Starter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10337482-B2
Application number	US-201715815067-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 16, 2017
Priority date	Nov 16, 2016
Publication date	Jul 2, 2019
Grant date	Jul 2, 2019

Abstract

A starter includes a coil spring disposed between a pinion gear and a motor and a buffer rubber disposed between the pinion gear and the coil spring. When the pinion gear is subjected to a reactive force from an engine, the buffer rubber absorbs the impact. Before the impact acts on the pinion gear, the coil spring is subjected to a given initial load. When the impact acts on the pinion gear, the coil spring absorbs it transmitted through the buffer rubber. The cover in which the coil spring is stored has a flange which is held from moving to the pinion gear in response to expansion of the coil spring, while it is permitted to move to the motor in response to contraction of the coil spring. This eliminates a risk that mechanical noise occurs when the pinion gear is advanced and then brought into mesh with the engine.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A starter comprising:
a motor which has a rotation shaft;
a pinion gear which is movable in an axial direction of the rotation shaft of the motor;
a shifter which works to shift the pinion gear in the axial direction of the rotation shaft toward a front end of the rotation shaft for bringing the pinion gear into engagement with a ring gear of an internal combustion engine to rotate the pinion gear using the motor to start the internal combustion engine;
a first elastic member which is disposed between the pinion gear and the motor and configured to be compressed to permit the pinion gear to move to the motor along the rotation shaft;
a second elastic member which is disposed between the pinion gear and the first elastic member;
a holder which retains therein the first elastic member while being subjected to a given initial load and is movable in the axial direction of the rotation shaft in response to expansion or contraction of the first elastic member,
wherein the holder includes a first pressure-exerted member on which an elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, is exerted by a first end that is one of opposed ends of the first elastic member which is closer to the pinion gear and a second pressure-exerted member on which the elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, is exerted by a second end that is one of the opposed ends of the first elastic member which is closer to the motor;
a contacting portion which is formed by a portion of the holder and placed in contact with the second elastic member in the axial direction of the rotation shaft, the contacting portion being held from being moved to the pinion gear in response to expansion of the first elastic member, while being permitted to be moved to the motor in response to contraction of the first elastic member; and
a stopper which is placed in contact with the second pressure-exerted member and works to stop the second pressure-exerted member from being moved toward the pinion gear from an initial location where the second pressure-exerted member is not being subjected to reactive force from the ring gear, thereby holding the contacting portion from being moved to the pinion gear.

2. A starter as set forth in claim 1 ,
wherein the first elastic member is implemented by a coil spring wound around an outer periphery of the rotation shaft,
wherein the stopper is implemented by a protrusion formed on the outer periphery of the rotation shaft, and
wherein the second pressure-exerted member is located on an opposite side of the protrusion to the first elastic member.

3. A starter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the second pressure-exerted member is movable away from the stopper in response to contraction of the first elastic member to permit the contacting portion to be moved to the motor.

4. A starter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the stopper is implemented by a protrusion formed on at least a portion of a circumference of the rotation shaft, the protrusion being located closer to the motor than the first elastic member is, wherein the protrusion has side walls which are opposed to each other in a circumferential direction of the rotation shaft to define an air gap which enables the second pressure-exerted member to be arranged closer to the motor than the stopper is on the rotation shaft when the holder is mounted on the rotation shaft, and wherein the second pressure-exerted member is located closer to the motor than the stopper is and subjected to the elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, through the stopper.

5. A starter as set forth in claim 1 ,
wherein the holder includes a first pressure-exerted member on which an elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, is exerted by a first end that is one of opposed ends of the first elastic member which is closer to the pinion gear and a second pressure-exerted member on which the elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, is exerted by a second end that is one of the opposed ends of the first elastic member which is closer to the motor, and
wherein the starter further comprises a protrusion which is formed on at least a portion of a circumference of the rotation shaft and located closer to the motor than the first elastic member is, and wherein the second pressure-exerted member is movable closer to the motor than the protrusion on the rotation shaft, when the second pressure-exerted member is placed closer to the motor than the protrusion is, the second pressure-exerted member being subjected to the elastic force, as produced by the first elastic member, through the protrusion.

6. A starter as set forth in claim 1 ,
wherein the second elastic member is implemented by a shock absorber which is deformed between the pinion gear and the contacting portion by reactive force from the ring gear to absorb impact exerted on the pinion gear, and
wherein a void which the second elastic member partially enters when deformed is formed between the pinion gear and the contacting portion.

7. A starter as set forth in claim 1 ,
wherein the second elastic member is implemented by a shock absorber which is deformed between the pinion gear and the contacting portion by reactive force from the ring gear to absorb impact exerted on the pinion gear, and
wherein the stopper is disposed between the pinion gear and the contacting portion and serves to stop the second elastic member from being deformed to more than a given extent in response to reactive force from the ring gear.

8. A starter as set forth in claim 1 , wherein an initial elastic force produced by the second elastic member is set smaller than that produced by the first elastic member.

Assignees

• Denso Corp

Inventors

• Fujita Tatsuya
• Hirabayashi Takashi
• Yamada Tasuku

Classifications

• F02N11/0859

  specially adapted to the type of the starter motor or integrated into it · CPC title

• F02N15/06 Primary

  the toothed gears being moved by axial displacement · CPC title

• F02N11/0851

  characterised by means for controlling the engagement or disengagement between engine and starter, e.g. meshing of pinion and engine gear · CPC title

• F02N15/063

  with resilient shock absorbers · CPC title

• F02N11/00

  Starting of engines by means of electric motors · CPC title