JPH022468B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a starting device for starting an engine by moving a pinion forward to mesh with a ring gear of the engine when starting the engine.

Conventionally, this type of starting device has generally used a method that converts the suction force of a solenoid that is energized during startup into the pushing force of a pinion via a lever, but there are also other methods such as an inertial sliding method and an armature shift method. However, due to the increased size and impact problems, the solenoid system was not replaced. However, with this solenoid method, a protrusion is inevitably created on the housing in order to place the lever, which poses a major problem when installing the engine, and the weight of the protrusion accounts for 10 to 20% of the total weight. This is a major obstacle to miniaturization and weight reduction. In addition, the excitation current of the solenoid is large, for example, over 100A in large diesel engines, which can cause trouble and become an obstacle to energy conservation.

The present invention reduces current consumption, is compact and lightweight, and also simplifies the external shape to improve engine mountability and eliminates the conventional drawbacks.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a starter device that allows smooth operation when a pinion meshes with a ring gear.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 1, a housing 1
The motor accommodating part 2, the reducer accommodating part 3, and the actuating mechanism accommodating part 4 are integrally connected. Output shaft 6 of starting motor 5 housed in motor housing 2
protrudes into the reducer accommodating portion 3, and a pinion 7 is integrally provided at the tip of the output shaft 6. The pinion 7 meshes with the internal gear 8 in the reducer housing 3, and the actuating mechanism housing 4 is disposed on the end wall of the internal gear 8.
A drive shaft 9 passing through is integrally connected. A sliding tube 10 is fitted onto the outer circumference of the drive shaft 9 so as to be able to rotate integrally with the drive shaft 9 and move relative to the drive shaft 9 in the axial direction. A pinion 12 that can mesh with a ring gear 11 of the engine is formed in the engine.

The drive shaft 9 has a large diameter portion 73, a medium diameter portion 74, and a small diameter portion 75 formed in this order from the starting motor 5 side. It is supported by a partition wall 16 between them via a bearing 17. A helical spline 18 is formed on the outer periphery of the medium diameter portion 74, and a short cylindrical stopper 19 is attached to the tip of the small diameter portion 75. This fall of the stopper 19 from the tip of the small diameter portion 75 is caused by
This is blocked by the ring 20 fitted into the small diameter portion 75.

The sliding tube 10 is basically formed in a cylindrical shape, and has a coupling hole 22 formed on the inner circumference in which the helical spline 21 to be screwed into the helical spline 18 is formed, and an outer circumference of the small diameter portion 75 of the drive shaft 9. A small-diameter hole portion 24 that holds a bearing 23 in sliding contact with a surface, and a guide hole portion 25 that allows relative movement of the stopper 19 when the sliding tube 10 moves forward to the right in FIG.
are drilled in order from the starting motor 5 side with the same axis. The stopper 19 comes into contact with the step 26 between the guide hole 25 and the small diameter hole 24 during the forward movement of the sliding cylinder 10, and prevents the sliding cylinder 10 from moving further forward.

A portion of the sliding tube 10 near the starting motor 5 has a small diameter, and a keyway 53 extending along the axial direction is formed in the small diameter portion 15 over the entire length.
A ring 55 fitted into the small diameter portion 15 is brought into contact with the stepped portion 54 between the portion near the tip of the sliding tube 10 and the small diameter portion 15, and one end portion is brought into contact with this ring 55. A basically cylindrical collar 56 is fitted into the small diameter portion 15, and a washer 57 is fitted into the small diameter portion 15 so as to come into contact with the other end of the collar 56. A key 58 is fitted into the keyway 53, and this key 58 engages with the collar 56 and washer 57 as described below.

In FIG. 2, the collar 56 has an inward flange 60 integrally provided at one end of a cylindrical portion 59, that is, the right end in FIG. A notch 61 is formed therethrough. A plurality of (four in this embodiment) splines 62 are formed on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 59 and extend in the axial direction. The inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 59 has a torsion spring 6 between it and the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 15 of the sliding tube 10.
3 (see Figure 1).

The washer 57 has a hole 6 through which the small diameter portion 15 is inserted.
4 in the center, and an engagement groove 65 is formed at the periphery of the hole 64. The key 58 has a total length equal to the sum (l1+l2) of the axial length l1 of the collar 56 and the thickness l2 of the washer 57, and has a protrusion at one end that fits into the notch 61 as shown in FIG. A portion 66 is provided in a protruding manner, and a locking protrusion 67 that is engaged with the engagement groove 65 is provided in a protruding manner at the other end, as shown in FIG. Width d of key 58
1 is shorter than the circumferential length l3 of the notch 61;
Therefore, the key 58, that is, the sliding tube 10, and the collar 56 can freely rotate relative to each other until the protrusion 66 comes into contact with both ends of the notch 61 in the circumferential direction. Also, the sliding tube 10
In order to prevent the washer 57 from moving toward the rear end, a ring 68 is fitted around the outer periphery of the small diameter portion 15 of the sliding tube 10, so that the washer 57 and the key 58, that is, the sliding tube 10 are substantially integrated.

The thickness d2 of the intermediate portion between the protrusion 66 and the locking protrusion 67 of the key 58 is the same as the depth of the keyway 53. Therefore, when the intermediate portion is fitted into the keyway 53, As shown in FIG.
flush with the outer circumferential surface of. In this way, the small diameter part 1
An annular space is defined between the outer peripheral surface of the collar 56 and the inner peripheral surface of the collar 56, and a torsion spring 6 is installed in the space.
3 is accommodated. One end of this torsion spring 63 is
A small hole 69 bored in the inward collar 60 of the collar 56
The other end is inserted into a small hole 70 made in the washer 57. In this way, the torsion spring 63
is interposed between the collar 56 and the washer 57, ie, substantially the sliding tube 10. Moreover, the initial setting spring force of this torsion spring 63 is
is not rotating, the protrusion 66 of the key 58
However, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotation direction 71 of the drive shaft 9
It is set to such an extent that it comes into contact with the upper end of the notch 61 along the .

A ring 30 is fitted to the rear end of the small diameter portion 15, and a holding plate 32, which is basically a large diameter disc, is attached to the small diameter portion 15 of the sliding tube 10 between the rings 30 and 38. The ring 68 is loosely fitted on the side.
A small-diameter disk-shaped thrust bearing 33 is fitted on the side. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the holding plate 32 has a rectangular notch 34 formed at its peripheral edge. Further, a rotation prevention plate 35 extending along the axial direction is provided on the inner surface of the side wall of the actuating mechanism accommodating portion 4 with a screw member 36.
The rotation prevention plate 35 is fitted into the notch 34. Therefore, the retaining plate 32
is allowed to move in the axial direction, but rotation about the axis is prevented by the rotation prevention plate 35.

A portion near the tip of the sliding tube 10 is supported via a bearing 29 on an end wall 28 of the actuating mechanism accommodating portion 4 on the opposite side from the starting motor 5, and the pinion 12 is supported on the end wall 28 on the opposite side from the starting motor 5.
is projected to the outside.

A basically annular coil holder 37 is fixed to the middle of the side wall of the actuating mechanism accommodating portion 4 . The outer peripheral surface of this coil holder 37 is exposed to the outside,
Therefore, the actuation mechanism accommodating portion 4 is substantially formed by integrally connecting a bottomed cylindrical portion closer to the starting motor 5 and a bottomed cylindrical portion closer to the ring gear 11 via the coil holder 37. Further, the rotation prevention plate 35
extends between the partition wall 16 and the coil holder 37. A support collar 38 protruding radially inward is provided at the end of the coil holder 37 near the end wall 28 , and between this support collar 38 and the retaining plate 32 is a coil-shaped return A spring 39 is interposed.
This return spring 39 biases the holding plate 32 and therefore the sliding tube 10 towards the starting motor 5 side.

The coil holder 37 supports a holding coil 40 facing the retaining plate 32 side, and supports a brake coil 41 facing the end wall 28 side. In addition, the winding directions of both coils 40 and 41 are reversed to each other, thereby making it possible to prevent the central portion of the actuating mechanism accommodating portion 4, that is, the sliding tube 10, the drive shaft 9, etc., from becoming magnetized as much as possible. Therefore, the sliding tube 1
It is possible to prevent a situation in which magnetic powder adheres to the drive shaft 9 and the drive shaft 9 and impedes smooth operation.

Opposed to the brake coil 41, in the space between the coil holder 37 and the end wall 28 is a disc-shaped brake plate 43 having a hole 42 in the center through which the sliding tube 10 is inserted. and is arranged so as to be freely movable in the axial direction. Hole 4 of brake plate 43
A cylindrical portion 44 that surrounds the sliding tube 10 or enters the coil holder 37 is connected to the peripheral edge of the collar 56, and the end of the cylindrical portion 44 is connected to a spline 62 on the outer periphery of the collar 56. spline 45 to join
An inward facing collar 46 is provided. Therefore, the brake plate 43 can rotate integrally with the collar 56 and move relative to the collar 56 in the axial direction.

FIG. 6 is an electrical control circuit diagram of the starting motor 5, the holding coil 40 and the braking coil 41, and the power source 47 is connected to the first input terminal _I1 of the control means 49 via the starting switch 48. The starting motor 5 is connected to a power source 47 via a series circuit consisting of a first relay switch _S1 and a resistor 50, and a second relay switch _S2 is connected in parallel to the series circuit. The first relay switch S ₁ is the first relay coil
It composes a relay with C ₁ , and the first relay coil
C ₁ is connected to the first output terminal O ₁ of the control means 49 . Further, the second relay switch S ₂ constitutes a relay together with the second relay coil C ₂ , and the second relay coil C ₂ is connected to the second output terminal O ₂ of the control means 49 . The holding coil 40 and the braking coil 41 are connected to the third output terminal O ₃ of the control means 49 . Furthermore, the control means 49 is provided with second and third input terminals I ₂ , I ₃ , the second input terminal I ₂ is connected to the backward position detector 51, and the third input terminal I ₃ A forward position detector 52 is connected to. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the retreat position detector 51 detects a state in which the sliding tube 10 retreats to the left in FIG. 1 and the pinion 12 and ring gear 11 are disengaged. When the condition is detected, an electrical signal is applied to the second input terminal _I2 . Although not shown in FIG. 1, the forward position detector 52 detects the state in which the sliding tube 10 moves forward to the right in FIG. 1 and the pinion 12 meshes with the ring gear 11. When detected, an electrical signal is applied to the third input terminal _I3 .

The control means 49 controls the holding coil 40 and the brake coil when the starting switch 48 becomes conductive and a signal is applied to the first input terminal I ₁ while an electric signal is input to the second input terminal I ₂ . 41, and the first relay coil _C1 .
As a result, the first relay switch _S1 becomes conductive, and the starting motor 5 is driven by the electric power limited by the resistor 50. Further, when an electric signal is input to the third input terminal _I3 , the control means 49 controls the first relay coil _C1.
demagnetizes and energizes the second relay coil _C2 . As a result, the first relay switch _S1 is cut off, the second relay switch _S2 is made conductive, and the starting motor 5 is driven by the rated power.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.
First, when the sliding tube 10 is retracted as shown in FIG. 1, the starting switch 48 is pressed and turned on, so that the starting motor 5 is driven with limited electric power and the holding coil 40 and brake are activated. The coil 41 is excited. The drive shaft 9 is rotated by the driving of the starting motor 5, and the sliding tube 10 connected via helical splines 18 and 21 is rotated.
Attempt to rotate the . However, the brake plate 43 is attracted to the coil holder 37 by the excitation of the brake coil 41, and the spline 45 provided on the brake plate 43 is connected to the collar 5.
6 splines 62. Furthermore, since the torsion spring 63 is interposed between the collar 56 and the sliding tube 10, the sliding tube 1
0 is prevented from rotating by the spring force of the torsion spring 63, and moves forward toward the right in FIG.
In response to this forward movement of the sliding tube 10, the holding plate 32 is pressed by the ring 30 and moves forward while compressing the return spring 39.

As the sliding tube 10 moves forward, the pinion 12 comes into contact with the side surface of the ring gear 11 due to a phase mismatch, and further advancement of the sliding tube 10 is blocked. Since the angular displacement of the key 58 is allowed until the protrusion 66 of the key 58 comes into contact with the lower end of the notch 61, the sliding tube 10 is subjected to the spring force of the torsion spring 63 as the drive shaft 9 rotates. It is angularly displaced by a small amount of resistance. As a result, when the pinion 12 and the ring gear 11 are in phase, the sliding tube 10 moves further and the pinion 12 and the ring gear 11 mesh as shown in FIG. 7.

In this way, since the sliding tube 10 is allowed to be angularly displaced relative to the collar 56 by a small set angle, the brake plate 43 can be moved relative to the coil holder 37 when the pinion 12 and the ring gear 11 are engaged. There is no need for sliding, and wear caused by sliding can be prevented. Moreover, since the sliding tube 10 is slightly angularly displaced and the pinion 12 and the ring gear 11 mesh with each other without such slippage between the coil holder 37 and the brake plate 43, the meshing operation becomes extremely smooth.

In this meshed state, the brake plate 43 is pressed by the washer 57 and separated from the coil holding body 37, and the holding plate 32 is now moved away from the holding coil 40.
is attracted to the coil holder 37 by the attraction force of the coil holder 37. Moreover, when the sliding tube 10 is in the forward movement state, the second relay switch _S2 (see FIG. 6) is turned on and the starting motor 5 is driven at the rated power.
Therefore, the sliding tube 10 rotates the ring gear 11 with the rated driving force via the pinion 12 to start the engine, and the reaction force is transferred to the thrust bearing 33 by the holding plate 32 which is attracted to the coil holding body 37. can be received through. At this time, the holding plate 32 is stopped from rotating by the rotation preventing plate 35, so it remains stationary, and the return spring 39 is not twisted.

After the engine starts, the driving of the starting motor 5 is stopped and the holding coil 4
0 and the brake coil 41 are deenergized, and in response, the holding plate 32 is returned to the starting motor 5 side by the spring force of the return spring 39. Therefore, the sliding tube 10 is moved back by the retaining plate 32 that comes into contact with the ring 30 and returns to its original position.

As described above, according to the present invention, the sliding tube is screwed onto the drive shaft via a helical spline, and the coil holder fixed to the side wall of the housing has a brake section facing the tip side of the sliding tube. A coil and a holding coil facing the rear end of the cylinder are supported, and a brake plate facing the brake coil is allowed to move relative to the collar attached to the sliding cylinder, and is aligned with the axis. The retaining plate facing the retaining coil is prevented from relative movement in the axial direction and is loosely fitted into the sliding tube, so the brake plate is spline-coupled with relative movement prevented from moving around the retaining coil. The sliding tube is then moved forward toward the tip side, and the engagement state between the pinion at the tip of the sliding tube and the ring gear is maintained by the attraction of the holding plate to the holding coil. Therefore, by selecting a small diameter of the coil holder, the housing can be made small and simple in shape, and the engine mountability is improved. Furthermore, the excitation current of the brake coil and the holding coil can be small, so power consumption is reduced. Furthermore, since the retaining plate is prevented from rotating, the spring that biases the retaining plate will not be twisted. Further, the collar is fitted into the sliding tube with relative angular displacement allowed within a preset angle, and a spring is provided between the sliding tube and the collar to urge them to rotate relatively in one direction. Because it is interposed, when the pinion and ring gear are engaged, the sliding tube is slightly angularly displaced without the brake plate slipping against the coil holder, and the pinion and ring gear are engaged, thus retaining the coil. This prevents wear on the body and the brake plate, and allows the pinion to mesh with the ring gear smoothly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an overall vertical sectional view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a collar, key, and washer, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1. , Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the - line in Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is an electric control circuit diagram of the starting motor, holding coil, and brake coil, and Fig. 7 FIG. 2 is a broken sectional view showing a state in which the pinion meshes with the ring gear. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Housing, 5...Starting motor, 9...Drive shaft, 10...Sliding cylinder, 11...Ring gear, 12...Pinion, 18, 21...Helical spline, 32
...Retention plate, 34...Notch, 35...Rotation prevention plate, 3
7... Coil holding body, 39... Return spring, 40... Holding coil, 41... Brake coil, 43... Brake plate, 45, 62... Spline, 56... Collar, 57... Washer, 58... Key, α... Angle.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A drive shaft rotatably driven by a starter motor is rotatably supported in the housing, and a helical member is provided on the outer periphery of the drive shaft so that a sliding tube is pushed out toward the tip side in accordance with the rotational movement of the drive shaft. The sliding tube is screwed together via a spline, and a pinion that can mesh with the ring gear of the engine is fixed at the tip of the sliding tube, and a pinion on the outer periphery of the sliding tube that allows relative movement in the axial direction with the sliding tube. A basically cylindrical collar that is blocked and allowed relative angular displacement within a preset angle is fitted into the collar and the sliding tube, and the collar and the sliding tube are rotated in one direction relative to each other. The coil holder, which is fixed to the side wall of the housing and has a spring therebetween, has a brake coil facing the front end of the sliding tube, and a holding coil facing the rear end of the sliding tube. is supported, and a brake plate is disposed opposite to the brake coil, and is spline-coupled to the collar while being allowed to move relative to the collar in the axial direction and prevented from relative angular displacement, and is disposed opposite to the retaining coil. The holding plate, which is held and prevented from rotational movement, is loosely fitted into the sliding tube while being prevented from relative movement in the axial direction, and the holding plate is biased by a spring in a direction away from the holding coil. starting device.