Denso Corporation

Kuniaki Nito

Yasuyuki Wakahara

Shinji Ando

In a starter for starting an engine having a motor to which starting current is supplied from a battery, the motor has a field coil for forming a magnetic field with the supply of current, and the starter has wiring for supplying current from the battery to the field coil. The wiring has a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, which is smaller than a cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the winding of the field coil, so that a cross section reduction portion is integrated into the wiring. The cross section reduction portion functions as a fuse for shutting down an internal circuit of the motor at an earlier occasion when an overcurrent passes through the internal circuit.

Engine starter with protective function against over current

A starter includes an electric motor, a pinion gear driven by the electric motor, and an intermediate gear driven by the pinion gear. The intermediate gear is coupled to the pinion gear by a coupler member in order to shift the intermediate gear toward a ring gear of an engine together with the pinion gear in a cranking operation. When the starter is not in operation, the intermediate gear is positioned at its rest position where a biasing force is applied to the intermediate gear to push it against the coupler member. Vibrant movement of the intermediate gear relative to the coupler member due to engine vibrations is prevented by the biasing force.

Starter having intermediate gear for cranking internal combustion engine

A starter motor includes an intermediate gear engaging with and driven by a pinion connected to an output shaft of an electrical motor. The intermediate gear is coupled to the pinion by means of a retainer to be shifted in its axial direction together with the pinion. The intermediate gear engages with a ring gear of an engine to crank up the engine when it is shifted in the axial direction. The retainer is connected to a pinion boss by forcibly enlarging a resilient opening of its groove, and the resilient opening recovers its original position after the retainer is connected to the pinion boss. In this manner, the retainer is prevented from dropping off from the pinion boss during an assembling process of the starter motor. The retainer is made of resin to have an enough thickness to secure a sufficient mechanical strength.

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Kariya, Japan

Kuniaki Nito