BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the basic configuration of the throttle regulator in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the internal shape of one case member in the engine stop position;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the shape of another case member to be joined to the case member shown in FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 2 in a state where the lever is in the idling position;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 2 in a state where the lever is in the throttle full-open position;
FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 2 in a state where the lever is in the engine stop position;
FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 6 in a state where the lever is in an intermediate position between the engine stop position and idling position;
FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 6 in a state where the lever is in the idling position;
FIG. 9 is a plan view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 6 in a state where the lever is in an intermediate position between the idling position and throttle full-open position;
FIG. 10 is a plan view illustrating the internal shape of the same case member as shown in FIG. 6 in a state where the lever is in the throttle full-open position; and
FIG. 11 is a plan view illustrating the relationship between the latch hole of an angle control plate provided inside one case and the angle holding position of the lever.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
When the throttle regulator is implemented, the units such as the engine stop switch and fuel open-close cock are configured as independently sealed parts so as to prevent the erroneous actuation caused by dust or freezing and with consideration for problems associated with fuel leak or the like, and it is preferred that a sealed structure be obtained by employing an O ring or another sealing material inside the case.
Embodiments
The configuration of the throttle regulator in accordance with the present invention will be described below based on embodiment thereof illustrated by FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the regulator. In this regulator, an engine stop switch 2, a fuel open-close cock 3, and an partially toothless drive gear 4 and a partially toothless driven gear 5 for actuating those stop switch 2 and open-close cock 3 are accommodated in part of a case 1 formed by joining together a pair of left and right case members 1a, 1b.
A rotary shaft 7 of a throttle lever 6 with a base end section 7a having a cylindrical shape is inserted into the case member 1b, and the partially toothless drive gear 4 is fit onto the distal end of the rotary shaft 7. Furthermore, a base shaft section 6a of the lever 6 is also fit onto the rotary shaft 7. When the lever 6 is turned in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. 1, about the rotary shaft 7, a throttle wire 8 shown in FIG. 3 is pulled in, whereby a throttle regulator function is demonstrated.
As shown in FIG. 2, in the partially toothless drive gear 4 fitted on the rotary shaft 7 inside the case member 1b, teeth 4a are provided only on part of the circumferential surface, and a partially toothless driven gear 5 comprising teeth 5a for intermittent engagement with the teeth 4a of the partially toothless drive gear 4 at part of the circumferential surface is provided in one corner inside the case member 1a.
The position of the lever 6 shown in FIG. 2 is assumed to be an engine stop position, and when the lever 6 is turned in the direction of idling position shown by an arrow, the driven gear 5 is rotated in the clockwise direction by the drive gear 4 to the predetermined angular position, but when the drive gear 4 reaches an angle of disengagement from the driven gear 5 in the process of counterclockwise rotation, as shown in FIG. 4, only the drive gear 4 rotates and the driven gear 5 stops rotating in the opposition of separation from the drive gear 4.
Of the upper and lower ends of the partially toothless driven gear 5, as shown in FIG. 1, the fuel open-close cock 3 is provided at the upper end of the driven gear 5 and the engine stop switch 2 that is reliably sealed on the outer side is provided at the lower end. As shown in FIG. 2, when the position of the lever 6 is the engine stop position, the engine stop switch 2 provided at the lower end of the partially toothless driven gear 5 maintains an OFF state, and the fuel open-close cock 3 provided at the upper end maintains a closed state.
When the lever 6 is turned in the idling position direction, as shown in FIG. 4, from the state in which the engine stop switch 2 is OFF and the fuel open-close cock 3 is closed, which is shown in FIG. 2, the driven gear 5 rotates to the predetermined angular position following the rotation of the drive gear 4, the engine stop switch 2 assumes an ON state, the fuel open-close cock 3 assumes a closed state, and after the engine has been started, the partially toothless driven gear 5 does not rotate in this position and the rotation of engine and supply of fuel are continued.
A base end section 10a of a circular-arc plate spring 10 comprising a V-shaped locking section 9 at the distal end is fixedly attached to the outer peripheral surface of the partially toothless driven gear 5, and a circular-arc guiding wall 11 along which the V-shaped locking section 9 of the plate spring 10 slides is provided on the inner surface of the case 1a along the outer peripheral surface of the partially toothless driven gear 5, so that the state in which the engine stop switch 2 is ON and the fuel open-close cock 3 is closed can be maintained after the partially toothless driven gear 5 has stopped in the predetermined angular position.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, when the lever 6 is turned from the engine stop position in the direction of the idling position to rotate the drive gear 4 and rotate the driven gear 5 in the clockwise direction, the locking section 9 on the distal end of the plate spring 10 slides along the circular-arc inner peripheral surface of the guiding wall 11, while receiving a contact pressure therefrom.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the rotation of drive gear 4 advances, the engagement of the drive gear 4 and driven gear 5 is released, and the driven gear 5 reaches an angle at which the rotation thereof is stopped, the V-shaped locking section 9 located at the distal end of the plate spring 10 engages with a step 11a between the end section of the guiding wall 11 and the inner surface 1a of the case, and the partially toothless driven gear 5 stops so as not to rotate independently till the next rotation force acts thereupon.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the partially toothless drive gear 4 is fitted on the rotary shaft 7 that is provided in a vertical state inside the case member 1b, but the drive gear 4 is fitted so as to be supported by s backup plate 13 held on a flange 12 of the rotary shaft 7.
Furthermore, a protruding section 14 that will serve for joining to the case member 1a that will be fit on the other end of the rotary shaft 7 is provided at the upper surface of the drive gear 4. This protruding section 14 has a pair of holes 15 that have the same axial direction as the rotary shaft 7 in the positions symmetrical with respect to the rotary shaft 7 as a center, coil springs 16 supported at the lower ends thereof by the backup plate 13 are inserted into the holes 15, and steel balls 17 are disposed at the top ends of the coil springs 16.
As shown in FIG. 3, an angle control plate 18 for holding the rotation angle of the partially toothless drive gear 4 in the predetermined angular position is provided on the inner side of the case member 1a into which the protruding section 14 of the drive gear 4 will be inserted. A plurality of latch holes 19 for inserting the steel balls 17 disposed at the upper ends of holes 15 and receiving the force of coil springs 16 accommodated inside the holes 15 of the protruding section 14 are set in the angle control plate 18 in the predetermined angular positions that were set in advance.
The angular positions of the latch holes 19 are set, for example so, as shown in FIG. 11, that the position in which the steel balls 17 of the protruding section 14 are fit into the latch holes 19a, 19b corresponds to the engine stop position, the position in which the steel balls 17 are fit into the latch holes 19c, 19d corresponds to the idling position, and the position in which the steel balls 17 are fitted into the latch holes 19e, 19f corresponds to a throttle full-open position.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the case member 1a is joined to the case member 1b, the partially toothless drive gear 4 comprising the protruding section 14 receives a force by which the coil springs 16 supported at one end thereof by the backup plate 13 are compressed in the direction of the backup plate 13 via the steel balls 17 and a force by which the backup plate 13 supported by the flange 12 of the rotary shaft 7 is compressed in the direction of the backup plate 13 by the disk spring 20 disposed between the backup plate and the flange 12, those two forces being well balanced. As a result, the partially toothless drive gear 4 can be smoothly rotated toward the predetermined angular position by the operation of the lever 6.
On the other hand, a bolt insertion hole 22 is opened in the base end section 6a of the throttle lever 6, and a bolt 21 for fitting the lever 6 on the rotary shaft 7 is inserted into the insertion hole 22. Furthermore, a step 23 with a diameter of the surface side larger than the diameter of the inner side is provided inside the bolt insertion hole 22, and when the bolt 21 is inserted, a disk spring 24 is placed on the step 23 and the bolt is screwed into the rotary shaft 7 by a threaded section at the distal end thereof, while the disk spring 24 is compressed by the bolt head 25. In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 29 stands for a washer.
When the bolt 21 is fitted into the rotary shaft 7 through the insertion hole 22 of the lever 6, the compressive force applied by the bolt head 25 to the disk spring 24 can be appropriately adjusted by the operator. This adjustment can be performed independently of the pushing force applied to the steel balls 17 located on the protruding section 14 of the partially toothless drive gear 4. The resultant advantage is that the adjustment can be handled easily.
As shown in FIG. 3, a throttle wire introduction channel 26 is provided in the case member 1a, and a distal end section 27 of a wire 8 is positioned via this introduction channel 26 at the outer peripheral edge of the drive gear 4. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, an arm 28 for pulling the wire 8 in the throttle full-open direction by engagement with the distal end section 27 of the wire 8 in the course of the rotation of the drive gear 4 is provided on the side surface of the protruding section 14 that protrudes upward from the drive gear 4.
The actuation of the above-described apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6 through 10. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the throttle lever 6 is in the engine stop position. At this time, the teeth 4a of the drive gear 4 are engaged with the teeth 5a of the driven gear 5 and the driven gear 5 rotates in the clockwise direction, whereby the engine stop switch 2 is turned off and the fuel open-close cock 3 is closed. When the lever 6 is in the engine stop position, the steel balls 17 of the drive gear 4 are fitted in the latch holes 19a, 19b of the angle control plate 18 shown in FIG. 11 and this position is held.
When the lever 6 is turned from the position shown in FIG. 6 into the position shown in FIG. 7, the drive gear 4 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, the driven gear 5 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the engine stop switch 2 maintains the OFF state thereof, but the fuel open-close cock 3 is opened and the fuel is supplied to the carburetor. During such rotation of the driven gear 5, the locking section 9 at the distal end of the plate spring 10 provided in the driven gear 5 slides in contact with the circular-arc inner peripheral surface of the guiding wall 11. The arm 28 of the protruding section 14 of the drive gear is yet to come into contact with the distal end section 27 of the throttle wire 8 at this rotation angle.
If the lever 6 is then turned into the position shown in FIG. 8, the rotation angle of the driven gear 5 further advances, the engine stop switch 2 is turned on, the fuel open-close cock 3 is opened, and the engine can be started. At this time, the arm 28 of the protruding section 14 of the driver gear comes into contact with the distal end section 27 of the throttle wire. Furthermore, the steel balls 17 of the drive gear 4 are fitted into the latch holes 19c, 19d of the angle control plate 18 shown in FIG. 11, whereby the idling position is held.
As shown in FIG. 9, if the lever 6 is turned to the left from the idling position, the arm 28 of the protruding section 14 of the drive gear pulls the throttle wire 8 to the left. Therefore, the engine revolves at a speed higher than that in the idling position. In the position with a speed higher than that in the idling position, the steel balls 17 of the drive gear 4 are released from the latch holes 19c, 19d of the angle control plate 18 shown in FIG. 11 and move over the surface of the angle control plate 18. Therefore, in this position, the operator can freely select a speed within a range of speeds faster than in the idling position and slower than in the throttle full-open position.
If the lever is turned to the leftmost side, as shown in FIG. 10, the arm 28 of the protruding section 14 of the drive gear pulls the throttle wire 8 to the leftmost side, the throttle is fully opened, and the steel balls 17 of the drive gear 4 are fitted into the latch holes 19e, 19f of the angle control plate 18 shown in FIG. 11. Therefore, a constant throttle full-open speed can be obtained.
As shown in FIGS. 8, 9, 10, in the process of turning the throttle lever 6 from the idling position to the throttle full-open position, the teeth 4a of the drive gear 4 are disengaged from the teeth 5a of the driven gear 5. Therefore, the driven gear 5 assumes a stop state in which it is not affected by the rotation of the drive gear 4 and the ON state of the engine stop switch 2 and the open state of the fuel open-close cock 3 are maintained.
When the driven gear 5 is in the stop state in which it is not affected by the rotation of the drive gear 4, the driven gear 5 apparently can be independently rotated under the effect of vibrations or impact. Therefore, when the driven gear 5 is stopped, the locking section 9 at the distal end of the plate spring 10 provided on the outer side of the driven gear 5 is engaged with the step 11a located between the guiding wall 11 and the case member 1b, whereby the unnecessary rotation of the driven gear 5 is prevented and the ON state of the engine stop switch 2 and the open state of the fuel open-close cock 3 are maintained.
In the process of returning the throttle lever 6 from the throttle full-open state shown in FIG. 10 to the engine stop position on the right side, if the drive gear 4 is rotated as far as the idling position shown in FIG. 8, the drive gear 4 becomes engaged with the driven gear 5, and the driven gear 5 starts rotating. At this time, the rotation of the driven gear 5 is prevented by the plate spring 10, but because a force preventing this rotation is due to the engagement of the V-shaped locking section 9 at the distal end of the plate spring 10 with the step 11a, the rotation is started under the effect of the rotation force applied from the drive gear 4.
When the lever 6 is turned beyond the idling position to the position shown in FIG. 7, the rotation angle of the driven gear 5 further advances, whereby the engine stop switch 2 is turned off and the engine is stopped, but the fuel open-close cock 3 is still in the open state. If the lever 6 is further turned into the engine stop position shown in FIG. 6, the engine stop switch 2 is turned off, the fuel open-close cock 3 is closed, and the leak and flow loss of the fuel is prevented.
In the throttle regulator in accordance with the present invention, the engine stop switch and fuel open-close cock are integrally incorporated inside the throttle lever case and the manipulations of opening and closing the engine stop switch and fuel open-close cock are performed by the intermittent rotation of the partially toothless drive gear and driven gear that are rotated by turning the throttle lever. Therefore, the throttle regulator can have a compact shape that could not be attained with the conventional structures and can have a sealed structure ensuring high durability. Moreover it has a structure that can be easily manipulated by an operator.
Patent Application
20070234999
