Housing assembly structure of starter motor for vehicle

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6731037
  • Patent Number
    6,731,037
  • Date Filed
    Thursday, June 5, 2003
    22 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, May 4, 2004
    21 years ago
Abstract
The present invention relates to a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle which is capable of implementing an easier assembling operation of a magnet switch and a lever in a finished assembling line of a starter motor based on a shape change of a housing in a housing with a magnet switch which is attached to a front bracket of a starter motor for thereby operating a lever and decreasing a fabrication cost of a product. There is provided a housing engaging structure of a starter motor for a vehicle in which in order to implement an easier assembling operation without any interference with respect to the hook and the flange portion when the housing having the magnet switch is engaged to the front bracket, the housing is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a female threaded portion in an inner diameter of an end portion of the same, and a male threaded portion is formed in an outer surface of the flange portion of the front bracket to which the housing is engaged, and both the threaded portions are engaged each other.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle, in particular, a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle which is capable of decreasing a fabrication cost by implementing an assembling of a magnet switch and a lever in a finished assembling line of a starter motor based on a shape change of a housing in which a magnet switch attached to a front bracket of a starter motor and operating a level is installed, preventing a decrease of an engaging force due to a vibration of a motor by engaging a front bracket and a housing using an engaging screw and enhancing a durability and reliability of a product.




2. Description of the Background Art




Generally, as shown in

FIG. 1

, a conventional starter motor includes a front bracket


1




a


, a yoke


1


, an armature assembly


3


engaged to a shaft


2


in the interior of a rear bracket


1




b


, a stator


4


which is fixed in an inner surface of the yoke


1


in a surrounding of the armature assembly


3


, a brush assembly


5


for supplying a power to the armature assembly, an internal gear assembly


6


connected with a front end of the shaft


2


, and an over running clutch


7


connected with the internal gear assembly


6


for transferring a driving force to a pinion.




In addition, a housing


9


in which a magnet switch


8


having a hook


80


which reciprocates based on an electric operation is provided in an upper front bracket


1




a


of the starter motor


1


, and a lever


20


which moves the pinion for starting an engine is provided in a front portion of the magnet switch


8


and is interworks with the hook


80


of the magnet switch


8


.




The process for engaging the housing


9


with the magnet switch


8


to the front bracket


1




a


of the motor may be classified into two types.




First, the lever is first inserted into the front bracket, and then the magnet switch is engaged. In this method, the housing including the magnet switch is engaged to the front bracket, and the end portion of the hook of the magnet switch is engaged to the end portion of the inserted lever. Second, in a state that the hook of the magnet switch is first engaged to the lever, the magnet switch housing is fixed to the front bracket using a bolt or a clamping method.




However, in the case of the structure in which the housing is assembled in the above manner, it is possible to easily insert the hook of the magnet switch into the level. However, as shown in

FIG. 2

, a step portion


90


is formed in the front side of the housing


9


for an engagement with the front bracket


1




a


, when the hook


80


of the magnet switch is assembled to the lever


20


, the front end of the magnet switch housing


9


may be interfered by a plunger portion


10




a


of the front bracket


1




a


, so that the front end of the hook


80


may be caught by the lever


20


, whereby it is impossible to effectively engage the housing


9


.




In addition, when the housing is engaged in the above manner, in a state that the lever


20


is engaged to the magnet switch hook


80


, since the magnet switch housing


9


must be engaged to the front bracket


1




a


, the number of processes is increased, so that the fabrication cost is increased, and the. construction of the system is complicated.




In a state that the housing is operatively assembled to the front bracket, in order to fix the same, the engagement is implemented using a bolt or clamping member. Here, in the case of using a bolt, a plurality of bolts are engaged step by step, so that it is impossible to implement a desired mass production of the product. In addition, in the case of using a clamping member, the bolts are not needed, so that it is advantages in a view of the mass production and cost, but an electrical resistance due to a durability and motor vibration of a product are high, the reliability of the product is decreased.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle which overcomes the problems encountered in the conventional art.




It is another object of the present invention to provide a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle which is capable of implementing an easier assembling operation of a magnet switch and a lever in a finished assembling line of a starter motor based on a shape change of a housing in a housing with a magnet switch which is attached to a front bracket of a starter motor for thereby operating a lever and decreasing a fabrication cost of a product. In addition, it is possible to increase a desired mass production of a product by enhancing an assembling ability of a product by forming a threaded portion in an inner portion of a housing and an outer diameter portion of a flange portion of a front bracket. In addition, it is possible to enhance a durability and reliability of a product by preventing a decrease of an engaging force due to a vibration of a motor.




To achieve the above objects, In a starter motor for a vehicle in which a housing is engaged in a flange portion of a front bracket of an upper side of a yoke of a starter motor, a magnet switch which includes a hook reciprocating based on an electrical operation is installed in the housing, and a lever which moves a pinion for starting an engine is installed in a front portion of the magnet switch and operatively interworks with a hook of the magnet switch, there is provided a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle in which in order to implement an easier assembling operation without any interference with respect to the hook and the flange portion when the housing having the magnet switch is engaged to the front bracket, the housing is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a female threaded portion in an inner surface of an end portion of the same, and a male threaded portion is formed in an outer surface of the flange portion of the front bracket to which the housing is engaged, and both the threaded portions are engaged each other.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The present invention will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings which are given only by way of illustration and thus are not limitative of the present invention, wherein;





FIG. 1

is a cross sectional view illustrating the construction of a conventional starter motor;





FIG. 2

is a cross sectional view illustrating a housing engaging state of a conventional starter motor;





FIGS. 3A and 3B

are cross sectional views illustrating a separation and engaging state of a housing of a starter motor for a vehicle according to the present invention;





FIG. 4

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention;





FIG. 5

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention; and





FIG. 6

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS




The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.




The same elements as the conventional construction are given the same reference numerals, and the detailed descriptions of the same will be omitted.





FIGS. 3A and 3B

are cross sectional views illustrating a separation and engaging state of a housing of a starter motor for a vehicle according to the present invention,

FIG. 4

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention,

FIG. 5

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and

FIG. 6

is a view illustrating a starter motor housing according to a first embodiment of the present invention.




As shown therein, the entire construction of the starter motor according to the present invention will be described with reference to

FIG. 3A. A

housing


30


with a magnet switch


40


therein is installed in a front bracket


20


of an upper portion of a yoke


10


of a starter motor. A hook


41


which reciprocates based on an electrical operation is installed in the magnet switch


40


of the housing


30


.




In addition, a lever


50


which moves a pinion forwardly and backwardly for starting an engine is provided in the housing and interworks with the hook


41


of the magnet switch


40


.




The present invention particularly relates to the structure of engaging the housing


30


to the front bracket


20


. In order to implement an easier assembling without any interference of the hook


41


and the flange portion


21


when the housing


30


with the magnet switch is engaged to the front bracket, the housing


30


is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a female threaded portion


32


in an inner diameter portion of an end of the same, and a male threaded portion


22


is formed in an outer surface of the flange portion


21


of the front bracket


20


, so that both the threaded portions


32


and


22


are engaged.




Here, as shown in

FIG. 4

of the first embodiment of the present invention, the housing


30


includes an integral partition wall


34




a


for supporting the magnets switch


40


in the center portion of the housing, and a bolt engaging hole


36




a


is formed in the partition wall


34




a


for fixing a magnet core using a bolt, etc. for implementing an operation of the magnet switch. A boss portion


38




a


is protruded for obtaining a sufficient engaging length of the bolt.




As shown in

FIG. 5

of the second embodiment of the present invention, the housing


30


is fixed based on a caulking work in an outer portion of the housing


30


with an insertion of the partition wall


34




b


for supporting the magnet switch in the center portion. The partition wall


34




b


includes a bolt engaging hole


36




b


which is formed through a burring work for fixing the magnet core for implementing an operation of a magnet switch.




As shown in

FIG. 6

of the third embodiment of the present invention, the adapter


30




d


and the magnet housing


30




c


are




The structure of claim 1, wherein said housing is divided into an adapter and a magnet housing about the partition walls in the center portion, and the partition walls are engaged each other based on a heat-treat tight insertion engaging method.




Therefore, the housing of the starter motor for a vehicle according to the present invention is assembled in the following manners.




As shown in

FIGS. 3A and 3B

, the housing


30


according to the present invention is engaged to the flange portion


21


extended from the front bracket


20


of the upper side of the assembled staffer motor body


1


. As shown in

FIG. 3



a


, the lever


50


operating the pinion


90


is assembled in the front bracket


20


of the body


1


of the starter motor.




Here, when engaging the housing


30


having the magnet switch


40


to the flange portion


21


of the front bracket


20


, the housing


30


is engaged to the flange portion


21


and the hook


41


of the magnet switch


40


is operatively engaged with the lever


50


without any interference with each other. In particular, since the housing


30


is formed in a cylindrical shape, as shown in

FIG. 3



a


, it is possible to insert the hook


41


of the magnet switch


40


between an inner side of the flange portion


21


of the front bracket


20


and an end portion of the operation lever


50


.




As shown in

FIG. 3



b


, when moving down the housing


30


having the magnet switch


40


, it is possible to implement an engagement between the hook


41


of the magnet switch


40


and the lever


50


without any interference. In this state, the threaded portions


32


and


22


formed in the inner diameter portion of the end portion of the housing


30


and in the outer surface of the end portion of the flange portion


20


are engaged, so that it is possible to simply engage the magnet switch housing


30


to the front bracket


20


.




Therefore, in the engaging structure of the housing of the starter motor for a vehicle according to the present invention, it is possible to implement an easier assembling of the hook


41


and the lever


50


of the magnet switch in a finishing line for assembly of the starter motor based on a shape transformation of the housing


20


, so that a fabrication cost of a product is decreased.




In addition, the housing and the front bracket


20


are engaged through a threading method, an engaging force is increased, and it is possible to minimize an electrical resistance due to a vibration of the motor.




As shown in

FIG. 4

, the housing


30


includes an integrally-formed partition wall


34




a


for supporting the magnet switch


40


in the inner center portion. A magnet core is fixed to the partition wall


34




a


using a bolt for implementing a magnet switch operation. A boss portion


38




a


is protruded from the engaging hole


36




a


formed in the partition wall


34




a


for fixing the magnet core. Therefore, it is possible to provide a sufficient length of the bolt, so that a supporting force of the magnet core is increased.




As shown in

FIG. 5

, the magnet switch housing


30


may be fixed based on a cocking work in an outer portion of the housing in insertion with the partition wall


34




b


therein for supporting the magnet switch


40


in the inner center portion. In addition, the bolt engaging hole


36




b


which is processed by a burring


38




b


work for fixing the magnet core which is provided for an operation of the magnet switch is formed in the partition wall


34




b


. Therefore, it is possible to implement a sufficient engaging distance of the bolt, so that a supporting force that the magnet core is fixedly attached to the partition wall is increased.




In addition, as shown in

FIG. 6

of the third embodiment of the present invention, the adapter


30




d


and the magnet housing


30




c


are separated with the partition walls


34




c


, and


34




d


, so that it is possible to implement a tight heat insertion engagement between the partition walls


34




c


and


34




d


. Therefore, it is possible to implement the same effects.




As described above, in the housing engaging structure of the starter motor for a vehicle according to the present invention, it is possible to implement an easier assembling of the magnet switch and the lever in a finished assembling line of the starter motor through a shape transformation of the housing, so that it is possible to decrease a product fabrication cost. In addition, since the threaded portions are formed in the inner diameter of the housing and the outer diameter of the flange portion of the front bracket and are engaged each other, so that it is possible to increase a mass production through an improved assembling ability of the products and to prevent a decrease of the engaging force due to the vibration of the motor, for thereby increasing a durability and reliability of the product. In addition, it is possible to minimize an electrical resistance due to the vibration of the motor.




As the present invention may be embodied in several forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described examples are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the meets and bounds of the claims, or equivalences of such meets and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. In a starter motor for a vehicle in which a housing is engaged in a flange portion of a front bracket of an upper side of a yoke of a starter motor, a magnet switch which includes a hook reciprocating based on an electrical operation is installed in the housing, and a lever which moves a pinion for starting an engine is installed in a front portion of the magnet switch and operatively interworks with a hook of the magnet switch,a housing assembly structure of a starter motor for a vehicle in which in order to implement an easier assembling operation without any interference with respect to the hook and the flange portion when the housing having the magnet switch is engaged to the front bracket, the housing is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a female threaded portion in an inner surface of an end portion of the same, and a male threaded portion is formed in an outer surface of the flange portion of the front bracket to which the housing is engaged, and both the threaded portions are engaged each other.
  • 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said housing includes an integrally-formed partition wall for supporting the magnet switch in an inner center portion, and a bolt engaging hole is formed in the partition wall for fixing the magnet core using a bolt, etc. for implementing an operation of the magnet switch, and a boss portion is protruded from the bolt engaging hole for providing a sufficient engaging length of the bolt.
  • 3. The structure of claim 1, wherein said housing is fixed through caulking work in an outer side of the housing with the partition wall inserted therein in the inner center portion for supporting the magnet switch, and a bolt engaging hole which is formed through burring for fixing a magnet core for implementing an operation of the magnet switch is formed in the partition wall.
  • 4. The structure of claim 1, wherein said housing is divided into an adapter and a magnet housing about the partition walls in the center portion, and the partition walls are engaged each other based on a heat-treat light insertion engaging method.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
10-2003-0027518 Apr 2003 KR
US Referenced Citations (9)
Number Name Date Kind
4382200 Street May 1983 A
4663979 VanSickle May 1987 A
4869626 Kosmowski Sep 1989 A
5134330 Haas et al. Jul 1992 A
5353658 Nagashima et al. Oct 1994 A
5481148 Moribayashi et al. Jan 1996 A
5644171 Yumiyama et al. Jul 1997 A
5982059 Anderson Nov 1999 A
6134977 Wessels Oct 2000 A