22 integrally coupled with the clutch outer 18 also moves to the left. It is pushed out to. Then, the clutch outer 18 is connected to the stopper plate 2.
When the pinion 6 comes into contact with the ring gear 23 and reaches the position where the pinion 6 is normally meshed with the ring gear 23, the rotational force of the output shaft 4 is transmitted to the ring gear 23 and the engine is started. At this time, the left end face of the armature inner abuts against the center of the inward flange 25a of the holder 25, and a small gap is formed between the left end face of the shifter member 37 that has moved integrally with the armature inner and the clutch outer. Are formed. By contacting the center of the inward flange 25a of the holder 25 in this manner, the attractive force of the exciting coil 24 acts on the armature inner 28 to the maximum, so that the force coming out of the ring gear 23 acts on the pinion 6. Also, the rightward movement of the clutch outer 18 is prevented via the shifter member 37, so that the pinion 6 is prevented from coming out of the ring gear 23.

Here, the armature 2 having a full stroke
The current required to keep the 7.28 stationary can be smaller than the current required to activate the armatures 27.28. That is, as described above, the helical spline 1
The output of the exciting coil 24 can be reduced by using the axial force by 9 as the starting force of the one-way roller clutch 5 including the pinion 6, so that the diameter of the exciting coil 24 can be further reduced.

Here, the clutch outer 18 and the shifter member 3
A gap is provided between the end faces facing the outer sleeve 7 and the gap shortens the contact time between the clutch outer 18 and the shifter member 37, thereby reducing wear between the two. Further, since this gap is sufficiently small as compared with the length of engagement between the pinion 6 and the ring gear 23, there is no possibility that the engagement will be released early.

It is to be noted that, when the engine starts and exceeds the rotation speed of the pinion 6, the pinion 6 idles due to the action of the one-way roller clutch 5, which is exactly the same as the conventional configuration.

When the energization of the exciting coil 24 is stopped, the pinion 6 is separated from the ring gear 23 by the urging force of the return spring 21 on the clutch outer 18 and the urging force of the return spring 34 on the armature outer 27, and the movable contact plate is moved. 8 is separated from the fixed contact plate 32, and the motor 3 stops.

In the above-described embodiment, the armature is divided into two parts, in which the armature is double slid inside and outside. As shown in FIG. 3, this is a pinion 6 including a one-way roller clutch 5 and a movable contact plate. 8 can be driven together by a single armature 51. In FIG. 3, portions having the same functions as those in the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A connecting plate 29 connected to a connecting rod 30 supporting the movable contact plate 8 is fixed to the right end of the armature 51 in this embodiment, and a shifter which can abut the clutch outer 18 is provided on the left end. The member 37 is connected.

The connection plate 29 and the connection rod 30 are connected to each other via a coil spring 52, and the axial force acting on the armature 51 during excitation is transmitted from the connection plate 29 via the coil spring 52 to the connection rod. 30.

In this case, when the excitation coil 24 is energized, the armature 51 is attracted and moves to the left, and accordingly the connecting plate 27 moves to the left. Then, the coil spring 52 pushes the connecting rod 28 to the left to bring the movable contact plate 8 into contact with the fixed contact plate 32. This fixed contact plate 3
The contact between the fixed contact plate 32 and the movable contact plate 8 at rest is determined by the distance between the shifter member 36 and the clutch so that the contact between the movable contact plate 8 and the movable contact plate 8 is performed before the shifter member 36 contacts the clutch outer 18. It is set smaller than the interval with the outer 18. Here, after the fixed and movable contact plates 8 and 32 come into contact with each other, only the connecting plate 27 moves together with the armature 51 irrespective of the connecting rod 28 by compressing the coil spring 52.

When the electric power of the battery is supplied and the electric motor 3 rotates, the axial force acting on the clutch outer 18 connected by the helical spline 19 acts on the armature 51 as in the first embodiment. This is added to the axial force, and the pinion 6 moves leftward and meshes with the ring gear 23. Therefore, the armature 51 only needs to exert a holding force of the meshing state between the pinion 6 and the ring gear 23, so that the output of the exciting coil 24 can be reduced accordingly.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention , the output of the exciting coil can be reduced by pushing out the pinion in the axial direction by using the rotational force of the electric motor.
Combined with the movable contact plate drive arm
The armature and pinion drive armature are separate from each other
The front and rear of the excitation coil
Axial space can be reduced. In addition, the above configuration has
With additional configuration, the battery connection terminals and anode brush pin
Gutter can be intermittent with one set of contacts
Therefore, the area around the switch is made compact. Therefore, according to the present invention, a great effect can be achieved in promoting downsizing of the engine starting device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an engine starting device configured according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an engine starting device showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Starter 2 Reduction gear 3 Electric motor 4 Output shaft 5 One-way roller clutch 6 Pinion 7 Switch unit 8 Movable contact plate 9 Electromagnetic device 10 Rotor shaft 11 Bottom plate 12 Top plate 13 Sun gear 14 Planetary gear 15 Internal ring gear 16 Support plate 17 Pinion housing Reference Signs List 18 clutch outer 19 helical spline 20 stopper plate 21 return spring 22 clutch inner 23 ring gear 24 excitation coil 25 holder, 25a inward flange 26 ring-shaped disk 27 armature outer 28 armature inner 29 connecting plate 30 connecting rod 31 commutator portion, 31a Recess 32 Coil spring 33 Brush stay 34 Fixed contact plate 35 Return spring 36 Coil spring 37 Shifter member 38 Connector 9 anode brush 40 pigtails 41 cathode brush 42 pigtail 43 center plate, 43a cylindrical portion 44 motor casing 45 cover 51 armature 52 spring

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Shinichi Nagashima 1-2681, Hirosawa-cho, Kiryu-shi, Gunma Co., Ltd. Inside Mitsuba Electric Works (72) Inventor Eiichi Kimura 1-2681, Hirosawa-cho, Kiryu-shi, Gunma (56) References JP-A-4-33537 (JP, A) JP-A-1-130071 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) F02N 15/06 F02N 11/00 F02N 15/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] And 1. A motor, an output shaft driven by an electric motor, a ring gear drive pinion which is coupled via a helical spline on the output shaft, to open and close the feed line to the electric motor
Ku and switches independently of that which can be closed and movement of the pinion, an electromagnetic device comprising a cylindrical armature and the excitation coil provided to the output shaft and the outer circumference so as to drive the movable contact plate of the pinion and the switch in the axial direction Wherein the armature is connected to the movable contact plate by a first armature.
And a second portion connected to the pinion,
An engine starting device characterized in that the inner and outer portions are engaged so as to be displaceable in a relative axial direction . 2. The electromagnetic force between the electric motor and the pinion.
In addition to disposing the device, the commutator section of the motor is
Placed on the magnetic device side, and the switch between a pair of brushes
And the pigtails of the pair of brushes are
The engine starting device according to claim 1, wherein the engine starting device is directly connected to the plate .