Referring to
Accordingly, the supporting frame 10 comprises a base support 11 and a plurality of supporting posts 12 to define a supporting cavity 13 to receive the generator 20 and the engine mechanism 30 therein.
The generator 20 can be an AC generator supported adjacent to the engine mechanism 30 wherein the engine mechanism 30 is operatively connected to the generator such that when the engine mechanism 30 is activated, the generator 20 generates an AC (alternating current) power. It is worth to mention that an AC to DC converter can be operatively coupled with the generator to convert the AC power into a DC (direct currently) power. Alternatively, the generator 20 can be a DC generator to generate the DC power when the engine mechanism 30 is activated.
The engine mechanism 30 comprises an engine 31 driving the generator 20 and a recoil starter 32 for starting the engine 31, wherein the recoil starter 32 comprises a starter cable 33 having a pulling end 331 retractably pulled to activate the engine 31. Accordingly, the recoil starter 32 has a cable opening 322 for the pulling end 331 of the starter cable 33 extending out of the engine 31. In addition, the cable opening 322 is generally facing upward such that the user is able to easily pull the starter cable upwardly to start the engine.
According to the preferred embodiment, the engine 31 can be an internal combustion engine having a fuel supply system, wherein a fuel tank is supported in the supporting cavity 13 of the supporting frame for containing an engine fuel to supply the engine 31 through the fuel supply system. It is worth to mention that different kinds of engine can be incorporated to drive the generator 20 on condition that the engine 31 is started by the recoil starter 32.
Accordingly, the starter cable 33 has an operation length that when the starter cable 33 is pulled, a predetermined initial momentum is generated to start the engine 31.
According to the preferred embodiment, the power generator further comprises a hand-free starter arrangement 40 which comprises a foot pedal 41 and a transmission unit 42, as shown in
The foot pedal 41 is movably supported by the supporting frame 10 for the user stepping on the foot pedal 41 to apply a downward stepping force. Accordingly, the foot pedal 41 has a stepping surface 411 allowing a foot of the user to step thereon.
The transmission unit 42, which is supported at the supporting frame 10, is coupling the pulling end 331 of the starter cable 33 with the foot pedal 41 to transmit the downward stepping force of the foot pedal 41 to a pulling force of the starter cable 33. The downward displacement of the foot pedal 41 is corresponding to an operation length of the starter cable 33 to start the engine 31 such that when the foot pedal 41 is depressed, the starter cable 33 is pulled with the operation length to start the engine 31 in a hand-free manner. In other words, the user is able to use his/her foot to easily start the engine 31 because the foot of the user is more powerful than the arm of the user.
As shown in
The cable pulley 421 has a concave surface for the starter cable 33 sliding thereon in a smooth moving manner so as to retain the starter cable 33 in position. The cable pulley 421 is supported at the supporting frame 10 at a position above the cable opening 332 to transmit the pulling force in an upward direction into the downward stepping force via the foot pedal 41. Accordingly, the user is able to generate the powerful stepping force by his/her foot instead of the upward pulling force by his/her arm. Therefore, once the starter cable 33 is slidably engaged with the cable pulley 421, the sliding direction can be adjusted from the upward pulling force to the downward stepping force. In other words, the user is able to generate a powerful downward force, which is approximately 50 pound force, to depress the foot pedal 41 so as to start the engine 31. It is worth to mention that by using the weight of the user, the 50 pound force can be relatively easily to be generated by the foot of the user to depress the foot pedal 41.
As shown in
The sliding frame 422 generally has a U-shaped cross section to define the sliding track 4223 therein wherein a length of the sliding track 4223, which is the distance between the guiding end 4221 to the stopper end 4222, is corresponding to the operation length of the starter cable 33 such that when the foot pedal 41 is depressed, the starter cable 33 is pulled long enough with the operation length to generate the initial momentum to start the engine 31. In other words, the downward displacement of the foot pedal 421 is corresponding to the length of the sliding track 4223 for the foot pedal 421 vertically traveling therealong.
Furthermore, the foot pedal 41 is longitudinally positioned for the user stepping thereon without bending his/her body to prevent the user form being hurt during the stepping action. The foot pedal 41 is supported approximately 1 foot from the ground such that the user is able to easily step on the foot pedal 41.
In order to hold the starter cable 33 in a corrected direction, the transmission unit 42 further comprises a cable holder 43 mounted to the sliding frame 422 at a position below the cable pulley 421 wherein the pulling end 331 of the starter cable 33 is slidably passing through the cable holder 43 to slidably engage with the cable pulley 421. As shown in
A shock absorber 44 is mounted at the stopper end 4222 of the sliding frame 422 to absorb the impact force of the foot pedal 41 when the foot pedal 41 is slid to the stopper end 4222 of the sliding frame 422. Accordingly, the shock absorber 44 is preferably made of rubber attached to the stopper end 4222 of the sliding frame 422 not only to stop the further downward sliding movement of the foot pedal 41 along the sliding track 4223 but also to absorb the impact force of the foot pedal 41 when the foot pedal 41 is slid in a speedy manner.
As shown in
In order to start the engine 31, the user simply applies the downward stepping force on the foot pedal 41 to depress the foot pedal 41. The transmission unit 42 is adapted to transmit the downward stepping force to the pulling force to pull the starter cable 33 so as to generate the initial momentum for the engine 31. It is worth to mention the user is able to generate a powerful stepping force by his/her foot in comparison with a pulling force by his/her arm. Therefore, the user will not easily getting tried even through the user pulls the starter cable 33 by his/her foot. Once the foot pedal 41 is slid towards the stopper end 4222 of the sliding frame 422, the recoil starter 32 will retractably pull the starter cable 33 back to its original state. Therefore, the foot pedal 41 is automatically pulled back to the guiding end 4221 of the sliding frame 422 via the retracting starter cable 33 through the cable pulley 421.
As shown
The foot pedal 41′ is movably supported by the supporting frame 10′ for the user stepping on the foot pedal 41′ to apply a downward stepping force. Accordingly, the foot pedal 41′ has a stepping surface 411′ allowing a foot of the user to step thereon.
The transmission unit 42′, which is supported at the supporting frame 10′, is coupling the pulling end 331′ of the starter cable 33′ with the foot pedal 41′ to transmit the downward stepping force of the foot pedal 41′ to a pulling force of the starter cable 33′. The downward displacement of the foot pedal 41′ is corresponding to an operation length of the starter cable 33′ to start the engine 31′ such that when the foot pedal 41′ is depressed, the starter cable 33′ is pulled with the operation length to start the engine 31′ in a hand-free manner. In other words, the user is able to use his/her foot to easily start the engine 31′ because the foot of the user is more powerful than the arm of the user.
As shown in
The cable pulley 421′ has a concave surface for the starter cable 33′ sliding thereon in a smooth moving manner so as to retain the starter cable 33′ in position. The cable pulley 421′ is supported at the supporting frame 10′ at a position above the cable opening 332′ to transmit the pulling force in an upward direction into the downward stepping force via the foot pedal 41′.
As shown in
As shown in
The foot pedal 41′ has an inner end pivotally coupling with the controlled end 4222′ of the pivot arm 422′ such that when the foot pedal 41′ is not in use, the foot pedal 41′ is adapted to be upwardly and pivotally folded towards the supporting frame 10′ for storage. For starting the engine 31′, the user is able to downwardly and pivotally fold the foot pedal 41′ such that the foot pedal 41′ is supported at a horizontal manner for the user stepping thereon.
The transmission unit 42′ further comprises an arm stopper 423′ affixed to the bottom portion of the supporting frame 10′ at a position that when the pivot arm 422′ is pivotally and downwardly depressed, the pivot arm 422′ is blocked at the arm stopper 432′ to block a further downward movement of the pivot arm 422′.
In order to start the engine 31′, the user simply applies the downward stepping force on the foot pedal 41′ to depress the foot pedal 41′. The transmission unit 42′ is adapted to transmit the downward stepping force to the pulling force through the cable pulley 421′ and the pivot arm 422′ to pull the starter cable 33′ so as to generate the initial momentum for the engine 31′.
As shown
The foot pedal 41″ is movably supported by the supporting frame 10″ for the user stepping on the foot pedal 41″ to apply a downward stepping force. Accordingly, the foot pedal 41″ has a stepping surface 411″ allowing a foot of the user to step thereon.
The transmission unit 42″, which is supported at the supporting frame 10″, is coupling the pulling end 331″ of the starter cable 33″ with the foot pedal 41″ to transmit the downward stepping force of the foot pedal 41″ to a pulling force of the starter cable 33″. The downward displacement of the foot pedal 41″ is corresponding to an operation length of the starter cable 33″ to start the engine 31″ such that when the foot pedal 41″ is depressed, the starter cable 33″ is pulled with the operation length to start the engine 31″ in a hand-free manner. In other words, the user is able to use his/her foot to easily start the engine 31″ because the foot of the user is more powerful than the arm of the user.
As shown in
Accordingly, the recoil starter 32″ has a cable opening 332″ for the pulling end 331″ of the starter cable 33″ extending out of the engine 31″. The pivot point 4220″ is mounted at the supporting frame 10″ at a position above the cable opening 332″. The driving end 4221″ of the pivot arm 422″ is positioned below the cable opening 332″ while the controlled end 4222″ of the pivot arm 422″ is inclinedly and upwardly extended at a position above the cable opening 332″. Therefore, when the controlled end 4222″ of the pivot arm 422″ is pivotally and downwardly depressed via the foot pedal 41″, the driving end 4221″ of the pivot arm 422″ is pivotally lifted up to upwardly pull the starter cable 33″.
The transmission unit 42″ further comprises a sliding guider 423″ longitudinally supported by the supporting frame 10″ at a position below the cable opening 332″ of the recoil starter 32″ such that the pulling end 331″ of the starter cable 33″ is extended under the sliding guider 423″ to couple with the driving end 4221″ of the pivot arm 422″ so as to substantially reduce the downward displacement of the foot pedal 41″ to start the engine 31″.
As shown in
The cable guider 4232″ has a tubular shape coaxially and slidably mounted along the guiding arm 4231″. Since the driving end 4221″ of the pivot arm 422″ travels in an arc path when controlled end 4222″ of the pivot arm 422″ is depressed downwardly and pivotally. Therefore, the cable guider 4323″ is adapted to guide the longitudinal movement of the starter cable 33″ along the guiding arm 4231″ to allow the starter cable 33″ being pulled smoothly.
The sliding guider 423″ further comprises two spaced apart sliding stoppers 4233″ mounted along the guiding arm 4231″ to retain the cable guider 4232″ between the two sliding stoppers 4233″ so as to limit the cable guider 4232″ sliding along the guiding arm 4231″ between the sliding stoppers 4233″. In other words, at the normal position, the cable guider 4232″ is positioned adjacent to one of the sliding stoppers 4233″ when the controlled end 4222″ of the pivot arm 422″ is not depressed. The cable guider 4232″ is slid towards another sliding stopper 4233″ when the controlled end 4222″ of the pivot arm 422″ is downwardly and pivotally depressed.
In order to start the engine 31″, the user simply applies the downward stepping force on the foot pedal 41″ to depress the foot pedal 41″. The transmission unit 42″ is adapted to transmit the downward stepping force to the pulling force through the pivot arm 422″ to pull the starter cable 33″ so as to generate the initial momentum for the engine 31″.
It is worth to mention that since the starter cable 33″ is extended underneath the sliding guider 423″ to couple with the driving end 4221″ of the pivot arm 422″, the downward displacement of the foot pedal 41″ can be further reduced for starting the engine 31″. Accordingly, such configuration is useful to incorporate with a compact engine-type apparatus such as a power lawn equipment as shown in
As shown in
According to the present invention, the first to third embodiments illustrate the hand-free starter incorporating with the power generator to start the power generator without using the hand of the user to pull the starter cable 33, 33′, 33″. The user is able to use his/her foot with powerful stepping force to depress the foot pedal 41, 41′, 41″.
The hand-free starter of the present invention can also incorporate with the existing power generator having the starter cable 33, 33′, 33″ by coupling the hand-free starter to the supporting frame 10, 10′, 10″. In addition, the hand-free starter can further comprises an add-on supplement frame to support the hand-free starter arrangement 40, 40′, 40″ such that when the supplement frame is mounted to the supporting frame 10, 10′, 10″, the pulling end 331, 331′, 331″ of the starter cable 33, 33′, 33″ can couple with the hand-free starter arrangement 40, 40′, 40″ to start the engine 31, 31′, 31″ in a hand-free manner. Alternatively, the supporting frame 10, 10′, 10″ can be embodied as an outer casing of the engine 31, 31′, 31″ such that the hand-free starter arrangement 40, 40′, 40″ is directly supported at the outer casing of the engine 31, 31′, 31″ to start the engine 31, 31′, 31″ in a hand-free manner. In other words, the power generator does not require any supporting frame 10, 10′, 10″ to support the hand-free starter arrangement 40, 40′, 40″ if the outer casing of the engine 31, 31′, 31″ is rigid and relatively large. Furthermore, the above first to third embodiments illustrates the hand-free starter incorporating with the power generator including the generator 20, 20′, 20″ and the engine mechanism 30, 30′, 30″. In fact, the hand-free starter of the present invention can only incorporate with any engine mechanism having a starter cable for start up such that no generator is included.
One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting.
It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.