Abstract: An information providing device is provided, which provides a user with information on driving circumstances of a vehicle by using a plurality of characters as interfaces. The information providing device includes: a collection unit configured to determine information to be provided to the user, based on information acquired by one or more sensing units installed in the vehicle; an utterance generation unit configured to generate a content of utterance to be given by each of the characters, based on the determined information; and an output unit configured to cause each of the characters to give the utterance in order to provide the user with the information.

Abstract: A helical spline section 61 is formed on a drive shaft 32 rotated by a motor 11 via a planetary gear mechanism 12, and an axially movable overrunning clutch 13 is mounted to the helical spline section 61. A clutch inner 57 of the overrunning clutch 13 is formed integrally with a pinion 14, and the pinion 14 engages with an idle gear 15. Between the idle gear 15 and the clutch cover 68 of the overrunning clutch 13, there is provided a synthetic resin slip plate 95. The slip plate 95 is provided with slide-contact surfaces 95a and 95b coming into contact with the idle gear 15 and the clutch cover 68. On each of the slide-contact surfaces 95a and 95b, there is provided concavely an annular grease reservoir 96 holding grease on each of the slide-contact surfaces. Thereby, the lubricating ability of a spacer provided between the slide-contact members having mutually different rotation numbers is improved, resulting in reducing the cost of materials and preventing the burn-in between the members.

Abstract: A helical spline section 61 is formed on a drive shaft 32 rotated by a motor 11 via a planetary gear mechanism 12, and an axially movable overrunning clutch 13 is mounted to the helical spline section 61. A pinion 14 engaging with an idle gear 15 is formed integrally with a clutch inner 57 of the overrunning clutch 13. At the distal end of the pinion 14, there is formed a transport flange 72 engaging with the idle gear 15 and disengaging the idle gear 15 from a ring gear 16 together with the axial movement of the pinion 14. The root outer diameter of a gear section 71 of the pinion 14 is smaller than the outer diameter of the clutch inner 57, and the pinion 14 is formed integrally with the transport flange 72 and the clutch inner 57 by cold forging. Thereby, there is provided a simple, cheap and reliable electric starter motor capable of engaging and disengaging the idle gear and ring gear with each other and from each other without increasing the number of parts.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an oil-impregnated sintered sliding bearing which has a large amount of the lubricating oil as a bearing element which has long life, has a small amount of scattered and lost lubricating oil, has a simple structure, and takes up a small space for a bearing. An oil-impregnated sintered sliding bearing includes: an axis; plural porous sintered compacts joined with each other by sizing; a cavity between the sintered compacts at an axial direction center portion; and a gap which continuously extends from an end portion of the cavity and has a width narrower than the cavity, wherein the gap opens to an end surface or a peripheral surface of the bearing.

Abstract: In an engine starter comprising: a DC electric motor; an output shaft; a pinion unit; a reduction gear unit for transmitting an output of the electric motor to the pinion unit through the output shaft; a solenoid device for axially moving the pinion unit into mesh with a ring gear of the engine; a cover member for surrounding at least the pinion and the reduction gear unit, the cover member having an opening facing the electric motor; a substantially cylindrical member for surrounding the electric motor so as to serve as a yoke for the electric motor; a disk-shaped plate for covering an end of the electric motor facing away from the pinion unit; and an annular separator disposed between the reduction gear unit and the electric motor so as to separate them from each other, the disk-shaped plate is provided with at least one axial protrusions for engaging an inner surface of one end portion of the substantially cylindrical member so as to align the disk-shaped plate and the substantially cylindrical member with

Abstract: In an engine starter, to facilitate the assembling of a solenoid assembly, an annular outer peripheral wall is formed in the casing for receiving the energization solenoid assembly and to secure the solenoid assembly by crimping a free end of the annular outer peripheral wall onto an axial end of the solenoid assembly, and the energization solenoid assembly is fitted into the bore defined by the annular outer peripheral wall by engaging the outer periphery of the solenoid assembly with three fingers of an assembly tool. A plurality of crimping portions are defined by a plurality of recesses provided along the circumferential direction of the free end of the annular outer peripheral wall so that the fingers of an assembling tool when inserting the solenoid assembly are not interfered by the annular outer peripheral wall.

Abstract: In an engine starter according to the present invention, an annular stopper disposed between the pinion unit and the solenoid device so as to determine the rest position of the pinion unit is formed with a tongue projecting radially outwardly from its outer periphery, and a shoulder surface defined in the gear cover so as to abut an end surface of the solenoid device and thereby determine the axial position of the solenoid device is formed with a recess for receiving the tongue of the annular stopper, with the tongue and the recess being dimensioned with respect to each other so as to allow the tongue to be resiliently interposed between the recessed part of the shoulder surface and the end surface of the solenoid device and to define a space which accommodates a corresponding deformation of the tongue.

Abstract: In an engine starter including a solenoid device for actuating a switch for the electric motor and to drive the pinion into mesh with the ring gear of an internal combustion engine, the solenoid device includes an armature outer member which moves in the direction to push out the pinion against the spring force of a first return spring in the energized state of the solenoid device, and an armature inner member which is resiliently urged by a second return spring, and is telescopically disposed with respect to the armature outer member with a coil spring interposed coaxially between them. An annular spring retainer is press fitted into the inner bore of the armature outer member to receive a corresponding coil end of the coil spring.

Abstract: In a starter for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a pinion; shift mechanism for moving the pinion into mesh with a ring gear of the engine; a housing for accommodating the pinion and the shift mechanism; an electric motor for rotating the pinion; a substantially cylindrical motor casing for accommodating the electric motor; a contact unit for selectively providing electric power to the electric motor; a brush holder stay disposed between the housing and the motor casing, the brush holder stay having a cavity opened toward the motor casing and the contact unit being mounted in the cavity; and a cover for covering the cavity of the brush holder stay, the cover is made of a flexible member so that the cover is naturally curved, and the cover is disposed between the brush holder stay and the motor casing with its concave surface facing the brush holder stay so that the cover is pushed toward the brush holder stay by an axial end of the motor casing.

Abstract: In an electric motor comprising a plurality of permanent magnets (46) surrounding a motor armature (52) for supplying field flux to the armature, a cylindrical magnet cover (47) is fitted into an inner circumferential surface defined by the permanent magnets to protect the permanent magnets against chipping and other damages. The magnet cover is further provided with a radial flange (47b) having guide holes (47c) formed therein so that set bolts (48) passed axially inside the motor casings may be favorably guided as they are inserted from one axial end of the motor casing to the other. Preferably, to better guide the bolts, the guide holes may be each provided with a cylindrical guide boss (50, 51) which may be formed either by burring or cutting and lifting a part of the material of the flange.

Abstract: In a starter (1) for an internal combustion engine including a planetary gear type reduction gear unit (2) and a housing (17) for accommodating at least the reduction gear unit (2), a recess (51) is formed at a lower part (17a) of the housing (17) in an installed state of the starter (1) in a manner that the recess (51) is formed in an inner periphery of the housing (17) so as to define a drain passage (51) extending substantially axially, and a part (52) of an outer periphery of a first annular member (12), which constitutes a part of the reduction gear unit (2), protrudes into the recess (51). Thus, the protruding part (52) of the outer periphery of the first annular member (12) forms a labyrinth structure in the drain passage (51) defined by the recess (51) formed in the inner periphery of the housing (17), to thereby effectively prevent water from entering the housing (17) through the drain passage (51) without substantially impeding the passage of water from the housing (17) to the outside.

Abstract: In a coaxial engine starter comprising a pinion (6) connected to the output shaft (4) which is driven by an electric motor (3), via a helical spline (19), a switch unit (7) for selectively closing a power supply line to the electric motor, and a solenoid device (9) consisting of an annular armature and an annular energization coil surrounding the output shaft to axially drive the pinion and a moveable contact of the switch unit in the axial direction, the switch is adapted to be closed before the pinion is actuated by the solenoid device. Therefore, the output requirement for the solenoid device can be reduced as opposed to the conventional starter in which the pinion is actuated strictly by the solenoid device, and the size of the engine starter can be reduced.

Abstract: In an engine starter comprising a pinion slidably fitted on the output shaft for driving a ring gear of an engine that is to be started, and a one-way clutch having a first end secured to the pinion and a second end which is engaged by the output shaft via spline means, a compression coil spring is interposed between a stopper secured to the output shaft and an annular shoulder defined in a cylindrical extension of the second end of the one-way clutch. Therefore, even when the pinion is forced into a high speed rotation by the engine which has been started by the engine starter, the pinion simply rotates freely, and no friction is applied to the compression coil spring or the stopper.

Abstract: In a coaxial engine starter comprising a pinion connected to the output shaft which is driven by an electric motor, via a helical spline, a switch unit for selectively closing a power supply line to the electric motor, and a solenoid device consisting of an annular armature and an annular energization coil surrounding the output shaft to axially drive the pinion and a moveable contact of the switch unit in the axial direction, the energization coil is disposed between the electric motor and the pinion with a commutator of the electric motor facing the energization coil, and a pigtail for one of the brushes is directly connected to the moveable contact. Also, the contacts of the switch unit are placed between a pair of adjacent brushes of the commutator.

Abstract: In an engine starter comprising a one-way clutch provided around a pinion support shaft carrying a pinion in a torque transmitting relationship but in an axially slidable manner, and an annular input gear to transmit torque to a clutch outer member of the one-way clutch, to prevent an eccentricity of the clutch outer member from seriously affecting the coupling structure between the motor and the input gear, the outer circumferential surface of the clutch outer member is provided with an external teeth serration while the input gear 12 is provided with an internal teeth serration so as to form a serration coupling. The serration coupling is provided with a sufficient radially play to accommodate a maximum eccentricity of the clutch outer member. Thus, the engine starter can be made reliable in use without requiring any undue precision during the fabrication process.

Abstract: A composite unit including metal and resin wherein a metal member and a resin member are formed integrally. A seal film made of resin or rubber having high affinity to metal and characterized by flexibility is interposed between contact surfaces of the metal member and the resin member. The seal film is formed of a dispersion having as its main component a copolymer of alkyl methacrylate-alkyl acrylate. The metal member is formed of an Fe group material and the resin member is formed of polyamide resin. The seal film, after being coated on the outer surface of the metal member as a liquid material is embedded in the resin member by insert-molding resin. The metal member is formed to provide a bracket of a starter motor and the resin member to provide a brush holder. A seal member made of rubber is baked onto the contact surfaces between the bracket and the brush holder, and the seal member is embedded in the brush holder made of resin.

Abstract: A temperature pattern measuring device for obtaining the surface temperature distribution of an object. The device receives an image of the measured object and two different wavelength components of light emitted from the object. The device performs a two color temperature process for each minute area within a visual field of the image pickup, detecting the temperature at a portion on the surface of the corresponding measured object, thereby obtaining the temperature pattern thereof. The above minute areas can be set by an electrical method using photoelectric conversion means. Also, a supervision unit for the weld zone at an electrically seamed pipe, may employ the temperature pattern measuring unit of the present invention, the supervision unit producing a composite display of the form of the weld zone and the temperature pattern thereof.