US 5,179,864 A · Starter having a contaminant-proof struture of a sliding portion

Abstract

A contaminant proof structure for a starter for an engine, with the starter including a sliding portion between a sliding member and a support member supporting the sliding member disposed in a housing so that the sliding member can project into the outside of the housing through an opening formed in a wall of the housing. An atmospheric gas reservoir disposed in the housing between the support member and the wall of the housing around the opening, and a communication passage bypasses the sliding portion and communicates the atmospheric gas reservoir with an external atmospheric gas through a space at an opposite side of the support member to the atmospheric gas reservoir side. The sliding member is dimensioned such that a gap between the opening and the sliding member inserted in the opening is small.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A starter for engines, the starter comprising:

a housing;
a motor having an output shaft disposed in said housing;
a rotatable shaft having a pinion formed at one end thereof;
a support member disposed in said housing for supporting said rotatable shaft rotatably and slidably in an axial direction thereof;
a mechanism for connecting said rotatable shaft to said output shaft of said motor and for projecting said rotatable shaft outside said housing through an opening formed in said housing to cause said pinion of said rotatable shaft to mesh with a gear located exteriorly of said housing to start the engine,
wherein a small gap is formed between the opening formed in said housing and said end of said rotatable shaft inserted in said opening, an air reservoir is formed between a wall of said housing in which said opening is formed and one side of said support member opposing said housing wall, and a communication passage is provided for communicating said air reservoir and on the outside of said housing through an opposite side of said support member to a reservoir side thereof.

3 more elements

A starter for starting internal combustion engines, said starter comprising:

a motor;
a housing containing said motor;
a pinion shaft disposed in said housing, one end of said pinion shaft having a pinion formed thereon, teeth of said pinion extend from said one end toward an opposite end of the pinion shaft and terminate in a final tooth edge disposed between the first and opposite ends of said pinion shaft;
a bearing disposed in and fixed to said housing and rotatably and axially slidably supporting said pinion shaft;
a mechanism disposed in said housing for connecting said pinion shaft to said motor and for projecting said pinion of said pinion shaft out of said housing through an opening formed in a side wall of said housing so that said pinion engages with a ring gear in a transmission casing of the engine upon a starting of the engine;
wherein said final tooth edge of said pinion shaft perpendicularly faces an inner peripheral surface of said side wall defining said opening when said pinion is projected out of said housing, so that an air gap between said pinion shaft and said opening of said housing is restricted;
an air reservoir formed between said side wall of said housing and one side of said bearing opposite to said side wall, said air reservoir having a volume sufficient to reduce a flow speed of air passing through said gap regardless of a relative position of said pinion shaft to said opening of said housing;
and
a communication passage communicating with spaces provided at both sides of said bearing, one of said spaces forming said air reservoir, and wherein said communication passage bypasses a sliding surface of said bearing and communicates with an exterior of said housing.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Starter having a contaminant-proof struture of a sliding portion

Life of this patent

Starter having a contaminant-proof struture of a sliding portion

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims15