TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present subject matter relates generally to motor vehicles, and more particularly but not exclusively, to a starter system for motor vehicles.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Generally, an internal combustion (IC) engine is used in commuter vehicles, farm equipment, or the like. The IC engine has to be cranked for it to start. For cranking the engine, a mechanical force is to be provided by the user or a source of electrical energy is used. A kick-start mechanism or an electric start mechanism is provided for cranking the engine. In case of electrical system, an auxiliary power source drives an electrical motor for cranking the engine.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0001] The detailed description of a starter system of the present subject
matter is described with reference to the accompanying figures. Same numbers are
used throughout the drawings to reference like features and components.
[0002] Fig. 1 illustrates a left side view of an exemplary vehicle, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0003] Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a starter system, in
accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0004] Fig. 3 depicts a flow chart depicting method for a starter system, in
accordance with another embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0005] Fig. 4 depicts a front perspective view of a battery-holder, in
accordance with the embodiment depicted in Fig. 2.
[0006] Fig. 5 (a) illustrates a front perspective view of the battery-holder in
accordance with another embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0007] Fig. 5 (b) depicts a front view of the battery-holder in accordance with
the embodiment depicted in Fig. 5 (a).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] Generally, in a motor vehicle, an IC engine acts as at least one drive source. The IC engine is cranked by using a kick-start mechanism or an electric start mechanism. In case of kick-start mechanism, the user provides external force, which cranks the engine. In case of electric start, an auxiliary power source drives an electric motor for cranking the engine. An on-board battery is an example for an auxiliary power source. Conventionally, most of the vehicles are provided with electric start mechanism. Lack of need for application of any physical force for cranking the engine makes the electric start easy to use.
[0009] However, the energy required to crank the engine is very high, as the engine has no rotational motion before cranking. Therefore, the battery supplies high current to the electric motor to crank the engine. A switching element is used for connecting the electric motor to the battery therebetween. One of the terminals of the switching element is always connected to the battery. However, the battery and the electric motor are connected through a switching element by a conductor carrying high currents. In case of starter motor being stalled, higher currents are drawn. Any failure of the conductor, for example sleeve cut, wire cut, or similar failure, will result in short circuit of the battery thereby drawings higher currents, which would result in fire.
[00010] Hence, an objective of the present subject matter is to provide a starter system for a vehicle with a protective mechanism. Another object of the present subject matter is to reduce the short circuit occurrence. Further, the present subject matter disables the starter system when a malfunction of the starter system is identified. Further, the user is notified regarding the malfunction of the system. [00011] According to one aspect of the present subject matter, the probability of occurrence of short circuit between an auxiliary power source and a switching element is reduced. Yet another aspect of the present subject matter is, the auxiliary

power source of the vehicle is isolated from other electrical/electronic components of the starter system, like starter cable, starter motor, when a malfunction occurs. [00012] In an embodiment, a battery and an electric motor are positioned such that the probability of a conductor getting short is reduced. Further, a battery holder is provided for accommodating the battery and the switching element such that the starter system is less prone to short circuit. Further, a control unit enables activation and de-activation of the switching element depending on one or more parameters of the vehicle being monitored.
[00013] In an embodiment, a control unit disables the starter system when a malfunction or a short circuit is identified by the controller. Further, the battery is isolated and the starter system is disabled. The user is notified regarding the disabling of the starter system because of malfunction.
[00014] In an embodiment, a control unit monitors one or more parameters of the vehicle and when the calculated value is beyond a predefined range then a switching element connecting a battery to an electric motor is disabled. After a delay time, the control unit allows the activation of the switching element, and the control unit monitors one or more parameter (s) of the vehicle. The monitored value when it goes beyond the predefined range then the switching element is disabled. Further, in a preferred embodiment, after repetitive failed attempts to start the engine, the control unit deactivates the switching element and notifies the user regarding the failure of the starter system. In a preferred embodiment, an indicator is provided on the instrument cluster, which enables notification of the user regarding failure of electrical starter system.
[00015] The starter system, according to the present subject matter, uses a single switching element. Any voltage drop that might occur because of the use of multiple switching elements is eliminated. Further, the present subject matter provides improved protection without affecting the cost of the system. Furthermore,

a single casing is used to mount the battery and the switching element thereby
saving space on the vehicle in which the starter system is employed. Further, the
present subject matter is applicable to lawn movers and the like.
[00016] The aforesaid and other advantages of the present subject matter would
be described in greater detail in conjunction with the figures in the following
description.
[0003] Fig. 1 illustrates a left side view of an exemplary vehicle 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The vehicle 100 has a frame assembly 105. The frame assembly 105 includes a head tube 105A, a main tube 105B extending rearward from the head tube and a pair of rear tubes 105C that extend inclinedly rearward from a rear portion of the main tube 105B. A handle bar assembly 110 is rotatably connected about the head tube 105A through a steering tube (not shown) that is rotatably disposed about the head tube 105A. One or more front fork(s) 120 connect a front wheel 115 to the steering shaft. A front fender 140 disposed upwardly of the front wheel 115 covers at least a portion of the front wheel 115. A seat assembly 150 is supported by the rear tubes 105C.
[0004] In the present embodiment, an IC engine 130 is mounted to a swing arm (not shown). A rear wheel 125 is functionally coupled to the engine 130. A kick-start system 135 is functionally coupled to the engine 130. A rear fender 155 covers at least portion of the rear wheel 125.
[0005] Further, the frame assembly 105 is covered by plurality of body panels including a front panel 135A, a leg shield 135B, an under-seat cover 135G, and a left and a right side panel 135D, mounted on the frame assembly 105 and covering the frame assembly 105 and parts mounted thereon. In the present embodiment, the front fender 140 is integrally formed with the front panel 135A.

A floorboard 145 is provided at the step-through space and mounted to the main tube 105B. A utility box (not shown) is disposed below the seat assembly 150 and is supported by the main frame 105B. A fuel tank (not shown) is positioned below the utility box. A rear fender 155 is covering at least a portion of the rear wheel 125 and is positioned below the fuel tank, and is disposed upwardly of the rear wheel 125. One or more suspension(s) 160 are provided in the rear portion of the vehicle 100 for connecting the swing arm 130 to the mainframe 105B thereby providing comfortable ride. The vehicle 100 comprises of plurality of electrical and electronic components. In the present embodiment, the electrical and electronic components includes a headlight 165A that is alternating current type, a tail light 165B that is direct current type. Further, the vehicle 100 is provided with a starter system 200 (shown in Fig, 2).
[00017] Fig. 2 illustrates a schematic block diagram of a starter system 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The starter system 200 is employed on motor vehicle including the IC engine 130 (shown in Fig 1). A magneto 205 comprising of a stator and a rotor, acts as one source of electrical energy in the motor vehicle. The magneto 205 is mounted to a crankshaft of the engine 130 and a rotor of the magneto 205 rotates along with the crankshaft. An electro motive force (EMF) generated by the magneto 105 is fed to a regulator and rectifier (RR) unit 210: One of the outputs from RR unit 210 is a regulated alternating current (AC) voltage, which is supplied to AC loads 165A either directly or through manually controlled switches. A rectified direct current (DC) output from the RR unit 210 is fed to a battery 215 for charging. The DC output from the RR unit 110 is also fed to DC loads 165B of the vehicle. The DC loads 165B include horn, beeper, tail lamp 165B, or turn signal lamps. In an embodiment, the tail lamp 165B is a light emitted diode (LED) operated by DC voltage.

[00018] Further, the DC output from RR unit 210 is also supplied to critical ignition loads like a transistor controlled ignition (TCI) unit 220, which is the starter control unit for the vehicle. The TCI unit 220 is adapted to control the ignition and also to enables secured starting of the vehicle. When the IC engine is in OFF condition, the DC loads 165B are driven by the battery 215 through a fuse 225 that is positioned therebetween.
[00019] A starter motor 230 is coupled to the IC engine 130 for cranking the engine 130. The starter relay has an open condition OC and a closed condition . CC. The starter relay 235, which is a switching element, connects the battery 215 and the starter motor 230 when in a closed condition CC. In another embodiment, a solid-state relay or an electromechanical relay may be used as a switching element. One end of the starter relay 235 is connected to the battery 215 using a battery-relay cable 240 and the other end of the starter relay 235 is connected to' the starter motor 230 using a starter cable 245. When user operates the ignition switch 250, the battery 215 is connected to the DC loads 165B of the vehicle, which includes the TCI unit 220. A speed sensor 260, which works in conjunction with the magneto 205, calculates engine speed, for example rotations per minute (RPM). Upon operation of the ignition switch 250, which is an electric start switch (ES), the starter motor cranks the IC engine 130 and the starter motor 230 is driven by the battery 215. The TCI unit 220 enables activation and deactivation of the starter relay 235 thereby connecting and disconnecting the battery 215 to the starter motor 230. In a preferred embodiment, the battery 215 is positioned in proximity to the starter relay 235, which reduces the length of the battery-relay cable 240 and occurrence of short circuit of the battery-relay cable 240 is also reduced.
[00020] Fig. 3 depicts a flow chart 300 for starter method, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The flow chart 300 depicted in Fig.

3 is understood in conjunction with the starter system 200 depicted in Fig. 2. At step 305, user of the vehicle 100 turns ON an ignition switch 250. A physical or a wireless key may be used by the user for turning ON the ignition switch 250. The ignition switch 250 connects an auxiliary power source, which is a battery 215, to the DC loads 165B of the vehicle through the fuse 225. The DC loads 165B include the TCI unit 220, which acts as a control unit. In an embodiment, an electronic control unit may be a digital instrument control unit may be used as a control unit. Further, the TCI unit 220 enables spark ignition timing when the engine is operated. At step 310, activation of ignition switch 250 by the user is checked by the TCI unit 220. If the user does not activate the ignition switch 250 , then TCI unit 220 will check for engine speed value, at step 215 and if the engine speed is beyond a pre-set value then identifies running the engine. At step 215, if engine speed value is below a pre-set value, then it implies that the engine is not running and the starter system waits for activation of ignition switch 250 by the user, at step 310. Once, the user operates the ignition switch 250, at step 320, the TCI unit 220 activates the starter relay 235, which acts as a switching element. In a preferred embodiment, a relay, which is normally open (NO) is used. Therefore, when the TCI unit 220 activates the starter relay 235 and the starter relay 235 closes an open circuit thereby forming a connection between the battery-relay cable 240 and the starter cable 245.
[00021] At step 225, the TCI unit 220 checks one or more parameter (s) of the vehicle 100, for example current, voltage of the battery 215or speed of the engine, with a pre-set range. For example, in case of battery voltage, if the value drops below 80% of the open circuit voltage (OCV) for a duration of one second then it is implied that there is excessive current flow, which occurs during short circuit or when the starter motor 230 is stalled. Therefore, at step 330, the TCI unit 220 enables deactivation of the starter relay 235. The starter relay 235 will get to

normal condition, which is a NO condition. Further, at step 330, the starter relay 235 disconnects the battery and isolates it from the starter motor 230 and a failed crank-count value is incremented. Furthermore, at step 225, if the battery voltage is greater than 80% of OCV and the engine is cranked then the failed crank-count is reset at step 225A. Further, the speed sensor 260 checks engine speed value and TCI unit 220 compares with a pre-set value, if the engine speed value is above a pre-set value then it implies that the engine is running and if the engine speed value is below the pre-set value then the engine is not cranked and the starter system 200 waits for activation of ignition switch 250 , at step 310. The TCI unit 220 waits for activation of ignition switch 250 at step 310, where user tries to crank the engine 130 the next time.
[00022] Furthermore, at step 335, a failed crank-count value is compared with a preset value N, where N specifies the number of crank attempts allowed to the user. The value N is determined by the manufacturer. In this embodiment, value N is set as 3. On a first attempt to start the engine 130, the failed crank-count value is 1, which is less than value N. Therefore, a delay, at step 335A, is provided and the starter system 200 waits for the activation of ignition switch 250by the user, which occurs at step 310. At step 335A, a delay enables isolating the starter motor 230 from excessive heating, eliminating starter relay 235 failure due to switching of higher energy and discarding temporary short circuit, if any. [00023] At step 335, in a case when the failed crank-count reaches '3', then at step 340, the TCI unit 220 disables the ignition switch 250 functionality and notifies the user regarding the malfunction. In a preferred embodiment, the user is notified by an indicator provided in the instrument cluster or on the handle bar assembly. The starter system 200 enables cranking of the engine by kick-start mechanism. Further, next time for user to start the enginel30, the starter control system checks for step 305, where the user turns ON the ignition key. Further, the

starter system 200 of the vehicle 100 is provided with a battery-holder 400 (shown in Fig. 4) that enables improved starter protection.
[00024] Fig. 4 depicts a front perspective view of a battery-holder 400 with parts disposed thereon, in accordance with embodiment depicted in Fig. 2. The battery-holder 400 mounted with the battery 215 and the starter relay 235. The battery-holder 400 is provided with a primary compartment 410 for mounting the battery 215. Further, the starter relay 235 is supported by the battery holder 400. The battery holder 400 is capable of holding the battery 215 and also the starter relay 235. In a preferred embodiment, the relay is disposed adjacently to said battery 225, and the battery-relay cable 240 functionally connecting said battery 225 to said switching element 235 is having a predetermined length L (as shown in Fig. 5 (b))
[00025] Fig. 5 (a) depicts a battery-holder 500, in accordance with another embodiment of the present subject matter. The battery-holder 500 comprises a primary compartment 510, which is in proximity to the starter relay 235. Fig. 5 (b) depicts the battery-holder 500 that is employed with battery and the relay. The battery-holder comprises a partition wall 530 and the partition wall 530 divides the first compartment 510 and the second compartment 520. The partition wall 530 is provided with a provision 440 for routing a battery-relay cable 240. The battery-relay cable 240 is routed such that the length is minimal. The provision 540 is provided on the partition wall 530 at a portion that enables length of routing battery-relay cable 240 to be optimal. In an embodiment, the length L of the battery-relay cable 240 is chosen such that it is maximum 1.25 times height or width of the battery 215, whichever is higher. In another embodiment, the battery-relay cable has a length L in the range of 1 to 1.5 times the length/height of the battery 215. In yet another embodiment, the length L of battery-relay cable has a length in the range of 1* to 1.5 times the breadth of the battery 215. In the

present embodiment, the battery-holder 500 enables keeping the battery-relay cable 240 length to be minimal thereby reducing the probability of occurrence of the short circuit. Further, the battery-holder 500 is made of electrically insulating material to eliminate any shorts circuits.
[00026] In a preferred embodiment, area of the primary compartment 510 is relatively greater than area of the secondary compartment 520. [00027] Furthermore, the battery holder 500 is mounted to the vehicle 100 through one or more fastener(s) and said fastener(s) are disposed substantially away from said battery relay cable 240.. Moreover, the battery 215 of the vehicle is functionally connected to the frame 105 of the vehicle. The battery holder 500 is supported by the frame 105. The battery holder 400 is secured to the frame through fastener(s), wherein said fasteners are disposed away from the battery-relay cable 240, whereby length of the wiring harness is reduced. Also, the relay 235 is disposed in proximity to the battery thereby providing optimum protection of the starter system 200.
[00028] In the present embodiment, the battery 215 is mounted to the primary compartment 510 by or more mounting bracket(s) and the starter relay 235 is mounted to the secondary compartment 520 through one or more bracket(s). In another embodiment, the relay is mounted to one surface of the primary compartment, which forms a first wall. Further, the battery-holder 500 includes a cushion material that enables dampening any vibrations from reaching the battery 215 or the starter relay 235.
[00029] Many modifications and variations of the present subject matter are possible in the light of above disclosure. Therefore, within the scope of claims of the present subject matter, the present disclosure may be practiced other than as : specifically described.

I/We claim,
1. A starter system (200) for a vehicle (100) comprising:
an internal combustion engine (130) functionally connected to a rear wheel (125)
of the vehicle (100);
a starter motor (230) functionally coupled to said engine (130) for cranking said
engine (130);
a battery (215) for driving said starter motor (230);
a switching element (235) comprising an open condition (OC) and a closed
condition (CC), said switching element (235) in the closed condition enables
connection of said battery (215) and said starter motor (230); and
a starter control unit (220) functionally connected to said switching element (235)
to operate said switching element (235) to switch to the closed condition (CC) or
to the open condition (OC) depending on one or more operating parameter (s) of
the starter system,
wherein
said switching element (235) is disposed substantially adjacently to said battery
(225), and a battery-relay cable (240) functionally connecting said battery (225) to
said switching element (235) is having a predetermined length (L).
2. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said predetermined length (L) of the said battery-relay cable (240) is in the range of 1 to 1.5 times of at least a length and a breadth of said battery (225).
3. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, said battery (215) is mounted to a primary compartment (410) of the battery holder (400) and said switching element (235) is disposed adjacently of said battery holder (400) and supported by said battery holder (400).
4. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said battery (215) is mounted to a primary compartment (510) of the battery holder (500) and

said switching element (235) is mounted to a second compartment (520) disposed adjacently of said primary compartment (510).
5. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said primary compartment (510) and said secondary compartment (520) of battery holder (500) are separated by a partition wall (530) and said battery-relay cable (240) is routed through a provision (540) provided on said partition wall (530).
6. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of any of preceding claims, wherein said battery holder (400, 500) is mounted to the vehicle (100) through one or more fastener (s) and said fastener(s) are disposed substantially away from said battery relay cable (240).
7. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of any of preceding claims, wherein said battery holder (400, 500) is made of plastic.
8. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said switching element (235) includes a relay (235) and said relay (235) includes a solid-state relay type and an electromechanical type.
9. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said one or more operating parameter (s) of said starter system (200) includes open circuit voltage of the battery (215), current from the battery (215), and rotations per minute of said engine (130).
10. The starter system (200) for the vehicle (100) of claim 1, wherein said starter control unit (220) is an electronic control unit including a transistor controlled ignition unit (220). '