Denso Corporation

Nippon Soken, Inc.

Shinji Usami

Mitsuhiro Murata

Masami Niimi

Yasuyuki Yoshida

Mikio Saito

Kazuhiro Andoh

Hideya Notani

Youichi Hasegawa

Masahiro Katoh

Tadahiro Kurasawa

Kazuo Hirama

Hiroshi Kaneda

Toyohisa Yamada

Tomohiro Teramachi

Tomohiro Oomura

Tatsuya Saitou

Tsutomu Shiga

Masanori Ohmi

Akira Kato

Masahiko Osada

Takashi Senda

Sadayoshi Kajino

Yasuyuki Wakahara

Tsutomu Nakamura

Kazushige Okumoto

Tomoya Imanishi

Masaru Kamiya

Yamato Utsunomiya

Tetsunori Inoguchi

Kazuyuki Kito

Yoshikazu Yokochi

Mikio Saitoh

Mituhiro Murata

Mikio Tsukada

An engine start system which may be employed in automotive idle stop systems. To start an engine, the system brings a pinion gear into engagement with a ring gear coupled to the engine and turns on an electric motor to rotate the ring gear through the pinion gear to crank the engine. When it is requested to start the engine during deceleration of the engine before stop thereof, the system thrusts the pinion into engagement with the ring gear and then turns on the motor to rotate the pinion gear, in other words, delays the activation of the motor until after the pinion gear has engaged the ring gear. This minimizes mechanical impact or noise arising from the engagement of the pinion gear with the ring gear and improves the reliability in engagement with the ring gear during the deceleration of the engine and durability of the system.

Engine start system minimizing mechanical impact or noise

A starter to start an engine mounted on a vehicle provides an electromagnetic solenoid to push a pinion gear towards a ring gear side, an electromagnetic switch to open and close a motor contact point. The electromagnetic solenoid and the electromagnetic switch are individually controlled by an Electronic Control Unit i.e., ECU. When an idle-stop is triggered, the ECU controls a starter relay to be closed during the ring gear is rotating whereby the pinion gear together with a clutch are pushed out to counter-motor direction by the electromagnetic solenoid. As a result, the pinion gear meshes with the ring gear that is rotating at lower rotational speed. Therefore, the inertial mass of the starter is added to the ring gear so that swinging of the engine can be suppressed.

Starter adapted to absorb engine-oscillation

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 includes an electromagnetic solenoid that generates force for pushing a pinion gearto a ring gear side, and an electromagnetic switch that opens and closes a motor contact point. When idle-stop is performed, an ECU energizes a solenoid coil of the electromagnetic solenoid during inertial rotation until the ring gear stops rotating. After rotation of an engine is stopped, the ECU stops energizing the solenoid coil. As a result, in the starter, the pinion gear can mesh with the ring gear that is rotating by inertia without use of the rotational force of a motor. The meshed state can be maintained even after energization of the solenoid coil is stopped.

Starter mounted on vehicle having idle-stop apparatus

A solenoid for pushing out a pinion pushes out a pinion gear to a ring gear side and a switch for motor energization that opens and closes a motor point of contact have a solenoid coil and a switch coil that form an electromagnet by energization, respectively. A fixed iron core used commonly by both coils is arranged between the solenoid coil and the switch coil. A solenoid yoke that covers a perimeter of the solenoid and a switch yoke that covers a perimeter of the switch are formed integrally as a whole yoke in an axial direction.

Starter for vehicles equipped with automatic engine stop/re-starting device

In a starter for starting an internal combustion engine with a first output shaft to which a ring gear is coupled, a motor has a second output shaft to which a movable pinion member is coupled and is operative to, when energized, rotate the second output shaft. A solenoid device includes a solenoid actuator linked to the movable pinion member. The solenoid actuator is configured to, when activated, shift the movable pinion member toward the ring gear to be engaged with the ring gear. The solenoid device includes a solenoid switch configure to, when activated, energize the motor. The solenoid actuator and the solenoid switch are integrated with each other to provide the solenoid device. A controller module is configured to individually control an activation of the solenoid actuator and an activation of the solenoid switch. The controller module is mounted on the solenoid device.

Starter for starting internal combustion engine

Terminal-bolts and a fixed contact are formed with different kinds of metals, and fixed to a fixing hole formed in the fixed contact by press fitting one end of the terminal-bolts. A plurality of concavo-convex parts is provided on a surface of the fixed contact that faces the movable contact. A plurality of concavo-convex portions is provided on another surface of the fixed contact that faces an anti movable-contact side. The concavo-convex portions are arranged so that positions of concave parts of the concavo-convex portions match positions of convex parts of the concavo-convex portions provided in the opposite surface of the fixed contact. The concavo-convex parts are at least partly curved, and have the same height and project in a height direction from the fixed contact.

Electromagnetic relay for starters

A magnet switch which may be employed in automotive engine starters is provided. The magnet switch includes a stationary magnetic core made up of a disc assembly and a core body. The disc assembly is made of a stack of annular plate members superposed on each other. Each of the plate members has an opening through which a terminal lead of a magnetic coil extends. The core body has a boss with an edge which is plastically deformed outwardly in the radius direction thereof or staked to create an elastic nip which retains the stack of the plate members firmly on the core body. This structure ensures the joint between the disc assembly and the core body to withstand mechanical impact exerted on the magnetic core and stability in operation of the magnet switch without increasing a total production cost of the magnetic switch.

Magnet switch with magnetic core designed to ensure stability in operation thereof

Starter for an automobile

A starter includes a motor, an output shaft, a pinion gear, a lever, a lever actuator, a supporting frame, and a fulcrum supporter. The motor includes a rotation shaft to which the output shaft is linked. The pinion gear is provided on the output shaft and configured to mesh with a ring gear of an engine to start the engine. The lever has a first end, a second end that is linked the pinion gear, and a fulcrum portion. The lever actuator works to move the first end of the lever to pivot the second end on the fulcrum portion. The supporting frame rotatably supports the output shaft. The fulcrum supporter, which is integrally formed with the supporting frame, works to support the fulcrum portion of the lever to achieve pivotal movement of the second end to bring the pinion gear into mesh with the ring gear of the engine.

Starter with reliable fulcrum supporter supporting fulcrum portion of shift lever

A starter includes a magnetic switch, a motor, and a terminal. The terminal fixed to both the magnetic switch and the motor and has two end portions in the longitudinal direction of the terminal. An end portion of the terminal confronts a movable contact within the magnetic switch. The other end portion of the terminal is connected to an electric circuitry of the motor therewithin.

Starter having connecting member electrically connecting magnetic switch and motor

In an electromagnet switch, a stationary iron core is composed mainly of a base part and a disk part. The base part is faced to a plunger and the disk part is forcedly inserted and fixed to a boss part formed in the base part. The disk part is composed of a metal plate of ferromagnetic substance (iron plate) and another substance plate (made of resin or rubber and the like, for example,) of a smaller spring constant or a larger damping coefficient than that of the metal plate. The metal plate and another substance plate are laminated. Another substance plate absorbs or reduces the impact force when the plunger is electromagnetically attracted toward and collides with the base part. The propagation of a large impact noise or crashing sound is thereby suppressed, and as a result the impact noise can be reduced.

Electromagnetic switch

An electromagnetic switch has a magnetic core having a base member and a disc member. The disc member is made of plates laminated along a pulling direction and has an inner hole. The base member has both a first portion and a second portion having a groove on its outer surface and disposed in the hole. An inner portion of a particular plate among the plates is disposed in the groove so as to fasten the particular plate to the base member. When the core is magnetized in response to excitation of a coil, a plunger is moved toward the first portion of the core along the pulling direction, a movable contact moved with the plunger comes in contact with a fixed contact electrically connected with a motor, and electric power is supplied to the motor through the fixed and movable contacts.

Electromagnetic switch of starter

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Shinji Usami