EP0751292B1 - Starter of motor vehicle and contactor for such a starter with a control auxiliary relay integrated in the contactor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a motor starter internal combustion engine.

The invention relates more particularly to a starter comprising an electromagnetic contactor whose winding is connected to the positive pole of the vehicle battery by through an auxiliary control relay, the moving output contact is likely to link together two studs connected respectively to the input terminal of the winding and to the contactor terminal connected to the positive pole of the battery, and of the type in which the contactor has a axial end cover of insulating material, in general shape pot and in the bottom of which are arranged the two terminals of the contactor.

According to a known concept, use is made of a auxiliary starter contactor control relay by which order orders can be transmitted by a weak current.

Thanks to such an arrangement, the switch associated with the ignition key no longer has to withstand a high current, several tens of amps, a current of the order of 1 ampere, or less, being sufficient to secure control of the contactor. Thanks to this arrangement, it is possible to reduce sizing of wiring and switch associated with the ignition key.

In addition, a starter fitted with an auxiliary relay contactor control can be controlled easily and economical, by an electronic control circuit which can in particular take into account information relating to steering column lock and have a control and security system that takes into account electric starter operating overloads.

According to a known design, the auxiliary relay is fixed on the outside, on the contactor itself or on the frame of the starter or on the support thereof, either on a part of the vehicle body.

In all the above cases, the auxiliary relay of control has its own protective box with its sealing means and its own wiring allowing the connect to the control circuit and to the contactor. These designs therefore result in particularly costly important and additional space in the engine compartment.

The document DE-A-4,242,930 describes and represents a starter switch of the type mentioned above in which, as can be seen in Figures 2 and 3 of this document, an auxiliary relay is provided.

The design proposed in this document, according to which the relay is adjacent to the main body of the contactor, does not solve congestion problems and of electrical connections mentioned above.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new design of a starter of the type mentioned previously which overcomes these drawbacks.

To this end, the invention proposes a starter characterized in that the cover of the contactor has a extension in which is formed the housing which receives the auxiliary control relay

• le prolongement s'étend radialement vers l'extérieur depuis la jupe latérale du capot ;
• le prolongement est délimité par une paroi axiale d'extrémité qui s'étend sensiblement dans le plan du fond du capot et par une paroi latérale qui prolonge la jupe latérale du capot ;
• le prolongement débouche à l'intérieur du capot ;
• le prolongement comporte une face ouverte parallèle à sa face axiale d'extrémité et sensiblement coplanaire avec la face ouverte du capot, et qui est obturée par une plaque qui se prolonge radialement à l'intérieur du capot pour être maintenue entre le capot et le contacteur ;
• les deux bornes d'alimentation de la bobine du relais auxiliaire font saillie à travers le capot ;
• la paroi axiale d'extrémité du capot comporte deux trous pour le passage des bornes d'alimentation de la bobine du relais ;
• les différentes liaisons électriques qui relient le relais auxiliaire de commande aux autres éléments, notamment à ses bornes d'alimentation et/ou au bobinage et à la borne du contacteur sont réalisées sous la forme d'un circuit en métal découpé noyé dans le matériau isolant de moulage du capot.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

• the extension extends radially outward from the side skirt of the cover;
• the extension is delimited by an axial end wall which extends substantially in the plane of the bottom of the cover and by a side wall which extends the side skirt of the cover;
• the extension opens into the interior of the hood;
• the extension comprises an open face parallel to its axial end face and substantially coplanar with the open face of the cover, and which is closed by a plate which extends radially inside the cover to be held between the cover and the contactor ;
• the two supply terminals of the auxiliary relay coil protrude through the cover;
• the axial end wall of the cover has two holes for the passage of the supply terminals of the relay coil;
• the various electrical connections which connect the auxiliary control relay to the other elements, in particular to its supply terminals and / or to the winding and to the terminal of the contactor are produced in the form of a cut metal circuit embedded in the insulating material hood molding.

• La figure 1 est un schéma électrique qui illustre l'agencement d'un relais auxiliaire de commande d'un démarreur de véhicule automobile ;
• la figure 2 est une vue latérale partielle d'une partie d'extrémité axiale d'un démarreur et de son contacteur réalisés conformément aux enseignements de l'invention ;
• la figure 3 est une vue en bout selon la flèche F3 de la figure 2 ;
• la figure 4 est une vue extérieure en perspective du capot du contacteur représenté aux figures 2 et 3 ;
• la figure 5 est une vue en perspective de l'intérieur du capot avec sa plaque de fermeture illustrée en position éclatée ; et
• la figure 6 est une vue similaire à celle de la figure 5 sur laquelle la plaque de fermeture est illustrée en position montée pour fermer le logement du relais auxiliaire.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the detailed description which follows for the understanding of which reference will be made to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is an electrical diagram which illustrates the arrangement of an auxiliary control relay of a motor vehicle starter;
• Figure 2 is a partial side view of an axial end portion of a starter and its contactor made in accordance with the teachings of the invention;
• Figure 3 is an end view along arrow F3 of Figure 2;
• Figure 4 is an external perspective view of the cover of the contactor shown in Figures 2 and 3;
• Figure 5 is a perspective view of the interior of the cover with its closure plate illustrated in the exploded position; and
• Figure 6 is a view similar to that of Figure 5 in which the closure plate is illustrated in the mounted position to close the housing of the auxiliary relay.

On the circuit shown in Figure 1, there is shown schematically a starter 10 comprising a electric starter motor 12 and an electromagnetic contactor 14.

According to a known design, the electromagnetic contactor 14 includes in particular a winding 16 and two contactor terminals 18 and 20.

Terminal 18 is an input terminal which is connected to the positive pole 22 of the vehicle battery 24 while the terminal 20 is connected to motor 12 and by a link 26 to winding 16 which is also connected by a link 28 to the vehicle electrical ground.

The contactor 14 includes a movable contact 30 which, when the contactor 14 is energized, establishes a connection between terminals 18 and 20 and therefore causes the supply of the motor 12 by the battery 24.

According to a known concept, the control of the contactor 14, that is to say the supply of the winding 16, is provided by an auxiliary control relay 32 which comprises a coil 34 including the two supply terminals 36 and 38 are connected to a control circuit (not shown), which uses a low intensity control current.

The coil 34, when energized, causes the displacement of a movable output contact 40 which establishes a electrical connection between a first pad 42 which is connected to the point middle 44 of the winding 16 of the contactor 14, and a second pad 46 which is connected to the positive pole 22 of the battery 24.

We will now describe a conforming embodiment to the lessons of the invention of a starter with its contactor illustrated in figures 2 to 6 in which the components already described with reference to Figure 1 are designated by the same reference figures.

According to a known design, the contactor 14 illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 consists essentially of a cylindrical frame forming housing 48, one end of which axial is closed by a cover 50.

The cover 50 is a molded piece of insulating material cylindrical pot shaped with a transverse bottom 52 and an annular cylindrical skirt 54.

As can be seen in Figures 4 to 6 in which only the plastic body is shown molded from the cover 50, the bottom 52 has two holes 56 and 58 for the passage of terminals 18 and 20.

The side wall 54 of the cover 50, according to the state of the technical, delimits an internal cavity 61 in which is moves in particular the movable contact 30 of the contactor 14.

In accordance with the teachings of the invention, the cover 50 has a radial extension 60 which delimits a internal housing 62 which receives the auxiliary control relay 32.

As can be seen in particular in FIGS. 4 to 6, the extension 60 extends substantially radially towards the exterior and it has a generally parallelepiped shape rectangle.

It is delimited by a transverse end wall 64 which is coplanar at the bottom 52 of the cover 50 and by a wall lateral of rectangular contour 66 which extends the wall side 54 of generally cylindrical shape of cover 50.

As can be seen in Figure 5, the extension 60 therefore has an open transverse face 68 which is parallel to its bottom 64 and which extends substantially in the same plane as the transverse end face 70 of the cover 50.

The cavity 62 is closed by a plug 72, the contour 74 is complementary to that of the open face 68.

The main body 76 in the form of a plate 72 extends radially inwards by a tab 78, slightly offset axially inwards, which in position as shown in Figure 6, is coplanar with the face transverse front end 80 of the cover 50.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the relay 32 is arranged in the housing 62 formed in the extension 60.

The terminals 36 and 38 for supplying the coil 34 of the relay 32 protrude outside the housing through holes 82 formed in the bottom 64 of the extension 60.

A first electrical connection 86 connects the pad 46 of the relay 32 at terminal 18 of the contactor while a second electrical connection 88 connects the pad 42 to the midpoint 44 of the winding 16.

The electrical connections 86 and 88 are shown on FIG. 3 in the form of cut metal parts and folded. They can be made in the form of wires or cables, or be replaced by a printed circuit or a trace cut metal embedded in insulating plastic constituting the cover 50 and its extension 60.

In the mounted position of the cover 50 on the frame 14, the plate 76 forming plug 72 is held between the body of the switch 14 and cover 50. It is fixed against the switch through terminal 44 through a hole 90 formed in tab 78.

It is possible to complete the sealing of the plug 72 by depositing a bead of glue or putty on the joint line between plug 72 and extension 60.

The invention therefore provides a particularly compact of the contactor with an auxiliary relay of integrated control. This design protects the relay 32 with the same sealing quality as that provided to protect the movable contact 30 and the terminals 18 and 20.

Note that there is no electrical connection visible on the outside of contactor 14 to connect relay 32 other components of the contactor.

The invention is not limited to the embodiment which has just been described, the forms of molding of the cover 50 with its extension or outgrowth 60 which may in particular vary significantly without departing from the the invention according to which the relay 32 is integrated in a part of cover 50 of the contactor.

Claims (8)

1. A motor vehicle starter (10), of the type comprising an electromagnetic contactor (14), the winding (16) of which is connected to the positive pole (22) of the battery (24) of the vehicle through an auxiliary control relay (32), of which the moving contact (40) is arranged to be connected between two pads (42, 46) which are connected, respectively, to the input terminal (44) of the winding (16) and to the terminal (18) of the contactor (14) which is connected to the positive pole (22) of the battery (24), and of the type in which the contactor (14) includes an axial end cover plate (50) of insulating material, generally in the form of a pot and in which the two terminals (18, 20) of the contactor (14) are arranged in the base (52) of the pot, which also contains the auxiliary control relay, characterised in that the cover plate (50) of the contactor (14) includes an extension (60) in which a housing (62) is formed that receives the auxiliary control relay (32).
2. A starter according to Claim 1, characterised in that the extension (60) extends radially outwards from the lateral skirt of the cover plate (50).
3. A starter according to Claim 2, characterised in that the extension (60) is bounded by an axial end wall (64) which lies substantially in the plane of the base (52) of the cover plate (50), and by a lateral wall (66) that extends the side skirt (54) of the cover plate (50).
4. A starter according to Claim 3, characterised in that the extension (60) terminates in the interior (61) of the cover plate (50).
5. A starter according to Claim 3 or Claim 4, characterised in that the extension (60) has an open face (68) parallel to its axial end face (64) and substantially coplanar with the open face (70) of the cover plate (50), the open face being obturated by a plate (76) which is extended radially to the interior of the cover plate so as to be held between the cover plate (50) and the contactor.
6. A starter according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the two power supply terminals (36, 38) for the winding (34) of the auxiliary control relay (32) project across the cover plate (50).
7. A starter according to Claim 6 taken in combination with Claim 3, characterised in that the axial end wall (64) of the cover plate (50, 60) has two holes (82) for passage of the power supply terminals (36, 38) for the winding (34) of the auxiliary control relay (36).
8. A starter according to any one of the preceding Claims, characterised in that the various electrical connections (6, 88) that connect the auxiliary control relay (36) to the other elements, in particular to its power supply terminals and/or to the winding and to the terminal of the contactor, are made in the form of a stamped-out metal circuit encover platesulated in the insulating moulding material of the cover plate (50).

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