Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to the assembly of starter motor in the clutch housing of commercial vehicle (CV) segment such as pick-up vehicles/trucks. In particular, the present invention relates to a light-weight housing for an easy and quick assembly/dismantling of the starter motor therefrom. More particularly, the present invention relates to a split-housing having a main clutch housing attached with a separate starter motor housing for commercial vehicle (CV) segment such as pick-up vehicles/trucks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A starter motor is required to run the internal combustion engine up to a speed sufficient to produce satisfactory carburation. The starter motor is mounted on the engine casing or clutch housing and a pinion at the end of the starter motor shaft engages with the flywheel teeth.

In commercial vehicle (CV) segment, the starter motor is one of the most serviceable part in the field, so the frequency of starter motor removal and refitment is high. Here, the starter motor is mounted on the clutch housing.

In particular, in commercial vehicle (CV) segment like pick-up vehicles/trucks, the powertrain is placed at the center of the vehicle, quite often placed below the driver’s cabin, to optimize the length and cargo-space of such vehicles.

Since the starter motor is placed close to the ground in such vehicles, the frequency of failure of the starter motors and their repair and/or replacement is higher because of their contamination due to the environmental factors like ingress of water, mud and sand etc.
As the powertrain in such vehicles is placed in the middle of the vehicle and the engine mounts enclose the starter motor, the assembly and dismantling of the starter motor to or from the transmission/clutch housing necessitates that the entire transmission is to be removed from the vehicle in the event of a failure of the starter motor.

This frequent starter motor repair/replacement needs significant time and thus leads to substantial loss of productivity due to higher down-time of the vehicle.

Therefore, there is an existing need for developing a frugal transmission housing configuration to facilitate an easier and quicker assembly and/or dismantling of the starter motor from the transmission housing in the event of any failure of the starter motor due to aforesaid environmental factors.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Some of the objects of the present invention - satisfied by at least one embodiment of the present invention - are as follows:

An object of the present invention is to provide a split-housing for the transmission assembly in commercial vehicles (CVs).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a split-housing for the transmission assembly in commercial vehicles (CVs), which is light-weight.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a split-housing for the transmission assembly in commercial vehicles (CVs), which helps in reducing the repair/replacement of the starter motor, whenever required.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a split-housing for the transmission assembly in commercial vehicles (CVs), which prevents thermal damages to the clutch components.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a split-housing for the transmission assembly in light commercial vehicles, like CVs, which also facilitates intermittent inspection of clutch components without removing the entire transmission.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description, when read with the accompanying figures of drawing, which are however not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, this constraint observed with the conventional starter motor assembly and/or dismantling process has motivated the present inventors to develop a transmission with clutch housing into a split-housing configuration comprising a main clutch housing 100, and a separate starter motor housing 200 assembled thereon. Both these housings 100, 200 are connected together through fasteners.

This split-housing configuration for the transmission assembly of a commercial vehicle segment is found to reduce R&R (Roles and Responsibilities) manhours by more than 50%, i.e. almost up to 77% in comparison with the conventional integrated transmission housing.

Since this new split-housing configuration of the transmission assembly having a main clutch housing with a complementary starter motor housing allows to remove only the starter motor housing (which is a separate component) for repair/replacement thereof as and when required, this split-housing overcomes the disadvantages of the requirement of removing the entire transmission assembly for repairing/replacing the failed / defective starter motor.

Therefore, the vehicle serviceability is substantially enhanced in terms of time and costs involved therein.

This split-housing configuration also helps in intermittent inspections of the clutch parts present inside the transmission housing, just by removing this separately configured starter motor housing, which was not at all possible earlier with the conventional integrated clutch housing.

In addition, this split-housing configuration also helps in reducing the weight of the transmission by using light-weight composite materials for making this split-housing. This composite material split-housing configuration also offers the advantages in terms of thermal efficiency, because high-conductive materials can be used to prevent clutch components from thermal damages.

The sequence for assembly of the starter motor housing to split-housing is as follows:

Step 1, the clutch housing 100 along with transmission will be docked into the engine in the vehicle environment.

Step 2, Starter motor 20 will be mounted on the starter housing 200 as a separate sub-assembly on the main clutch housing 100.
This makes the assembly and serviceability of the starter motor 20 easy, which was the main constraint earlier with the conventional integrated clutch housing configuration.

Therefore, this split-housing configuration drastically reduces the service lead time by up to 77%.

By adopting this split-housing configuration, the clutch inspections can be done simply by removing the separate starter housing 200 along with starter motor 20 from the main clutch housing 100.

In addition to this, the starter housing 200 can also be made of different alternative composite materials to obtain substantial weight-reduction at the front thereof, which is an additional advantage thereof.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a split-housing for transmission assembly of commercial vehicle (CV) segment, such as pick-up vehicles/trucks, the split-housing comprises a main clutch housing and a starter motor housing assembled thereon.

Typically, the main clutch housing and starter motor housing complementing each other to make a complete housing for the transmission assembly.

Typically, the main clutch housing comprises a profiled cavity for accommodating the starter motor housing therein.

Typically, the profiled cavity is configured on the circumference of the main clutch housing and extends in the axial direction thereof.
Typically, the main clutch housing comprises at least a pair of axially threaded holes on the circumference thereof, configured on either side of the profiled cavity.

Typically, the main clutch housing comprises at least a pair of radially threaded holes under the profiled cavity.

Typically, the profiled cavity is configured in a step below the circumference of the main clutch housing.

Typically, the depth of the step of the profiled cavity corresponds to the thickness of the flange of the starter motor housing.

Typically, the starter motor housing comprises a projection complementing the profiled cavity for accommodating the starter motor housing therein.

Typically, the starter motor housing comprises at least a pair of holes on the circumference thereof, to align with the axially treaded holes on profiled cavity.

Typically, the projection is configured on the circumference of the starter motor housing and axially extends towards the flange of the main clutch housing.

Typically, the starter motor housing comprises at least a pair of radial holes to align with the radially threaded holes of the main clutch housing.

Typically, the radial holes are made on a portion stepped radially away from the projection of starter motor housing.

Typically, the depth of the stepped portion equals to or less than the thickness of the profiled cavity of the main clutch housing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be briefly described in the following with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 shows a conventional assembly of integrated clutch housing including a starter motor assembled on the integrated clutch housing for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment of the light pick-up vehicles.

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the conventional integrated housing of Figure 1.

Figure 3 shows the starter motor mounted on a chassis-welded mounting bracket and other closer aggregates mounted on active side-mount bracket for the assembly of the conventional integrated clutch housing of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 shows of the conventional integrated clutch housing of Fig. 1, which comprises a starter motor mounted thereon by chassis-welded mounting bracket.

Figure 5 shows of a split-housing for the transmission assembly of the commercial vehicle segment and configured in accordance with the present invention and comprising a separate starter motor housing assembled on the main split-housing for the commercial vehicle (CV) segment of the light pick-up vehicles.

Figure 6 shows of another exploded view of the split-housing of Figure 5.

Figure 7 shows of a bar chart for comparing R & R (Roles and Responsibilities) manhours or serviceability in terms of service hours required for starter motor maintenance and/or replacement in the conventional integrated clutch housing of Fig. 1 and newly configured split-housing of Fig. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the following, a split-housing configured in accordance with the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings without limiting the scope and ambit of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a conventional assembly of integrated clutch housing 10 including a starter motor 20 assembled on the integrated clutch housing 10 for the vehicle segment of light pick-up vehicles.

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the conventional integrated clutch housing 10 of Figure 1. A dust plate 22 is placed between the starter motor 20 having a flange with holes 24 and the integrated clutch housing 10 having a plurality of threaded holes 12 before assembling the starter motor 20 thereon by means of corresponding plurality of fasteners (not shown).

Figure 3 shows the starter motor 20 mounted on a chassis-welded mounting bracket 30 and other closer aggregates mounted on active side-mount bracket 26 for the assembly of the conventional integrated clutch housing 10 of Fig. 1.

Figure 4 shows of the conventional integrated clutch housing 10 of Fig. 1, which comprises a starter motor 20 mounted thereon by chassis-welded mounting bracket 30.

Figure 5 shows of a split-housing for the transmission assembly of the commercial vehicle (CV) segment and configured in accordance with the present invention. The split-housing configuration comprises a main clutch housing 100 having a profiled cavity 110 for accommodating a starter motor housing 200. Both housings 100, 200 are configured to complement each other for making a complete housing for the transmission assembly. The starter motor housing 200 also comprises a projection 210 for assembly thereof on the main clutch housing 100 for commercial vehicle segment like light pick-up vehicles/trucks. Preferably, the profiled cavity 110 is configured on the circumference of main clutch housing 100 and extends in an axial direction thereof. The main clutch housing 100 comprises at least a pair of axially threaded holes 112 on the circumference thereof, and configured on either side of the profiled cavity 110, and at least a pair of radially threaded holes 116 under the profiled cavity 110.More preferably, the profiled cavity 110 is configured in a step 114 below the circumference of main clutch housing 100,

Figure 6 shows of another exploded view of the split-housing of Figure 5. A dust plate 22 is fitted between the starter motor 20 having a flange with holes 24 and the starter motor housing 200 having corresponding holes 212 on the flange 214 thereof to align with axially threaded holes 112 on profiled cavity 110. The main clutch housing 100 has a profiled cavity or seat 110 for accommodating the starter housing projection 210 therein. The main clutch housing 100 also comprises a plurality of threaded holes 112 made on the stepped portions 114 for assembling the starter motor 20 thereon via the separate starter motor housing 200 by means of a corresponding plurality of fasteners (not shown). The depth of stepped portions 114 corresponds to the thickness of flange 214 of the starter motor housing 200. Preferably, the projection 210 is configured on the circumference of starter motor housing 200 and axially extends towards the flange of main clutch housing 100. The starter motor housing 200 also comprises radial holes 216 to align with radially threaded holes 116 of main clutch housing 100. The radial holes 216 are made on stepped portions 218 configured radially away from the projection 210 of starter motor housing 200. More preferably, the depth of the stepped portions 218 equals to or is less than the thickness of the profiled cavity 110 of the main clutch housing 100.

Figure 7 shows of a bar chart for comparing R & R (Roles and Responsibilities) manhours or serviceability in terms of service hours required for starter motor maintenance and/or replacement in the conventional integrated housing 10 of Fig. 1 and newly configured split-housing of Fig. 5 configured with the main clutch housing 100 fitted with a separate starter motor housing 200 thereon. The graph shows a reduction of almost 77% of service hours by using the configuration of split-housing in comparison to that required with the conventional integrated housing 10.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The split-housing configured in accordance with the present invention offers the following advantages:

a) Solves the assembly and serviceability issues of the starter motors in complex packaging areas in the conventional integrated housing;

b) Enables the use of alternative material for reducing the weight of the starter motor casing; and

c) Alternative material also assists in better heat dissipation by introducing high thermal conductive materials;

d) Facilitates the inspection of clutch and release system during field operation related issues.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments.

It is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.

Although, the embodiments presented in this disclosure have been described in terms of its preferred embodiments, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize that these embodiments can be applied with modifications possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification by making innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies, in terms of their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

The numerical values given of various physical parameters, dimensions and quantities are only approximate values and it is envisaged that the values higher or lower than the numerical value assigned to the physical parameters, dimensions and quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure unless there is a statement in the specification to the contrary.
Throughout this specification, the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to imply including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.

The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention.

The description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description, relative terms such as “lower”, “upper”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, “above”, “below”, “up”, “down”, “top”, and “bottom” as well as derivatives thereof (e.g. “horizontally”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”; “downwardly”, “upwardly” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion.

Terms concerning attachments, coupling and the like, such as “connected” and “interconnected”, refer to a relationship, wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. , Claims:We claim:

1. A split-housing for transmission assembly of a commercial vehicle (CV) segment, said split-housing comprises a main clutch housing (100) and a starter motor housing (200) assembled thereon.

2. The split-housing as claimed in claim 1, wherein said main clutch housing (100) and starter motor housing (200) complementing each other to make a complete housing for said transmission assembly.

3. The split-housing as claimed in claim 2, wherein said main clutch housing (100) comprises a profiled cavity (110) for accommodating said starter motor housing (200) therein, said profiled cavity (110) is configured on the circumference of said main clutch housing (100) and extends in an axial direction thereof.

4. The split-housing as claimed in claim 3, wherein said main clutch housing (100) comprises at least a pair of axially threaded holes (112) on the circumference thereof, configured on either side of said profiled cavity (110), and at least a pair of radially threaded holes (116) under said profiled cavity (110).

5. The split-housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein said profiled cavity (110) is configured in a step (114) below the circumference of said main clutch housing (100), and the depth of said step (114) corresponds to the thickness of the flange (214) of said starter motor housing (200).

6. The split-housing as claimed in claim3, wherein said starter motor housing (200) comprises a projection (210) complementing said profiled cavity (110) for accommodating said starter motor housing (200) therein.

7. The split-housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein said starter motor housing (200) comprises at least a pair of holes (212) on the flange thereof, to align with said axially threaded holes (112) on said profiled cavity (110).

8. The split-housing as claimed in claim 7, wherein said projection (210) is configured on the circumference of said starter motor housing (200) and axially extends towards the flange of said main clutch housing (100).

9. The split-housing as claimed in claim 8, wherein said starter motor housing (200) comprises at least a pair of radial holes (216) to align with said radially threaded holes (116) of said main clutch housing (100).

10. The split-housing as claimed in claim 9, wherein said pair of radial holes (216) are made on at least a pair of portions (218) stepped radially away from said projection (210) of starter motor housing (200).

11. The split-housing as claimed in claim 10, wherein the depth of said stepped portion (218) equals to or less than the thickness of said profiled cavity (110) of said main clutch housing (100).

Dated this 18th day of November 2022.

Digitally / e-Signed by:

(SANJAY KESHARWANI)
APPLICANT’S AUTHORIZED PATENT AGENT
REGN. NO. IN/PA-2043.