JP3039401B2 - Starter - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a starter for starting an engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the number of RV vehicles has increased the chances that vehicles will travel on flooded roads, and accordingly, a ring gear will scoop up water collected on the ground side of a transmission or the like, and the water will be used to open the starter housing. There is a possibility that the water enters the inside of the starter from the part and accumulates in the inside of the starter, and eventually the inside of the starter is corroded. Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-253170 proposes a waterproof structure for preventing water from entering the inside of the starter from the opening of the housing. In this waterproof structure, the opening of the housing is opened and closed by a cover that is rotatably disposed. When the starter is stationary, the opening is covered by the cover. When the starter is operated, the arm provided on the drive lever presses the substantially spiral concave or convex provided on the cover, whereby the cover can be turned to open the opening of the housing.

[0003]

However, in the above waterproof structure, when the starter is in operation, the cover is open so that the water scooped up by the ring gear cannot be bounced back by the cover. There was a problem that inundation into the inside of the starter from the opening was inevitable. The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a starter capable of preventing water from entering from a housing opening regardless of whether the starter is stationary or operating.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the starter is operated, that is, when the pinion gear is rotating while meshing with the ring gear, the opening / closing wall of the cover opens the opening of the housing. Therefore, the water scooped up by the rotation of the ring gear may splash toward the opening. However, most of the water is bounced off the teeth of the pinion gear, and the remaining water is also a small clearance between the ring gear side end surface of the pinion gear and the front wall, or a small clearance between the outer periphery of the pinion gear and the outer peripheral wall. As a result, it is possible to substantially prevent water from entering the inside of the starter. On the other hand, when the pinion gear is returning to the rest position, the opening and closing wall of the cover substantially closes the opening of the housing, so that the water scraped up by the rotation of the ring gear can almost bounce off the opening and closing wall. . Even if water penetrates into the housing through the slight gap of the opening, the minute gap between the ring gear side end surface of the pinion gear and the front wall or the minute gap between the outer periphery of the pinion gear and the outer peripheral wall as described above. The gap can block water from entering the starter.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the front wall portion and the outer peripheral wall portion of the cover cover at least the opposite side of the opening from the center in the radial direction of the pinion gear. The front wall and the outer peripheral wall can be effectively shut off to prevent water from entering the inside of the starter.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rotation of the cover is restricted by bringing the opening / closing wall into contact with the housing, the cover is prevented from rotating together with the rotation of the pinion gear or the output shaft. it can.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the rear wall is provided on the cover to cover the end surface of the pinion gear on the side opposite to the ring gear, so that when the pinion gear returns from the meshing position to the rest position, the rear wall portion is opposite to the ring gear of the pinion gear. The cover can also return to the rest position by being pushed on the side end surface.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the pinion gear returns to the stationary position, the elastic member is provided between the housing and the front wall portion so as to urge the cover toward the stationary position. The cover can be returned to the rest position by the elasticity of the cover. Also, if the pinion gear is returned to the rest position together with the cover by the elasticity of the elastic body,
Means for generating a return force for returning the pinion gear (for example, a return spring built in a magnet switch) is not required.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the cover has a cylindrical portion slidably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the output shaft, and the cylindrical portion is guided by the output shaft and moves in the axial direction. Can be.
Accordingly, there is no need to provide a guide component separate from the cover to guide the movement of the cover, or to provide a guide portion in the housing, so that the structure can be simplified.

According to the means of claim 7, the outer peripheral shape of the cylindrical portion is provided in a tapered shape in which the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the tip. Thus, when the pinion gear moves to the ring gear side, it is possible to remove mud, dust, and the like attached to the output shaft on the outer peripheral surface (tapered surface) of the cylindrical portion.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, since the washer is provided between the front wall portion of the cover facing in the axial direction and the pinion gear, the rotational force of the pinion gear is blocked by the washer and transmitted to the cover. Can be prevented.
As a result, it is possible to prevent the cover from rotating with the rotation of the pinion gear.

[0012]

Next, a starter according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a half sectional view showing the internal structure when the pinion gear is stationary, and FIG. 2 is a half sectional view showing the internal structure when the pinion gear meshes with the ring gear. The starter 1 of the present embodiment moves together with a pinion moving body (described later) disposed on the output shaft 2 to move the housing 3.
In addition to opening and closing the opening 4 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) opened in the outer peripheral surface of the pinion gear 5 and the ring gear 6
A cover 7 (see FIG. 3) that covers the side end surface is provided.

The output shaft 2 has one end rotatably supported by the housing 3 via a bearing 8, and a reduction gear (not shown).
The rotational force of a starting motor (not shown) is transmitted through the motor to rotate the motor. A stop collar 9 for restricting the forward movement of the pinion moving body is attached to the outer periphery of the output shaft 2 near the front end. The stop collar 9 is restricted from moving forward (leftward in FIG. 1) in the axial direction via a snap ring 10 fitted into a circumferential groove 2a formed on the outer periphery of the output shaft 2. The starting motor is a well-known DC motor. When a starter switch (not shown) is turned on and a motor contact (not shown) built in the magnet switch 11 is closed, power is supplied from a vehicle-mounted battery as a power source.

The pinion moving body comprises a sleeve 12, a one-way clutch (to be described later), and a pinion gear 5. The stationary position (the position shown in FIG. 1) and the meshing position where the pinion gear 5 meshes with the ring gear 6 of the engine (see FIG. 2). (Position shown in the figure) on the output shaft 2. The sleeve 12 is fitted on the outer periphery of the output shaft 2 via a helical spline 13 and is connected to the magnet switch 11 via a shift lever 14.

The one-way clutch transmits the rotation of the sleeve 12 to the pinion gear 5, and includes an outer 15 formed integrally with the sleeve 12, an inner 16 formed integrally with the pinion gear 5, and an inner peripheral surface of the outer 15. Roller 17 housed in the formed wedge-shaped cam chamber, and a spring (not shown) for urging this roller 17 in the narrow direction of the cam chamber.
And so on. The pinion gear 5 transmits the rotational force of the starting motor to the ring gear 6 by moving forward on the output shaft 2 and meshing with the ring gear 6 of the engine. At the rear end of the pinion gear 5 (the end on the side opposite to the ring gear 6), a flange portion 5b having a diameter substantially equal to or slightly larger than the tooth portion 5a meshing with the ring gear 6 is provided.

The magnet switch 11 is configured such that a built-in coil (not shown) is energized to generate a magnetic force, so that a plunger (not shown) disposed on the inner periphery of the coil is provided.
And the motor contact is closed, and the shift lever 14 is driven by the plunger suction force. The shift lever 14 has one end engaged with a joint 18 connected to the plunger and the other end engaged with the outer periphery of the sleeve 12, and is provided to be swingable about a fulcrum 19 provided on the housing 3. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover 7 includes an opening / closing wall 7a for opening and closing the opening 4 of the housing 3, and a ring gear 6 for the pinion gear 5 provided integrally with the opening / closing wall 7a.
A front wall portion 7b covering the side end surface, an outer peripheral wall portion 7c extending from the outer peripheral edge of the front wall portion 7b to the side opposite to the ring gear and covering the outer periphery in proximity to the outer periphery of the pinion gear 5, and the opposite ring gear side of the pinion gear 5 Rear wall 7d covering part of the end face
It is composed of However, the front wall 7b and the outer peripheral wall 7c
Cover at least half of the entirety of the pinion gear 5 including the side opposite to the opening in the radial direction. The opening / closing wall 7a can open the opening 4 when the pinion gear 5 moves to the meshing position (see FIG. 5), and can substantially close the opening 4 when the pinion gear 5 returns to the rest position (see FIG. 4). ).

When the pinion moving body moves toward the ring gear 6, the cover 7 can move together with the pinion moving body by pressing the front wall 7b of the cover 7 with the front end face of the pinion gear 5. On the other hand, when the pinion moving body returns to the stationary position side, the rear end wall 7d of the cover 7 is pushed by the rear end face of the pinion gear 5, so that the pinion moving body can move together with the pinion moving body and return to the stationary position.
Further, since the cover 7 has its opening and closing wall 7a abutting against the housing 3 on the periphery of the opening 4 and its rotation is restricted, the cover 7 does not rotate with the pinion gear 5 and can move parallel to the housing 3.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the starter switch is turned on and the magnet switch 11 is operated, the pinion moving body is pushed out on the output shaft 2 along the helical spline 13 toward the ring gear 6 via the shift lever 14 (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, when the motor contact in the magnet switch 11 is closed, a current flows from the battery to the starting motor, and a rotational force is generated in the armature. The rotation of the armature is reduced by the reduction gear and transmitted to the output shaft 2. The rotation of the output shaft 2 is
2 is transmitted to the pinion gear 5 via a one-way clutch, and the pinion gear 5 meshes with the ring gear 6 to transmit the rotational force of the starting motor to the ring gear 6 to start the engine.

Here, the ring gear 6 is often housed in a transmission case or the like on the engine side, and the transmission case or the like often has a hole in the ground direction for the purpose of draining the inside. Many. For this reason, when a vehicle having such a transmission case travels on an inundation path with a relatively deep water, water may enter the transmission case and stay there, and the ring gear 6 is immersed in the staying water. In this case, the staying water is scraped up by the rotation of the ring gear 6.

Therefore, when the pinion gear 5 rotates while meshing with the ring gear 6, the opening 4
Is opened, the water scooped up by the rotation of the ring gear 6 may splash toward the opening 4.
However, these waters are almost completely removed from the teeth 5a of the pinion gear 5.
And the remaining water is also blocked by a minute gap between the end face of the ring gear 6 side of the pinion gear 5 and the front wall 7b, or a minute gap between the outer periphery of the flange 5b of the pinion gear 5 and the outer peripheral wall 7c. Therefore, water infiltration into the inside of the starter 1 can be substantially prevented.

After the engine starts, the starter switch is turned off.
F, and when the operation of the magnet switch 11 stops,
When the plunger that has been sucked up to that point returns to the initial position and the motor contact opens, the power supply to the starting motor stops, and the rotation of the armature stops. Further, when the plunger returns, the shift lever 14 swings to the opposite side to that at the time of starting the engine, thereby pushing the pinion movable body back to the stationary position side. As a result, the pinion gear 5 is
And retreats on the output shaft 2 and returns to the rest position (the position shown in FIG. 1). When the pinion gear 5 returns to the rest position, since the opening / closing wall 7a of the cover 7 substantially closes the opening 4 of the housing 3, almost all of the water scraped up by the rotation of the ring gear 6 is closed. Can bounce off. Even if water penetrates into the inside of the housing 3 through a small gap of the opening 4, as described above, a minute gap between the end face of the pinion gear 5 on the ring gear 6 side and the front wall 7 b or a flange 5 b of the pinion gear 5 The inside of the starter 1 can be prevented from being flooded by a minute gap between the outer periphery of the starter 1 and the outer peripheral wall 7c.

(Effect of this embodiment) In this embodiment, when the pinion gear 5 returns from the meshing position to the rest position, the opening / closing wall portion 7a of the cover 7 substantially closes the opening 4 of the housing 3 so that the ring gear 6 Can prevent the water scooped up by the rotation of the water from entering the inside of the starter 1. Further, the end face and the outer periphery of the pinion gear 5 on the side of the ring gear 6 are covered with a front wall portion 7b and an outer peripheral wall portion 7c at least ２, respectively,
In addition, the outer peripheral wall 7c is close to the outer periphery of the flange 5b of the pinion gear 5 to reduce the gap therebetween, so that the starter 1 is operated (when the opening 4 of the housing 3 is open).
Even if the water scooped by the rotation of the ring gear 6 hangs on the opening 4, it hardly enters the inside of the starter 1 through the gap between the pinion gear 5 and the cover 7. Can be prevented.

In the present embodiment, the flange 5b having a larger outer diameter than the teeth 5a is provided at the rear end of the pinion gear 5, but the outer diameter of the flange 5b does not necessarily have to be larger than the teeth 5a. The outer diameter may be the same as that of the tooth portion 5a. In this embodiment, the rear wall 7d of the cover 7 is only partially provided. However, if the rear wall 7d covers at least one half of the housing 3 including the side opposite to the opening, water can further enter the inside of the starter 1. Can be improved. [Modification] The pinion gear 5 of the present embodiment is formed by a hob cutter having a flange 5b substantially equal to the pinion outer diameter on the side opposite to the ring gear like a pinion formed by so-called cold forging, but having no flange. In the case of a pinion or the like, the same effect can be obtained if the rear wall 7d of the cover 7 is extended to the inner diameter side up to the root diameter of the pinion gear 5 or less (see FIG. 9).

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a half sectional view showing the internal structure when the pinion gear 5 is stationary, and FIG. 7 is a half sectional view showing the internal structure when the pinion gear 5 is engaged with the ring gear 6. It is. In this embodiment, a spring 20 (elastic body of the present invention) is interposed between the front wall 7b of the cover 7 and the housing 3, and the pinion moving body is stopped together with the cover 7 from the meshing position by the elasticity of the spring 20. It is configured to return to the position. The spring 20
An annular locking groove 3 whose one end is formed in the housing 3
a (see FIG. 6), the other end of which is
Are locked in an annular locking groove 7e (see FIG. 8). Since the cover 7 can return to the rest position by the elasticity of the spring 20, the rear wall 7d shown in the first embodiment is omitted.

In this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, water can be prevented from entering through the opening 4 of the housing 3 irrespective of whether the starter 1 is stationary or in operation, and the pinion can be moved by the elasticity of the spring 20. Since the body can be returned from the meshing position to the rest position together with the cover 7,
The return force of the pinion moving body by the magnet switch 11 becomes unnecessary. Normally, the return force is obtained by a return spring for returning the plunger to the initial position when the power supply to the coil is stopped. Therefore, the size of the magnet switch 11 can be reduced by eliminating the need for a return spring. The spring 20 and the return spring of the magnet switch 11 may be used together. That is, the spring 20 may have elasticity enough to return the cover 7, and the pinion moving body may be returned to the stationary position by using the return spring of the magnet switch 11 as in the related art.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the internal structure around the pinion gear 5. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the cover 7
The cover 7 has a structure in which the entire cover 7 can move in the axial direction while being guided by the output shaft 2. As shown in FIG. 10, the cover 7 has a cylindrical portion 7f projecting toward the side opposite to the ring gear 6 of the front wall portion 7b.
f is slidably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the output shaft 2 (see FIG. 9). The outer peripheral shape of the cylindrical portion 7f is provided in a tapered shape in which the outer diameter gradually decreases toward the distal end.

According to this embodiment, since the cylindrical portion 7f provided on the cover 7 can move in the axial direction while being guided by the output shaft 2, a guide component different from the cover 7 for guiding the movement of the cover 7 is provided. It is not necessary to provide a special guide portion in the housing 3, so that the structure can be simplified. Also,
By making the outer peripheral shape of the cylindrical portion 7f a tapered shape, when the pinion moving body moves toward the ring gear 6, the cylindrical portion 7f is moved.
The effect of removing mud, dust, and the like attached to the output shaft 2 on the outer peripheral surface (taper surface) of f also occurs. The housing 3 that covers the lower side of the pinion gear 5 is provided with a water impervious wall 3b as shown in FIG. 9, and the gap between the inner peripheral end face of the water impervious wall 3b and the outer diameter of the pinion gear 5 is as small as possible. Is set.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing the internal structure around the pinion gear 5. In this embodiment, the washer 21 is disposed between the front wall 7b of the cover 7 facing in the axial direction and the pinion gear 5, that is, between the wall of the front wall 7b on the pinion gear 5 side and the front end face of the pinion gear 5. It was established. The washer 21 is fitted to the outer periphery of the output shaft 2 with a slight gap, and is disposed so as to be rotatable relative to the pinion gear 5. Thus, the rotational force of the pinion gear 5 can be blocked by the washer 21 and prevented from being transmitted to the cover 7, so that the cover 7 can be prevented from rotating together with the rotation of the pinion gear 5.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the cover 7 and the torsion coil spring 22. This embodiment uses a torsion coil spring 22 as shown in FIG. 12 in place of the spring 20 (see FIG. 6) described in the second embodiment, and
Is returned to the rest position. The torsion coil spring 22 is formed by fitting the annular portion 22a of the torsion coil spring 22 to a pin 7g provided on the opening / closing wall 7a of the cover 7 so that both ends of the torsion coil spring 22 are respectively connected to the front wall of the cover 7. 7b is used in a state of being in contact with the housing 3. Incidentally, similarly to the second embodiment, the pinion moving body may be returned to the rest position together with the cover 7 by the elasticity of the torsion coil spring 22, or the elasticity of the torsion coil spring 22 may be sufficient to return the cover 7. To have
The pinion moving body may be returned to the stationary position by using the return spring of the magnet switch 11 as in the related art.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a half sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear at a stationary position.

FIG. 2 is a half sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear at a meshing position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cover.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where an opening is substantially closed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state where an opening is opened.

FIG. 6 is a half sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear at a rest position (second embodiment).

FIG. 7 is a half sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear at a meshing position (second embodiment).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a cover (second embodiment).

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear (third embodiment).

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cover.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing an internal structure around a pinion gear (fourth embodiment).

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a cover and a torsion coil spring (fifth embodiment).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Starter 2 Output shaft 3 Housing 4 Opening 5 Pinion gear 5a Teeth part 6 Ring gear 7 Cover 7a Opening / closing wall part 7b Front wall part 7c Outer peripheral wall part 7d Rear wall part 7f Tube part 8 Bearing 20 Spring (elastic body) 21 Washer 22 Torsion Coil spring (elastic body)

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tokuhisa Inagaki 1-1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya-shi, Aichi Pref. Denso Corporation (56) References JP-A-63-253170 (JP, A) JP-A-62-67283 (JP, A) JP-A 63-115576 (JP, U) JP-A 41-12649 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F02N 11/00 F02N 15 / 06

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] An output shaft having one end rotatably supported by a housing via a bearing; and a pinion gear movably provided on the output shaft between a stationary position and a meshing position meshing with a ring gear of the engine. An opening opened in the housing so that the pinion gear meshes with the ring gear; moving together with the pinion gear, opening the opening when the pinion gear moves to the meshing position, and moving the pinion gear to the stationary position. An opening / closing wall that substantially closes the opening when returning, a front wall that is provided integrally with the opening / closing wall, and that covers at least half of the ring gear-side end surface of the pinion gear; A cover extending to the ring gear side and having an outer peripheral wall covering at least half of the outer periphery of the pinion gear. Starter. 2. The starter according to claim 1, wherein the front wall portion and the outer peripheral wall portion cover at least a portion opposite to the opening from a center in a radial direction of the pinion gear. 3. The starter according to claim 1, wherein the cover is restricted in rotation by bringing the open / close wall into contact with the housing. 4. The cover has a rear wall portion that covers a part of the end surface of the pinion gear on the side opposite to the ring gear, and when the pinion gear returns from the meshing position to the rest position, the rear wall portion is formed of the pinion gear. The starter according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover is movable together with the pinion gear by being pressed against an end surface on the side opposite to the ring gear. 5. The cover is urged toward the stationary position by an elastic body interposed between the housing and the front wall on the side of the front wall opposite to the pinion gear. The starter according to claim 1. 6. The cover has a cylindrical portion slidably fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the output shaft, and the cylindrical portion is guided by the output shaft and moves in the axial direction. Claim 1
5. The starter according to any one of items 5 to 5. 7. The cover, wherein the cylindrical portion is provided so as to protrude toward the pinion gear side of the front wall portion, and the outer peripheral shape of the cylindrical portion is provided in a tapered shape in which an outer diameter gradually decreases toward a tip end. The starter according to claim 6, wherein 8. The starter according to claim 1, wherein a washer is disposed between the front wall portion of the cover facing in the axial direction and the pinion gear.