US 6,981,482 B2
Recoil starter
Shuhei Tsunoda, Tokyo (Japan); Isao Tohyama, Tokyo (Japan); and Toshinori Morishige, Tokyo (Japan)
Assigned to Starting Industrial Co., Ltd, Tokyo (Japan)
Filed on Aug. 19, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/643,822.
Claims priority of application No. 2002-250245 (JP), filed on Aug. 29, 2002; and application No. 2002-250246 (JP), filed on Aug. 29, 2002.
Prior Publication US 2004/0123827 A1, Jul. 01, 2004
Int. Cl. F02N 3/02 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 123—185.3 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A recoil starter comprising:
a casing having a reel shaft formed on an inside thereof;
a rope reel rotatably mounted to said reel shaft and having a recoil rope wound therearound;
a spiral spring for rotationally urging said rope reel in a direction of winding said recoil rope;
a cam rotatably mounted to said reel shaft in a manner to face said rope reel;
a rotational member attached to a crankshaft of an engine and provided with a ratchet mechanism which disengageably engages with said cam; and
a damper spring in the form of a coil spring disposed around outer peripheries of bosses which are formed on said rope reel and said cam, respectively, said damper spring having opposite ends held respectively on said rope reel and said cam, wherein a rotational force of said rope reel is transmitted to said cam via a resilience of said damper spring and a rotation of said cam is then transmitted to said rotational member via said ratchet mechanism to thereby start the engine, wherein
said opposite ends of said damper spring are provided with respective engaging portions which are radially movably supported by holding portions on said rope reel and said cam, respectively, so that when said damper spring is resiliently deformed by a startup resistance of the engine, substantially the overall length of a coiled portion of said damper spring winds and tightens uniformly around the outer peripheral surfaces of both of said bosses formed on said rope reel and said cam, respectively.