Denso Corporation

Nippondenso Co., Ltd.

Sawafuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Other

Sadayoshi Kajino

Youichi Hasegawa

Tsutomu Shiga

Masanori Ohmi

Tomoya Imanishi

Syuichi Aoki

Nobuyuki Hayashi

Yasuo Osawa

Masami Niimi

Masahiro Soh

Kazuaki Murase

Kei Shibayama

Hiroyasu Omiyama

Shinji Usami

Yasuhiro Nagao

Akifumi Hosoya

Keiichi Matsushima

Hisato Inoue

Takeshi Shimoyama

Yoshiharu Tomida

Kazuhiro Yamaguchi

Shuichi Aoki

A starter for an engine is equipped with a planetary gear speed reducer, a restraining mechanism, and a shock absorber which is made up of a rotary disc, a stationary disc, a case, and a load applying mechanism. The load applying mechanism applies a load to the stationary and rotary discs to develop a given degree of friction therebetween. When an excessive torque acts on the rotary disc through the internal gear, the shock absorber induces the rotary disc to rotate against the given degree of friction to absorb the torque to eliminate a physical impact to be exerted on the planetary gear speed reducer. The restraining mechanism restrains the load applying mechanism from moving in a radius direction of the internal thread to avoid undesirable engagement of the load applying mechanism with the internal thread, thereby ensuring the stability in applying the load to the stationary and rotary discs.

Starter equipped with planetary speed reducer and shock absorber

A starter and a method of manufacturing the starter are disclosed wherein the starter comprises a case, a housing disposed in front of the case, a pinion moving body slidably received by the case and the housing, and a lever unit having a lever, swingably supported on a lever support member, for actuating the pinion moving body to an operative position to allow a pinion to be brought into meshing engagement with a ring gear of an engine to start up the same. The lever support member is mounted on the case via a positioning mechanism composed of positioning components, formed on the lever support member, and the positioning components, formed on the case, with which the positioning components engage, respectively.

Starter

A rotational torque of an electric motor of a starter is transmitted to an output shaft having a pinion gear engaging with a ring gear of an internal combustion engine via a one-way clutch. A tube forming a clutch-inner and the output shaft are spline-coupled to allow the output shaft to reciprocally move in the axial direction while transmitting the rotational torque of the tube to the output shaft. The output shaft is slidably supported by a supporting portion formed at a front end of the tube. To establish air communication between an inside space of the tube and an outside space, an air passage is formed either in the supporting portion or on the output shaft. Pressure changes in the inner space due to reciprocal movement of the output shaft are suppressed by air communication through the air passage, and lubricant in the tube is well retained therein.

Starter for cranking internal combustion engine

A starter for automotive engines is provided which is equipped with a planetary gear train working as a speed reducer. The starter also includes a partition plate and a thrust washer. The partition plate extends radially of the starter between an electric motor and a planetary gear train to isolate the planetary gear train from a motor chamber. The thrust washer extends radially of the starter in abutment with the partition plate so as to bear a thrust load, as transmitted from the planetary gear train. The thrust washer also includes an outer peripheral portion which is placed between a rear end surface of an internal gear of the planetary gear train and the front end surface of the partition plate and has an elastic mechanism working to elastically urge the internal gear of the planetary gear train frontward in the axial direction of the starter.

Structure of engine starter equipped with planetary gear speed reducer

A starter for cranking an internal combustion engine includes an electric motor, a planetary gear speed reduction device for reducing a rotational speed of the electric motor and an excessive-torque-absorbing device. The excessive-torque-absorbing device is composed of plural rotatable disks that form an internal gear of the speed reduction device, plural fixed disks and a disk spring. Both disks are alternately laminated and pressed in the laminated direction by the disk spring. When a rotational torque of the electric motor to be transmitted to a pinion gear of the starter exceeds a predetermined level, slippage occurs between the rotatable disks and the fixed disks, and thereby the excessive torque is absorbed.

Starter having excessive-torque-absorbing device

An electromagnetic switch mounted on a starter for cranking an internal combustion engine includes an excitation coil for driving a plunger upon supplying electric current to the excitation coil. A conductor member led out from the excitation coil is connected to an outside cable to supply electric current to the excitation coil. The conductor member is made of a thin plate to be easily led out from a molded contact cover and is connected to a reinforcing member made of a thick plate that is embedded in the contact cover. The outside cable is connected to the reinforcing member so that the thin conductor member is not damages by a high vibration of an engine. The outside cable is easily connected to the reinforcing member with a screw after completion of the electromagnetic switch.

Electromagnetic switch for starter

A starter for an engine includes a motor, a cylindrical tube, a one-way clutch, an output shaft, and a pinion gear. The motor generates a rotational force. A first bearing rotatably supports the tube. The tube includes a female helical spline on its inner surface. The clutch transfers a rotational force from the motor to the tube. The output shaft has first and second ends axially aligned with a shaft of the motor. The first end has a male helical spline that engages the female helical spline of the tube. A second bearing rotatably and slidably supports the second end of the output shaft. The pinion gear is disposed on the output shaft and is slidable to engage the output shaft and a ring gear on the engine. The output shaft has a straight spline engaging the pinion gear.

Starter for an engine

In a starter, a one-way clutch that transmits rotation of a motor to an output shaft has a clutch inner portion. The clutch inner portion has female helical splines in an inner periphery. Also, the clutch inner portion has a stopper at a front end of the female helical splines on the side opposite to the motor. The female helical splines engage with male helical splines formed on a rear end of the output shaft so that the output shaft is slidable in an axial direction. When the male helical splines of the output shaft are brought into contact with the stopper, relative rotation of the helical splines is restricted, thereby to stop the axial movement of the output shaft.

Starter with stopper on clutch inner portion of one-way clutch

A shock absorbing deviceincludes a transmitting section, first friction plates, second friction plates, and a dish spring. The transmitting sectionis engaged with the inner cylindrical portion of the second friction platesand also engaged with an outer cylindrical surface of an internal gear. The first friction platesare stationarily fixed to an end portionof a central housing. The second friction platesare brought into frictional engagement with the first friction platesunder a resilient force applied from the dish spring. The first friction platesand the second friction platesare alternately laminated.

A starter capable of preventing the slippage of a clutch at engine starting and of transmitting a higher torque. In the starter, a power transmission device is integrated with a carrier for supporting a planetary gear of a reduction assembly and an output shaft is helical-spline-coupled to the power transmission device. A pinion shaft is fitted over an outer circumference of the output shaft through a first bearing and second bearing and a one-way clutch is provided for transmitting the rotation of the output signal to the pinion shaft. The first bearing is made such that its tip portion protrudes toward the pinion side with respect to a tip portion of a housing bearing in an engaging state of the pinion with a ring gear and, hence, at cranking, the first and second bearings receive a load from the ring gear to the pinion.

An engine starter equipped with an impact absorber. The impact absorber is arranged between a planetary gear train and an overrunning clutch of the starter. The absorber includes a friction plate which is disposed between a clutch outer and a carrier plate of the overrunning clutch and urged elastically into frictional abutment with the carrier plate. This structure eliminates the need for installing the friction plate on an internal gear of the planetary gear train, thus permitting the internal gear to be reduced in size.

Engine starter with impact absorber

A starter for cranking an internal combustion engine is mainly composed of an electric motor and a magnetic switch having a battery bolt connected to an on-board battery and a motor bolt connected to the electric motor. When the magnetic switch is closed, electric power is supplied to the electric motor to thereby generate a rotational torque for cranking the engine. One end of a motor terminal is electrically connected to the motor bolt, and the other end is led into a motor casing through a rubber insulator supported on the motor casing. The motor terminal includes one or more curved portions having resiliency, and they are positioned between the rubber insulator and the motor bolt. Water penetration into the motor casing is prevented by the rubber insulator, and the vibration of the motor terminal is alleviated by resiliency of the curved portions.

An electromagnetic switch of an engine starter includes a pair of stationary contacts connectable to a starter motor, a movable contact disposed at a first distance from the pair of stationary contacts; a rod having one end that slidably supports the movable contact via an insulating member and a stopper that restricts axial movement of said movable contact, an electromagnetic coil unit that includes a plunger, a stator core, a spring that urges the movable contact against the stopper and an exciting coil which moves the rod by the plunger a second distance when excited, and an inclination rectifying member, disposed near the stationary contacts, for providing a rectifying surface disposed at a third distance from the movable contact to abut the movable contact when one of the stationary contacts wears to a preset degree. There is the following relationship between the first, second and third distances: the second distance&#x3e;the third distance&#x3e;the first distance.

Electromagnetic switch of engine starter

An electromagnetic switch has at least one pair of projection and groove engageable with each other and extending in an axial direction on an outer cylindrical surface of a solenoid casing and on an inner cylindrical surface of a switch casing. Engagement of the projection and the groove guides the solenoid casing shifting in the axial direction when inserted inside the switch casing.

Electromagnetic switch for a starter

In a starter, an output shaft is disposed on a same axial line with a motor shaft through a planetary gear reduction device. The output shaft has an accommodation recess at the rear end thereof and rotatably receives the top end of the motor shaft therein through a ball. The output shaft and the motor shaft have respective end surfaces opposing each other in the axial direction with a spacing therebetween under a condition that the ball is disposed between the output shaft and the motor shaft. A thrust receiving member thinner than the spacing is disposed in the spacing. The thrust receiving member limits a movement of the output shaft toward the motor due to wear of the accommodation recess.

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Nagoya, Japan

Sadayoshi Kajino