Patent ID: 7552656
Filing Date: 2009-06-30
Classification: F02N,Y10T

Abstract:
1. An intermediate geared starter comprising: a pinion shaft rotatable in receipt of a rotational force from a motor; a pinion gear supported on the pinion shaft; an intermediate shaft disposed in parallel to the pinion shaft; an intermediate gear, supported on the intermediate shaft in meshing engagement with the pinion gear at all times, which is axially moveable together with the pinion gear to be brought into meshing engagement with a ring gear of an engine to transfer the rotational force from the pinion gear to the ring gear via the intermediate gear for starting up of the engine; a housing, formed with a through-bore for insertion of the intermediate shaft, by which one distal end of the intermediate shaft inserted to the through-bore is supported, the housing having (1) an abutment surface, to be brought into abutting contact with a mount surface of the engine, which is formed in parallel to the intermediate shaft, and (2) a bearing portion protruding toward the engine at a position displaced from a distal end of the abutment surface on a plane substantially perpendicular to the abutment surface; and a seal member provided on the housing to block a sliding clearance, created between the through-bore and the distal end of the intermediate shaft, at an outside of the starter; wherein the through-bore is formed in the bearing portion so as to extend through the bearing portion from the abutment surface across an area straddling one side closer to the engine and another side opposing to the engine and is formed to have a mount aperture formed only in an area in a direction coming away from the engine, from between the bearing portion and a distal end of the housing to allow the seal member to be mounted in the mount aperture; and the seal member includes an insertion segment, adapted to be inserted into the mount aperture for hermetically sealing capability, and a tong segment, extending on a plane substantially perpendicular to the abutment surface, which is adapted to be brought into contact with an end face of the bearing portion, with the insertion segment and the tong segment being integrally formed of a resilient body for blocking the sliding clearance from outside.