Permanently engaged starter with dry friction clutch

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10018230-B2
Application number	US-201615263623-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 13, 2016
Priority date	Sep 13, 2016
Publication date	Jul 10, 2018
Grant date	Jul 10, 2018

Abstract

An engine starter that includes a starter motor, a ring gear, a pinion driven by the starter motor and meshingly engaged with the ring gear, a disk that is configured to be coupled to an engine crankshaft for common rotation, and a dry clutch that is configured to selectively couple the ring gear to the disk.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An engine starter comprising:
a starter motor;
a ring gear;
a pinion driven by the starter motor and meshingly engaged with the ring gear;
a disk that is adapted to be coupled to an engine crankshaft for common rotation; and
a dry clutch that is configured to selectively couple the ring gear to the disk, the dry clutch having a clutch surface, which is coupled to the ring gear for rotation there with, and a plurality of clutch assemblies, each of the clutch assemblies having a pivot pin, a clutch member, a friction shoe and a biasing spring, each of the pivot pins being fixedly coupled to the disk, each of the clutch members being pivotably coupled to an associated one of the pivot pins, each of the friction shoes being fixedly mounted to an associated one of the clutch members so that rotation of the clutch members about their corresponding pivot pins causes corresponding movement of the friction shoes between a first position, in which the friction shoes are engaged to the clutch surface, and a second position in which the friction shoes are disengaged from the clutch surface, the biasing springs biasing the friction shoes toward their first positions.

2. The engine starter of claim 1 , wherein each of the clutch members includes a shoe mount to which a corresponding one of the friction shoes is fixedly coupled.

3. The engine starter of claim 1 , wherein each of the clutch members comprises a centrifugal counterweight, wherein the centrifugal counterweights are configured to pivot the clutch members about their respective pivot pins to move the friction shoes into their second positions when the disk rotates in a predetermined rotational direction and at a predetermined rotational speed.

4. An engine starter comprising:
a starter motor having an output shaft;
a pinion fixed to the output shaft and driven by the starter motor;
a ring gear meshingly engaged to the pinion;
a shoe-engagement structure coupled to the ring gear;
a flex plate that is adapted to be coupled to an engine crankshaft for common rotation;
an arm pivotably coupled to the flex plate by a pivot pin for pivoting motion about a pivot point, the arm having a shoe and a counter mass; and
a spring biasing the arm about the pivot point to urge the shoe toward the shoe-engagement structure;
wherein the counter mass is configured to counteract the spring and drive the shoe away from the shoe-engagement structure when a rotational speed of the flex plate is greater than or equal to a predetermined rotational speed.

Assignees

• Borgwarner Inc

Inventors

• Peglowski Brett

Classifications

• F16D43/18

  with friction clutching members · CPC title

• F16D41/066

  all members having the same size and only one of the two surfaces being cylindrical · CPC title

• F02N15/026

  of the centrifugal type · CPC title

• F16D41/12

  with hinged pawl co-operating with teeth, cogs, or the like (F16D41/02, F16D41/24 take precedence) · CPC title

• F16D2041/0665

  characterised by there being no cage other than the inner and outer race for distributing the intermediate members · CPC title