JPH11218068A - Engine starting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an engine starting device to prevent the occurrence of wear and the chip of a pinion through gentle engagement between a pinion and a ring gear and perform optimum starting control of an engine, being excellent in durability, reduce the generation of noise, and have high reliability. SOLUTION: When a controller 30 detects a stop of an engine 1, a pinion 17 is gently engaged with a ring gear 3, and after a lapse of a given time, energization to a pinion drive solenoid 13 is cut off. A motor 11 is energized when the key switch 5 of a motor is turned ON by a driver. When it is detected that the number of revolutions of an engine 1 exceeds the number of revolutions from which it is decided that stating is completed, energization to the motor 11 is cut off and a plunger stopper 19 is energized. Thereafter, energization to the plunger stopper 19 is cut off and the starting of the engine 1 is completed. Further, it is detected by the controller 30 whether the engine 1 is stopped and after the detection, operation similar to the operation described above is executed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to an engine starting device for starting an engine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a starter for starting an engine, a large current is supplied to a magnetic switch.
Since the suction force acting on the plunger is large, the pinion is rapidly transferred in the direction of the ring gear, and the pinion and the ring gear collide violently.

As a technique for avoiding a violent collision between the pinion and the ring gear, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No.
There is an electromagnetic switch device described in Japanese Patent No. 38382. That is, in the above-mentioned publication, the electromagnetic switch device of the starting motor in which the impact force is reduced when the driven gear (ring gear) of the internal combustion engine meshes with the driving gear (pinion) of the starting motor when the starting motor is started. It is intended to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a delay circuit for delaying energization to the starting motor from a point in time when the key switch is turned on to a point in time when the driving gear and the driven gear contact with each other, and a coil for moving the plunger. It is divided into a coil energized by turning on a key switch and a coil energized by an output signal from the delay circuit,
A coil that moves the plunger in two stages is provided in the electromagnetic switch device.

The starting motor is rotated by the delay circuit after the driving gear and the driven gear come into contact with each other.
The impact force when the driving gear and the driven gear mesh with each other is reduced. Also, by virtue of the plunger being configured to move gradually in two stages, a sharp collision of the driven gear with the driven gear can be avoided.

[0006]

However, in the above prior art, when the engine is started, the drive gear must move to the driven gear side, so that a violent collision between the drive gear and the driven gear can be avoided, The collision itself at the time of starting could not be avoided.

In the prior art, as described above, the starting motor is rotated after the driving gear and the driven gear come into contact with each other, so that the impact force at the time of meshing between the driving gear and the driven gear is reduced. However, control of the rise of the rotation of the drive gear is not taken into consideration, and the rotational impact force cannot be reduced further. Further, no consideration has been given to quickly releasing the pinion after the engine is started.

An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above points. The pinion and the ring gear are gently engaged with each other to prevent wear and chipping of the pinion and the ring gear, and to perform optimal start control of the engine. , Durable,
An object of the present invention is to realize a highly reliable engine starting device with low noise.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows. (1) A ring gear for transmitting a rotational force to an engine, a motor for generating a rotational force for starting the engine, and slidably supported on an output rotary shaft of the motor. An engine starter that includes a pinion that rotates and can mesh with and release the meshing with the ring gear, pinion drive means for sliding the pinion on the output rotation shaft, and a key switch for instructing start of the engine. In the device, when the pinion and the ring gear are meshed with each other, the pinion and the ring gear are meshed with each other by the pinion driving means with the engine stopped while the pinion and the ring gear are meshed with each other. In the state,
When the start of the engine is instructed by the key switch, the motor rotates the pinion to rotate the ring gear, and when the engine starts, the controller releases the engagement between the pinion of the holding means and the ring gear. , Is provided.

When the engine is stopped, the pinion is moved toward the ring gear so as to mesh with each other, and this state is held by the holding means. In this case, it is not necessary to start the engine immediately, so that the moving speed when transferring the pinion to the ring gear side can be sufficiently suppressed. Since the pinion is rotated from the state where the ring gear and the ring gear have already meshed, the impact due to the collision between the pionin teeth and the ring gear teeth is suppressed to a minimum,
The engine starts in a short time.

(2) Preferably, in the above (1),
A pinion control relay for supplying and stopping the supply of operating power to the pinion drive unit, and a resistor connected between the pinion control relay and the motor; and the holding unit includes an electromagnetic solenoid. And a holding member driven by the electromagnetic solenoid to fix the pinion driving means.

(3) Preferably, in the above (1) or (2), further comprising means for detecting an engine speed, wherein the controller is configured to detect the engine speed detected by the engine speed detecting means. Then, the stop and start of the engine are determined.

(4) Preferably, the above (1),
In (2) or (3), the pinion driving means is
An electromagnetic solenoid, and a driving member that slides a pinion on the output rotary shaft by the electromagnetic solenoid. The controller is configured to control the pinion when a predetermined time elapses after the energization of the electromagnetic solenoid of the pinion driving unit has started. The energization of the electromagnetic solenoid of the driving means is stopped.

(5) Preferably, in the above (3), when the controller detects that the engine speed has become higher than a predetermined speed by the engine speed detecting means, the controller operates the motor. The rotation is stopped, and the engagement between the pinion of the holding means and the ring gear is released.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an engine starting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a ring gear 3 is attached to a crankshaft 2 of a power transmission unit of an engine 1. The rotation speed of the ring gear 3 is detected by a rotation sensor 4, and the rotation speed of the engine 1 is determined based on the detected rotation speed. Is detected.

The starter 10 is mounted on the engine 1 with bolts. The starter 10 includes a motor 11 for generating power, a pinion 17 for transmitting the power of the motor 11 to the engine 1, a pinion drive solenoid 13 for controlling meshing between the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3, A plunger stopper (holding means) 19 for holding the drive solenoid 13 in an operating state is provided.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a controller. The controller 30 includes an input port 301 for receiving output signals from the rotation sensor 4 and the key switch 5, and a memory (ROM) 30 receiving signals from the input port 301.
2 in accordance with the control program stored in the memory (RA
M) a central processing unit (CPU) 304 interconnected with the 303 for performing data processing, and an output port 305 for transmitting an output signal of the CPU 304 to the outside.

An output signal from the output port 305 is supplied to a pinion control relay 41 for controlling the pinion drive solenoid 13, a motor control relay 42 for controlling the motor 11, and a plunger stopper for controlling the plunger stopper 19. It is supplied to the control relay 43.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the starter 10 in the above-described engine starter. In FIG. 2, an output shaft 12 of a motor 11 of a starter 10 is connected to a bearing portion 14 provided on a nose portion 14 a of a front bracket 14.
b and the bearing 15a of the rear bracket 15. A roller clutch 16 and a pinion 17 are slidably supported on the output shaft 12. The roller clutch 16 and the pinion 17 are connected to the shift lever 1 by the power of a pinion drive solenoid (electromagnetic solenoid) 13.
8 slides in the axial direction of the output shaft 12. Output shaft 1
2 and the roller clutch 16 are engaged with each other by helical splines 12a and 16a for transmitting rotational power.

The plunger 13a of the pinion drive solenoid 13 is provided with a plunger stopper 19 having an electromagnetic solenoid having an exciting coil 19c. The plunger holding member 19 of the plunger stopper 19
a is pushed toward the plunger 13a by the pushing spring 19b. Reference numeral 21 denotes a starter mounting portion of the engine. The starter mounting portion 21 is fitted to the spigot portion 14c of the front bracket 14 and is fixed to the flange portion 14d of the front bracket 14 by bolts 20. Thus, the starter 10 is mounted on the engine 1.

FIG. 3 shows a circuit of the engine starting device. In FIG. 3, the circuit of the engine starter includes a starter 10, a controller 30, a battery 5,
0, a pinion control relay 41 for selecting whether or not to supply a current to the pinion drive solenoid 13;
1 and a plunger stopper control relay 4 for selecting whether to supply a current to the plunger stopper 19 or not.
3 and a resistor 60.

The resistor 60 has one end connected between the pinion control relay 41 and the pinion driving solenoid 13, and the other end connected between the motor control relay 42 and the motor 11.

Next, the operation of the engine starting device configured as described above will be described. 1 to 3, when the central processing unit (CPU) 304 detects that the engine 1 has changed from the operating state to the stopped state based on the signal of the rotation sensor 4, the CPU 304 outputs an output signal to the output port 305.
Is sent to the pinion control relay 41, and the pinion control relay 41 is turned on. As a result, the pinion drive solenoid 13 of the starter 10 is energized.

When power is supplied from the battery 50 to the pinion drive solenoid 13, the plunger 13 a is attracted to the pinion drive solenoid 13, and the roller clutch 16 and the pinion 17 are connected via the shift lever 18 to the ring gear 3.
Transfer to the side.

Here, the suction force of the pinion drive solenoid 13 is set small, and the plunger 13
a has a plunger holding member 19a and a pressing spring 19b.
, The moving speed of the plunger 13a is reduced by the braking effect of the plunger holding member 19a.

Therefore, the moving speed of the pinion 17 is also reduced. At this time, when the end face of the pinion 17 does not contact the end face of the ring gear 3, the pinion 17 meshes with the ring gear 3 as it is. When the end face of the pinion 17 and the end face of the ring gear 3 come into contact with each other, a small current is supplied to the motor 11 via the resistor 60, so that the rotation torque of the motor 11 is small and the angular acceleration at the start of rotation is small. Since small, the pinion 17 rotates gently.

When the contact between the end face of the pinion 17 and the end face of the ring gear 3 is released, the pinion 17 gently meshes with the ring gear 3 as shown in FIG. In this case, since the engine does not have to be started immediately, the moving speed when transferring the pinion 17 to the ring gear 3 side can be sufficiently suppressed, and when the end face of the pinion 17 and the end face of the ring gear 3 come into contact with each other. Impact force can be reduced.

Further, as described above, since it is not necessary to start the engine immediately, the motor 11
Can be reduced, the contact between the end face of the pinion 17 and the end face of the ring gear 3 is released, and the rotational impact force due to the contact of the tooth face when the pinion 17 meshes with the ring gear 3 can be reduced.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when the pinion 17 meshes with the ring gear 3 and the plunger 13a is sucked to the maximum suction position, the plunger holding member 19a is
The plunger 13a moves downward in the drawing by the spring force of the pressing spring 19b, and prevents the plunger 13a from returning to its original position.

That is, a cutout is formed at the end of the plunger holding member 19a on the side of the plunger 13a, and the cutout and the end face of the plunger 13a are engaged.

When a predetermined time, for example, 1 to 2 seconds, has elapsed since the power supply to the pinion drive solenoid 13 was started, the power supply is automatically cut off. After the power is cut off, the pinion 17 is held by the plunger holding member 19a in a state of being meshed with the ring gear 3.

Thereafter, when the driver turns on the key switch 5 of the automobile with the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 engaged with each other, the motor control relay 42 is turned on, the motor 11 is energized, and the motor 11 is supplied with rotational power. Generated. The rotational power of the motor 11 is transmitted to the ring gear 3 via the roller clutch 16 and the pinion 17, and starts the engine 1.

When the engine 1 is started and the rotation speed of the engine 1 exceeds the rotation speed of the pinion 17, the ring gear 3 drives the pinion 17, so that the helical connection between the output shaft 12 and the roller clutch 16 is performed. Spline 1
An axial thrust proportional to the driving torque of the ring gear 3 is generated in the directions 2a and 16a in a direction in which the pinion 17 is separated from the ring gear 3 due to the effect of the twist of the spline.

However, the plunger holding member 19a is
Since the plunger 13a is prevented from returning to the original position, the pinion 17 is held in engagement with the ring gear 3 via the shift lever 18.

After the engine is started, when the rotation speed of the engine 1 is detected by the rotation sensor 4 at a rotation speed at which the start of the engine 1 can be determined to be completed, for example, at a rotation speed of 600 r / min or more, the engine 1 is started. Controller 3
When 0 is determined, the motor control relay 42 is turned off, and at the same time, the plunger stopper control relay 43 is turned on.

When the motor control relay 42 is turned off, the power supply from the battery 50 to the motor 11 is cut off, and the motor 11 is stopped. At the same time, the power is supplied to the exciting coil 19c of the plunger stopper 19, and this exciting coil 19c The holding member 19a is compressed and sucked by the pressing spring 19b, and the engagement with the end face of the plunger 13a is released.

For this reason, the plunger 13a, the roller clutch 16 and the pinion 17 are
Due to the spring force b, the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 return to the separated position, that is, as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the plunger stopper control relay 4
3 is turned off by the controller 30, the energization to the exciting coil 19c of the plunger stopper 19 is cut off, and the plunger holding member 19a presses the original position, that is, the side surface of the plunger 13a by the spring force of the pressing spring 19b. Return to the state where you are.

As described above, when the central processing unit 304 detects that the engine 1 has changed from the operating state to the stopped state based on the signal of the rotation sensor 4, the central processing unit 304 engages with the roller clutch 16 via the shift lever 18. Pinion 1
7 is transferred to the ring gear 3 side, and the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 are engaged.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an operation flowchart for starting the engine in the above-described engine starting device.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the controller 30 detects that the engine 1 has stopped based on the output signal from the rotation sensor 4 (step S1), the controller 30 energizes the pinion drive solenoid 13 via the pinion control relay 41. Then, the pinion 17 is gently engaged with the ring gear 3 (Step S3).

After a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of energization of the pinion drive solenoid 13 (step S4), the energization of the pinion drive solenoid 13 is cut off (step S4).
5).

Thereafter, the driver operates the key switch 5 of the automobile.
Is applied (step S6), the motor 11 is energized (step S7). Then, when the rotation speed of the engine 1 is detected by the rotation sensor 4 at a rotation speed at which the start of the engine 1 can be determined to be completed, for example, a rotation speed of 600 r / min or more (step S8), the engine 1 is started. When the determination is made, the power supply to the motor 11 is cut off and the power supply to the plunger stopper 19 is performed (step S9).

Thereafter, the power supply to the plunger stopper 19 is cut off (step S10), and the start of the engine 1 is completed (step S11). Then, the process returns to step S1 to detect whether or not the engine 1 has stopped,
Thereafter, steps S2 to S11 are executed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the engine is stopped from the operating state, the pinion 17 is moved toward the ring gear 3,
The meshing state is maintained, and this state is maintained. In this case, since the engine does not have to be started immediately, the moving speed when transferring the pinion 17 to the ring gear 3 side can be sufficiently suppressed, and the rotational torque of the motor 11 can be sufficiently reduced. Not only can the impact force when the end face of the pinion 17 comes into contact with the end face of the ring gear 3 be reduced, but also the rotational impact force due to the contact of the tooth faces when the pinion 17 meshes with the ring gear 3 can be reduced. .

When the driver turns on the key switch 5 of the automobile and tries to start the engine, the pinion 17 rotates from the state in which the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 are engaged with each other, and the rotation power is transmitted to the ring gear. 3 and the engine 1 is started.

In this case, when the rotation of the pinion 17 starts, the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 are already engaged with each other, so that the impact caused by the collision between the teeth of the pionin 17 and the teeth of the ring gear 3 is minimized. be able to.

Further, since the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 are already engaged with each other, the engine start is performed in a shorter time than in the conventional case where the pinion and the ring gear are separated from each other. It can be done in a short time.

After the engine is started, when the rotation speed of the engine 1 is detected by the rotation sensor 4 to determine that the start of the engine 1 has been completed, the controller 30 determines that the engine 1 has been started. The pinion 17 is moved to release the engagement with the ring gear 3. This allows
After the engine 1 is securely started, the pinion 17
And the ring gear 3 can be disengaged.

Further, even if the driver turns on the key switch 5 by mistake after starting the engine 1, the pinion 17 is not transferred in the direction of the ring gear 3 while the engine 1 is rotating. . That is, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the pinion 17 is configured to move in the direction of the ring gear 3 and mesh with the ring gear 3 only when the engine 1 is stopped. As a result, after the engine is started, the key switch 5
, The collision between the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 can be avoided.

Therefore, the pinion and the ring gear are gently engaged with each other to prevent wear and chipping of the pinion and the ring gear, and to perform optimal starting control of the engine.
It is possible to realize a highly reliable engine starter that is excellent in durability, has low noise, and has high reliability.

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart for starting the engine in the engine starting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Note that the circuit configuration and the like are the same as in the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 6, the operation flow chart of the second embodiment is different from the operation flow chart shown in FIG. 5 in that step S12 is performed between steps S5 and S6.
Are added, and the other steps are the same as the steps shown in FIG.

That is, after the processes from step S1 to step S5 are performed, in step S12, the controller 30 determines whether or not the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 have meshed.
Proceed to 6. If it is determined in step S12 that the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 are not engaged with each other, the process returns to step S1, and thereafter, steps S1 to S12 are executed.

Whether the pinion 17 and the ring gear 17 have engaged with each other is determined by detecting the position of the pinion 17 or by determining whether the plunger holding member 19a has moved from the initial state to the plunger holding state and has stopped. This can be achieved by providing a detecting means.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in addition to the effects obtained by the first embodiment, even if the meshing between the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 fails, the Is detected, and the pinion 17 and the ring gear 3 can be reliably engaged with each other.

In the above example, the pinion 1
7 is moved in the direction of the ring gear 3 and the condition of meshing with each other is set to the engine stopped state. However, the above condition may be combined with other conditions, for example, opening and closing a door, wearing a seat belt in a driver's seat, and the like. It is also effective to replace the condition with the condition such as insertion of an engine key.

In the above-described example, the movement of the plunger 13a is stopped by the plunger holding member. However, the movement of the plunger 13a may be stopped by another member. For example,
The member that stops the movement of the shift lever 18 can also stop the movement of the plunger 13a.

[0059]

The present invention is configured as described above, and has the following effects. It is possible to sufficiently suppress the moving speed when transferring the pinion to the ring gear side, to sufficiently reduce the rotational torque of the motor, and to reduce the impact force when the end face of the pinion comes into contact with the end face of the ring gear. In addition to this, it is possible to reduce the rotational impact force due to the contact of the tooth surface when the pinion meshes with the ring gear.

When the driver turns on the key switch of the automobile and tries to start the engine, the pinion is rotated from the state in which the pinion and the ring gear 3 are engaged, so that the teeth of the pionin and the teeth of the ring gear are rotated. Can be suppressed to a minimum.

Further, since the pinion and the ring gear are already engaged, the engine can be started in a short time.

That is, the pinion and the ring gear are gently engaged with each other to prevent wear and chipping of the pinion and the ring gear, and to perform optimal starting control of the engine. A starting device can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an engine starting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a starter in the engine starter according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a circuit of the engine starting device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the engine starting device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an operation flowchart for starting the engine in the engine starting device according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart for starting the engine in the engine starting device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Engine 2 Crank shaft 3 Ring gear 4 Rotation sensor 5 Key switch 10 Starter 11 Motor 12 Output shaft 13 Pinion drive solenoid 17 Pinion 19 Plunger stopper 19a Plunger holding member 19b Push spring 19c Excitation coil 30 Controller 41 Pinion control relay 42 Motor control relay 43 Plunger stopper control relay 50 Battery 60 Resistance

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI F02N 11/00 F02N 11/00 RF 15/06 15/06 B J

Claims (5)

[Claims] A ring gear for transmitting torque to the engine; a motor for generating torque for starting the engine; a motor slidably supported by an output shaft of the motor; A pinion that rotates in accordance with the rotation and is capable of meshing with and releasing the meshing with the ring gear; a pinion driving means for sliding the pinion on the output rotary shaft; and a key switch for instructing start of the engine. In the engine starting device, when the pinion and the ring gear are meshed with each other, holding means for holding the meshed state, and with the engine stopped, the pinion driving means meshes the pinion and the ring gear with each other. When the start of the engine is instructed by the key switch, Data by, by rotating the pinion to rotate the ring gear, the engine is started, the engine starting apparatus characterized by comprising: a controller for releasing the engagement between the pinion and the ring gear of the holding means. 2. The engine starter according to claim 1, wherein a pinion control relay for supplying and stopping supply of operating power to said pinion drive means is connected between said pinion control relay and said motor. An engine starting device further comprising a resistor, wherein the holding means includes an electromagnetic solenoid and a holding member driven by the electromagnetic solenoid to fix the pinion driving means. 3. The engine starting device according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting an engine speed, wherein said controller detects an engine speed based on the engine speed detected by said engine speed detecting means. An engine starting device for determining stop and start. 4. The engine starting device according to claim 1, wherein the pinion driving means has an electromagnetic solenoid and a driving member for sliding the pinion on the output rotary shaft by the electromagnetic solenoid. An engine starting device, wherein the controller stops energizing the electromagnetic solenoid of the pinion driving means when a predetermined time elapses after starting energizing the electromagnetic solenoid of the pinion driving means. 5. The engine starting device according to claim 3, wherein the controller controls the rotation of the motor when the engine speed detecting means detects that the engine speed is higher than a predetermined speed. 4. The engine starting device according to claim 3, wherein the engine is stopped and the engagement between the pinion of the holding means and the ring gear is released.