Patent ID: 6109122
Filing Date: 2000-08-29
Classification: F02N,Y10T

Abstract:
A starter motor assembly comprising:a housing;an electric motor provided in the housing having a rotatable armature shaft;a planetary gear assembly provided in the housing including a rotatable drive shaft and a plurality of planetary gears engaged with the armature shaft, each planetary gear being rotatable on a respective pin, the pins being linked to the rotatable drive shaft;a pinion assembly provided in the housing engageable at one end with the drive shaft, the pinion assembly including a pinion at the other end engageable with a flywheel of an engine; andan overrunning clutch assembly provided coaxially around the planetary gears, including a non-rotatable annular outer clutch piece removably fixed to an inner circumference of the housing, a rotatable annular inner clutch piece having an outer circumference provided proximate an inner circumference of the outer clutch piece and an inner circumference engaged with the planetary gears, and rotation control means provided between the outer clutch piece and the inner clutch piece for preventing rotation of the inner clutch piece in a first direction and allowing rotation of the inner clutch piece in a second direction;wherein an orientation of the outer clutch piece in the housing is reversible.