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US 6,854,746 B2Granted
Sprint car starter system
OwnerKenneth R. Stolfus, IIinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A starter system for racing vehicles such as sprint cars that enables the vehicle to be started while in position for a race without the need for a clutch or external means of generating forward motion.
Claims17
A starter system, in combination with a wheeled racing vehicle powered by internal combustion, comprising:
- a vehicle including a chassis, an engine compartment located in a forward portion of said chassis, an engine located in said engine compartment and attached to said chassis, a cockpit compartment located rearward of said engine compartment,
- a planar, vertically oriented motor mount plate attached to said chassis between said engine compartment and said cockpit and dividing said engine compartment from said cockpit, said mount plate having a forward surface facing said engine compartment and rearward surface facing said cockpit,
- a starter attached to said rearward surface of said mount plate, said starter including a pinion driven by an electric motor, said pinion projecting through an opening in said mount plate toward said engine compartment,
- a power source connected to said starter for providing electrical power to said motor,
- a flywheel mounted on a engine powered shaft, said flywheel positioned rearward of said engine and in close proximity to and parallel alignment with said mount plate, the outer circumferential surface of said flywheel engaged with said pinion,
- a drive shaft in communication with said flywheel and extending rearward, connecting with the rear wheels of said vehicle, and
- means for engaging the starter by initiating supply of electrical power from said power source to said electric motor,
- whereby, upon engagement of said starter, said pinion is rotated, said pinion thereby causing said flywheel to rotate, said flywheel thereby causing said drive shaft to rotate thereby causing motion in associated engine components to initiate internal combustion.
5 more elements
A starter system for a vehicle, comprising:
- a planar, vertically oriented mount plate attached to a vehicle chassis and disposed between an engine compartment and a cockpit, said mount plate having a forward surface facing said engine compartment and a rearward surface facing said cockpit,
- a flywheel mounted on an engine powered shaft, said flywheel positioned rearward of said engine and in proximity to said mount plate, and
- a starter attached to said rearward surface of said mount plate, said starter including a pinion driven by an electric motor, said pinion projecting forward to engage said flywheel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.