JPH01113572A - Pinion moving device for starter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a pinion smoothly mesh with a ring gear by selectively pivoting a lever by two supporting points and switching the supporting points as a pinion moves in a starter where the pinion is moved in the direction of the ring gear by sliding motion of the lever. CONSTITUTION:When an electromagnetic switch 300 is started by turning on a key switch, a lever 200, one end of which is engaged with the forward end portion of the a support member 312 fitted to a plunger 310, is oscillated, so that a pinion 101 is advanced through a clutch 110 engaged with the other end of the lever 200 to be meshed with a ring gear 210, and an engine is cracked by drive of a motor 102. In this case, the lever 200 comprises a disc portion 201 disposed at the central portion thereof, which has two pins 202, 203 are supported in circular-arc support holes 213, 214 different in length, which are provided on a holder 210 integral with an electromagnetic switch casing 301.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a starter for an internal combustion engine, and more specifically, to a starter for an internal combustion engine.
The present invention relates to a device for moving a pinion along an output shaft of a motor in order to mesh the pinion with a ring gear of an engine.

[Conventional technology]

The starter has a pinion meshed with a ring gear connected to the engine during startup, and a motor rotates the pinion to drive the engine. The pinion is connected to a clutch supported so as to be movable forward and backward along the output shaft of the motor, and the clutch is connected to a plunger of an electromagnetic switch via a lever. That is, the electromagnetic switch causes the lever to swing by retracting the plunger to bring the pinion into contact with the ring gear, and then further retracting the plunger while compressing the drive spring to close the motor drive contact.

When the motor rotates, the pinion is urged by the drive spring and moves forward to mesh with the ring gear, causing the ring gear to rotate.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-27780 discloses a configuration in which the engagement portion between the lever and the clutch changes depending on the rotational angular position of the lever. In other words, in this configuration, the ratio of the distance from the fulcrum of the lever to the end connected to the pinion and the distance from the fulcrum of the lever to the end connected to the plunger of the electromagnetic switch, that is, the lever ratio, changes depending on the position of the plunger. It is something. According to this configuration, the pinion is first advanced with a sufficiently large force to contact the ring gear, and after the contact of the electromagnetic switch is closed, a sufficiently large stroke is applied to the pinion to connect the pinion and the ring gear. Can be interlocked.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

When the key switch is turned off and the pinion is released from the ring gear, if for some reason the pinion gets stuck in the ring gear and the plunger does not retreat, the contacts will not open, the motor will not stop, and the coil will seize up. There is a risk of this happening. Therefore, in order to allow the plunger to retreat even in such a case, a play is provided at the connecting portion between the lever and the clutch.

However, in the case of the configuration disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, since a protrusion is formed on the lever, it is necessary to increase the axial length of the clutch by the amount of this protrusion to ensure play.
Therefore, the output shaft of the motor must be set long,
There was a problem that the device became larger.

The present invention aims to provide a pinion moving device that allows a pinion to approach a ring gear smoothly, gives a sufficiently large stroke to the pinion to mesh with the ring gear, and further reduces the size of the entire starter. It was done for a purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

In the present invention, one end of a swingably provided lever is connected to a pinion, and the other end of this lever is connected to a drive mechanism, and the drive mechanism rotates the lever and the pinion drives the motor. In the starter binion moving device that moves forward along the output shaft, the lever has a first fulcrum relatively located on the other end side, and a second fulcrum located on the one end side relative to the first fulcrum. The lever is selectively pivoted by the second fulcrum when the pinion approaches the ring gear, and the lever is pivoted by the second fulcrum when the pinion moves forward and meshes with the ring gear. It is pivoted by the first fulcrum.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention. In this figure, a pinion 101 is integrally connected to a clutch 110 connected to an output shaft 103 of a motor 102 via a spline 104, and at a forward end, a pinion 101 is connected to a ring fixed to a flywheel (not shown) of the engine. It can mesh with gear 120. The clutch 110 is connected to a lever 200, and the lever 200 is driven to swing by an electromagnetic switch 300. When inactive, the lever 200 is connected to the clutch 1 as shown in the figure.
10 is located on the main body side of the motor 102, and the pinion 101 is spaced apart from the ring gear 120. When starting the engine, the electromagnetic switch ≠ 3 due to the action of the key switch.
00 is activated, lever 20 is activated, as will be detailed later.
0 swings clockwise in the figure to advance the clutch 110, rotate the motor 102, and mesh the pinion 101 with the ring gear 120. However, the engine is motor 10
2, it is rotated and started.

Clutch 110 is connected to spline 104 provided on output shaft 103. That is, the clutch 110 is supported along the output shaft 103 so as to be movable forward and backward, and rotates integrally with the output shaft 103. The clutch 110 also includes a connecting portion 111, a large diameter portion 112 and a collar portion 113 formed at both ends of the connecting portion 111, and the pinion 101 is integrally fixed to the large diameter portion 112.

The electromagnetic switch 300 has a plunger 310 slidably supported within a casing 301. Plunger 3
10 has a part thereof protruding from the opening 302, and a spring 3 provided between it and the wall plate 303 of the casing 301.
04, it is biased in the direction of protruding from the opening 302. A solenoid coil 305 is provided within the casing 301 and, when energized, attracts the plunger 310 and causes it to retreat against the spring 304. That is, the plunger 310
When the solenoid coil 305 is energized, the spring 30
4 to reduce the amount of protrusion from the opening 302,
When the solenoid coil 305 is demagnetized, it is pressed by the field spring 304 and increases the amount of protrusion from the opening 302.

A support member 312 is provided in a hole 311 formed in the plunger 310, and a connecting pin 313 formed at the tip of the support member 312 projects from an opening 314 of the hole 311. A stopper 318 having a larger diameter than the pin 313 is formed at the tip of the connecting pin 313 . Support member 31
2 is biased by a drive spring 315, and normally
It abuts the bottom 316 of the hole 311 . On the other hand, plunger 3
An annular member 321 is slidably fitted into the rod portion 317 located inside the casing 301 of No. 10, and the annular member 32
1 is biased by a spring 322 and normally locks into a locking ring 323 fixed to the end of the rod portion 317. The movable contact 324 is attached to the annular member 321 and the plunger 3
10 moves forward and backward, it comes into contact with and separates from the fixed contact 325 provided on the casing 301.

These contacts 324 and 325 are for electrical connection to the power supply motor 102 (not shown), and rotate the motor 102 when closed.

The lever 200 is swingably supported by a holder 210, and the holder 210 is fixed to the outer wall surface of the casing 301 of the electromagnetic switch 300. As shown in FIG. 2, the lever 200 has a disk portion 201 approximately in the center thereof, and on both sides of the disk portion 201 are first and second pins 202,
203 is provided. The first pin 202 is the second pin 2
Located directly below 03. A pair of leg portions 204 are formed below the disk portion 201, and these leg portions 204 engage with the connecting portion 111 of the clutch 110. That is, the interval between these leg portions 204 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the connecting portion 111, and the width of the flat portion 205 formed at the tip of the leg portion 204 is as follows.
As understood from FIG. 1, the distance is slightly shorter than the distance between the large diameter portion 112 and the collar portion 113 of the clutch 110. Therefore, a gap Q is formed between the flat portion 205 and the large diameter portion 112. On the other hand, a pair of leg portions 206 and a flat portion 207 are similarly formed above the disc portion 201. These legs 2
The gap 06 is approximately equal to the outer diameter of the connecting pin 313, and the width of the flat portion 207 is slightly shorter than the axial length of the pin 313, as understood from FIG. Therefore, a gap P is formed between the flat portion 207 and the large diameter portion 318 formed at the tip of the pin 313 and the flat portion 207 .

The holder 210 includes a substrate 211 fixed to the outer wall surface of the casing 301 and a pair of support plates 212 extending perpendicularly from the substrate 211. Each support plate 212 has a first
A support hole 213 and a second support hole 214 are bored. The first support hole 213 is located below the second support hole 214, and the first pin 202 is located in the first support hole 213, and the second pin 202 is located in the first support hole 213.
3 are inserted into the second support holes 214, respectively. The first and second support holes 213 and 214 are long and extend in the horizontal direction, and the first support hole 213 is longer than the second support hole 214.

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.

When inactive, the solenoid coil 305 is demagnetized;
As illustrated in FIG.
It is located at the most protruding position from 02. Well, lever 2
00, the first pin 202 is locked to the right end 213a of the first support hole 213, and the second pin 203 is locked to the right end 213a of the first support hole 213.
It is in a position where it is locked to the left end portion 214b of 4. Therefore, the clutch 110 is located rearward, that is, on the motor 102 side by the flat portion 205 below the lever 200, and the pinion 110
01 is released from the ring gear 120.

When the key switch is turned on and the solenoid coil 305 is energized, the plunger 310 begins to retreat as shown in FIG. As a result, lever 20
The upper flat part 207 of 0 is pushed toward the plunger 310 by the large diameter part 318, and the lever 200
2 in contact with the right end 213a of the first support hole 213 and swing clockwise.

That is, the lever 200 is located at the right end 21 of the first support hole 213.
3a and the first bin 202 as the first fulcrum, and the second
The bottle 203 is released from the left end 214b of the second support hole 214. Therefore, the lower flat part 20 of the lever 200
5 engages with the large diameter portion 112 of the clutch 110 and begins to displace the clutch 110 and pinion 101 to the left in the figure.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the plunger 310 is further retracted and the second bin 203 of the lever 200
The first bottle 2 contacts the right end 214a of the support hole 214.
02 is released from the right end portion 213a of the first support hole 213. Thus, the lever 200 rotates about the right end 214β of the second support hole 214 and the second bottle 203 as a second fulcrum. Therefore, the pinion 101 comes into contact with the ring gear 120, and then the plunger 310
Compress 5 and retreat. That is, when the pinion 101 is in contact with the ring gear 120, the pinion 10
1 receives the elastic force of the drive spring 315 and is urged to the left in the figure via the lever 200.

Thereafter, as the plunger 310 retreats, the movable contact 324
contacts the fixed contact 325, thereby starting the motor 102 and causing the pinion 101 to begin rotating.

Therefore, the teeth of the pinion 101 are the same as those of the ring gear 120.
The pinion 101 matches the teeth and is urged by the drive spring 315 to move forward and mesh with the ring gear 120 . Thus, the ring gear 120 is driven to rotate, and the engine rotates.

Then, when the key switch is turned off and the solenoid coil 305 is demagnetized, the plunger 310 spring 30
4 and returns to the left. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the lever 200 swings counterclockwise,
The pinion 101 moves toward the motor 102 and is released from the ring gear 120.

Now, in the above operation, from the time when the plunger 310 begins to be attracted by the solenoid coil 305 as shown in FIG. 1 until just before the pinion 101 comes into contact with the ring gear 120 as shown in FIG. 200
is pivotally supported in the first bin 202 by a first support hole 213. Here, if the distance from the first bin 202 to the upper flat part 207 is A, and the distance from the first bin 202 to the lower flat part 205 is B, the lever ratio is B/A.
However, in order to move the pinion 101, the plunger 31 is relatively small compared to the case of a large lever ratio.
It is sufficient to apply a small force relative to 0. That is, the pinion 101 is pressed in the forward direction with a sufficiently large force, moves forward smoothly, and approaches the ring gear 120. Furthermore, even if a large current flows through the solenoid coil 305 and the plunger 310 moves quickly, the clutch 110 will not remain stationary due to inertia and will displace the pinion 101 toward the ring gear 120. That is, plunger 3
The pinion 101 always meshes with the ring gear 120 before the pinion 10 is displaced to close the contacts 324 and 325.

As shown in FIG. 4, immediately before the pinion 101 comes into contact with the ring gear 120, the lever 200 comes to be pivotally supported by the second support hole 214 in the second pin 203. Here the first and second bins 202, 2
If the distance between 03 and 03 is C (see Figure 1), then the lever ratio is (B+C)/(A-C), which is larger than the lever ratio B/A when the pinion 101 starts to displace from the non-operating position. . Therefore, the pinion 101 is pushed into the ring gear 120 with a sufficient stroke, and the meshing width between the pinion 101 and the ring gear 120 can be made sufficiently large.

Further, as can be understood from FIG. 5, gaps P and Q are formed between the flat part 207 and the support member 312, and between the flat part 205 and the flange part 113, respectively. Therefore, when the key switch is turned off, the pinion 120
1 is caught in the ring gear 120 and is difficult to be released from the ring gear, the plunger 310 moves forward and returns to the left in the figure due to the elastic force of the spring 304.
4, 325 is opened and the motor 102 is stopped. This eliminates the risk of the motor 102 continuing to rotate and causing the coil to seize, and the pinion 101 is connected to the ring gear 120.
It becomes easier to be freed from

However, in this embodiment, unlike the conventional lever 200, the lever 200 does not have a protrusion, so that the axial length of the clutch 110 can be shortened by the amount of the protrusion. Therefore, the length of the output shaft 103 of the motor 102 can be shortened, and the entire starter can be made smaller.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to move the pinion toward the ring gear with a sufficiently large force, to ensure a large meshing width between the pinion and the ring gear, and to downsize the starter as a whole.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, with a partially cut side view, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the lever, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the holder, and Fig. 4 shows the lever inoperative. FIG. 5 is a side view, partially in section, showing a state where the pinion has started to rotate from the position, and FIG. 5 is a side view, partially in section, showing the state immediately before the pinion contacts the ring gear. 101... Pinion, 102... Motor, 103...
...Output shaft, 120...Ring gear, 200
...Lever, 202...First pin, 203...
Second pin, 213...first support hole, 214...
- Second support hole, 300...electromagnetic switch (drive mechanism).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable starter that moves a pinion connected to the output shaft of a motor forward along the output shaft and meshes with a ring gear connected to the engine to transmit the rotation of the motor to the engine. One end of a lever provided on the lever is connected to the pinion, and the other end of the lever is connected to a drive mechanism, and the drive mechanism rotates the lever to move the pinion forward along the output shaft. In the starter pinion moving device, the lever is selectively moved by a first fulcrum relatively located on the other end side and a second fulcrum located on the one end side relative to the first fulcrum. The pinion is pivoted by the second fulcrum when it approaches the ring gear, and is pivoted by the first fulcrum when the pinion moves forward and meshes with the ring gear. Starter pinion moving device.