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US 4,366,385 AGranted
Engine starter drive
AssigneeFacet Enterprises, Inc.
InventorJames O. Williams
Life of this patent
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AssigneeFacet Enterprises, Inc.
InventorJames O. Williams
Estimating the term…
A starter drive for internal combustion engines is disclosed. The starter drive is mounted within the starter housing and connected to the motor driven shaft. The shaft has a screw thread formed thereon near the armature of the starter and a cylindrical end portion. A screw sleeve member cooperatively engages the threaded screw of the motor driven shaft. A ring armature member is centrally mounted to the threaded screw member. A unidirectional clutch member connects the screw sleeve member, the ring armature member and the drive pinion gear. An engaging member holds the ring armature member to the starter housing when the drive pinion is advanced axially along the motor driven shaft by the rotation of the motor when the motor is activated. Thus, the drive pinion engages the engine ring gear such that the drive pinion is held in mesh with the engine ring gear and the total motor torque is transmitted to the engine ring gear until the motor is deactivated.
A starter drive for starting internal combustion engines having a starter housing, a motor driven shaft with a cylindrical end portion and advancing means between said cylindrical end portion and the motor, said starter drive comprising:
An engine starter drive for engaging an engine ring gear to start an engine, said starter drive having motor means, a motor housing, a drive shaft extending from said motor means, said drive shaft having one end, a first cylindrical portion adjacent said one end, and a second cylindrical portion extending from the motor to said first portion, said second cylindrical portion having advancing means formed thereon, said starter drive comprising:
A starter drive for engaging a ring gear for an internal combustion engine having a starter housing, a motor drive shaft with a cylindrical end portion and a helical threaded portion between said cylindrical end portion and the motor, said starter drive comprising:
In combination with an internal combustion engine of the type having an engine ring gear, battery means associated with said internal combustion engine, relay means electrically connected to said battery means, switch means connected to said relay means for providing an electrical connection through said relay means when said switch means is activated, the improvement comprising:
A starter drive for starting an internal combustion engine having a ring gear and battery means, said starter driving comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
No related US applications are recorded in the indexed filing history.
The starter comprising an intermediate clutch: of the overrunning type
Starting of combustion engines
Term ended 22 Oct 2000 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
The present invention relates to engine starters for internal combustion engines and more particularly to starters of the positive shift type wherein after the starter motor pinion engages the flywheel ring gear of the engine to be started, the coaxial solenoid prevents the pinion gear from demeshing until the starting motor is deenergized.
Heretofore, starting motors of the so called piggyback solenoid type, that is, those having a shifting solenoid mounted on the outside of the starter motor housing, have been used extensively in automotive and allied industries for starting internal combustion engines. However, in present industrial and automotive applications, the piggyback solenoid engine starter is not completely satisfactory because of the space that the piggyback solenoid occupies. Also, it is desirable from a production standpoint, to produce a starter housing that is easily adaptable to the various mounting positions required to satisfy a number of engine configurations. By eliminating the piggyback solenoid from the outside of the starter motor housing, the starter motor housing may be mounted in any desirable orientation on the engine without special consideration being given to the shifting solenoid or related parts. In addition, the starter motor can be manufactured to satisfy the various mounting requirements for various types of internal combustion engines, thereby limiting the need of manufacturing several types of starter motor housings.
Coaxial solenoid type starter motors which eliminate the need for piggyback solenoids are not new, and have been known in the prior art. For example, Mattson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,561 uses a movable solenoid and helical splines to move the pinion and overrunning clutch prior to closing the motor power switch to rotate the armature. Giometti, U.S. Pat. No. 3,572,133 has a friction connection between the shiftable drive portion and the starter drive housing for assisting the advance of the shiftable drive portion into engagement with the ring gear. An electromagnetic brake is also provided in order to prevent drive rotation and to facilitate drive advance into engagement with the ring gear. As the pinion drive engages the ring gear, the brake is deenergized. Seilly, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,727,158 uses a solenoid to move the shiftable drive portion axially to initially engage the engine ring gear. As this occurs, a switch closes the contact to pass current through the motor to rotate the starter shaft. This causes the shiftable drive portion to further slide axially into full engagement with the ring gear. A catch ball arrangement is provided to secure the shiftable drive portion to the sleeve which then deenergizes the solenoid. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,694, Seilly provides an axially movable core to impart initial axial movement to the shiftable drive portion. Hollyoak, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,558 provides an electromagnetic arrangement for moving the pinion assembly from its rest position to its operative position. In the drive connection, between the electromagnetic arrangement and the pinion assembly, there is a member which bears against one end of the pinion assembly. This member, in the rest position of the pinion assembly, is trapped between the pinion assembly and a collar carried by the shaft. When the electromagnet is energized, it moves the armature in such a manner that the pinion assembly is urged by way of the member towards its operative position. The shaft and the pinion assembly rotate relative to the armature and the member when the electric motor is energized. However, the armature and the member act as a brake to inhibit rotation of the pinion assembly and the shaft, when the pinion assembly returns to its rest position. In the rest position, the member is trapped between the pinion assembly and the collar carried by the shaft. Finally, Nardone, in U.S. Pat. No. 1,939,405 and Celio in U.S. Pat. No. 2,333,765 use an electromagnet to cause axial movement of the drive portion into mesh with the flywheel prior to causing the rotation of the starter motor shaft.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description on reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electrical starting circuit for a starter according to my invention;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the starter drive according to my invention, partially in section, in the energized position;
Referring to FIG. 1, the invention is shown in connection with the starting circuit for a conventional automobile engine. A battery 110 is connected at the first terminal post 102 by a cable 105 to ground. A relay 120 is connected at one end 112 by a cable 116 to the second terminal post 108 of the battery. A starter switch 130 is connected at one terminal post 122 by a cable 125 to the one end 112 of the relay. The other terminal post 124 of the starter switch is connected to a third end 118 on the relay 120 by means of a cable 128. A transmission neutral switch 140 is connected at one end to the ground and at the other end to a fourth end 117 in the starter relay by means of a cable 138. The second end of the relay 114 is connected by means of a cable 145 to the starter motor 150. The starter motor 150 incorporates a starter drive generally designated as 100 according to my invention as will be more fully described herein. Finally, the starting ciruit is completed by connecting the starter motor housing 4 to ground.
As is shown in FIGS. 2-5 the starter drive 100 is mounted on a drive shaft 10 which is rotatably mounted in the motor starter housing 4 and which extends from the electric motor armature 6 to the motor housing nose 8. The drive shaft 10 further has a dimetral or first cylindrical portion 14 adjacent the one end 12. The drive shaft 10 also has axial advancing means 15 including for example, helical splines formed on a second cylindrical portion 18 which extends between the first cylindrical portion 14 and the electric motor armature 6 as is shown in FIGS. 2-5.
The starter drive 100 includes screw sleeve means 39, ring armature means 60, a drive pinion or pinion gear 90, the unidirectional clutch means 80, and engaging means 94. The starter drive 100 engages a ring gear 2 of the internal engine (not shown) to be started.