Engine starter system having an improved pinion assembly
US5818118A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 28, 1996 |
| Grant date | Oct 6, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 28, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/134
- WIPO fieldEngines, pumps, turbines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
In an engine starter comprising a pinion slidably fitted on the output shaft for driving a ring gear of an engine that is to be started, and a one-way clutch having a first end secured to the pinion and a second end which is engaged by the output shaft via spline means, a compression coil spring is interposed between a stopper secured to the output shaft and an annular shoulder defined in a cylindrical extension of the second end of the one-way clutch. Therefore, even when the pinion is forced into a high speed rotation by the engine which has been started by the engine starter, the pinion simply rotates freely, and no friction is applied to the compression coil spring or the stopper. Also, by receiving the compression coil spring in an annular space defined between the cylindrical extension of the second end of the one-way clutch and the output shaft, the compression coil spring can be protected from the centrifugal force which acts upon the compression coil spring when the output shaft of the engine starter rotates at an extremely high speed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.