U.S. patent number 3,871,350 [Application Number 05/385,318] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-18 for recoil starter.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Eaton Stamping Company. Invention is credited to Lyle J. Hamman.
United States Patent |
3,871,350 |
Hamman |
March 18, 1975 |
Recoil starter
Abstract
A recoil starter construction for internal combustion engines
particularly suitable for use with engines of the type used with
snowmobiles and other recreational vehicles subject to heavy duty
use. The starter employs a lightweight plastic rope pulley having a
radially spaced shoulder within a rope receiving groove, and rope
guide means defined within the groove insure the laying of the rope
in the groove during recoiling in a predetermined manner which
minimizes rope bind during cranking. The starter also utilizes a
cam dog of a generally flat configuration having an outer periphery
including dog-extending and dog-retaining surfaces, the cam dog
positively retaining the engine clutch engaging dogs against
operative contact with the flywheel components when the starter has
recoiled and rewound the starter rope.
Inventors: |
Hamman; Lyle J. (Eaton Rapids,
MI) |
Assignee: |
Eaton Stamping Company (Eaton
Rapids, MI)
|
Family
ID: |
26862956 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/385,318 |
Filed: |
August 2, 1973 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
|
167216 |
Jul 29, 1971 |
3782355 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
123/185.2; 74/6;
123/185.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F02N
3/02 (20130101); Y10T 74/13 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
F02N
3/00 (20060101); F02N 3/02 (20060101); F02n
001/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;123/185R,185A,185B,185BA,185BB,179SC ;74/6 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Myhre; Charles J.
Assistant Examiner: Cox; Ronald B.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Beaman & Beaman
Parent Case Text
This is a division of application Ser. No. 167,216, filed July 29,
1971, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,355.
Claims
I claim:
1. A recoil starter for internal combustion engines comprising, in
combination, a housing, pulley bearing means mounted upon said
housing, a starter rope pulley rotatably mounted on said bearing
means, said pulley having a starter rope receiving groove defined
therein, said groove being defined by first and second radially
extending sides and a base surface, recoil spring means operatively
interposed between said housing and said pulley adapted to rotate
said pulley in a rope recoiling direction, an opening defined in
said pulley intersecting said groove adjacent said base surface, a
starter rope adapted to be coiled in said pulley groove having an
inner end inserted through said opening and attached to said pulley
and an outer end, said groove having an axial width as defined by
said first and second sides substantially twice the diameter of
said starter rope, an annular shoulder defined in said groove
adjacent one of said sides and radially spaced outwardly from said
base surface and of an axial width substantially corresponding to
the rope diameter, the difference in radii between said shoulder
and said base surface being less than the diameter of said rope,
whereby the first coil of rope rewound on said pulley, the pulley
side adjacent said shoulder and said shoulder define an annular
recess for receiving the second coil of rope wound on said pulley,
a rope bushing mounted in said housing having a guide bore, a
handle affixed to said rope outer end exteriorly located with
respect to said housing, clutch means mounted on said pulley
selectively engageable with engine drive means, and rope guiding
means defined on said groove base surface adjacent said opening and
ahead of said opening with respect to the rotation of said pulley
in a rope recoiling direction deflecting the rope during recoiling
away from said opening and rope inner end extending therein into
said annular recess to prevent the second coil of rope received
within said groove during recoiling from laying upon the first rope
coil recoiled in said groove.
2. In a starter as in claim 1 wherein said rope guiding means
comprises an elongated depression defined in said groove base
surface of a width substantially corresponding to the diameter of
said rope.
3. In a starter as in claim 2 wherein said depression extends
obliquely across said base surface from said first groove defining
radially extending side to said second groove defining radially
extending side.
Description
Background of the Invention
The invention pertains to recoil starters for heavy duty internal
combustion engines using a starter rope wherein the starter rope is
coiled within a rope receiving groove defined in a pulley
operatively connected to engine driving clutch dogs.
Recoil starters for internal combustion engines of less than 7 HP
have been widely employed, and such recoil starters for such small
engines meet manual starting requirements and have proven fully
satisfactory with engines of this size range. The ability of the
recoil starter to automatically rewind the starter rope on the
pulley has provided a convenience long appreciated in the art and
recoil starters have been developed which provide dependable
operation over long life cycles and such starters as shown in my
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,375,813 and 3,375,814 have been mass produced and
have enjoyed widespread commercial acceptance.
The increased popularity of recreational vehicles such as
snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, and the like has increased the
production of larger horsepower engines such as in the range of 7
to 80 HP. Such engines, if not electrically started, may be cranked
with recoil starters, but due to the size of the engine a heavier
duty construction is required than has been previously available.
Also, due to serious vibration problems occurring in larger
horsepower engines the vibration forces and wear imposed upon
recoil starters used with larger engines are significantly greater
than with smaller engines. Accordingly, the design and construction
of starters for use with larger internal combustion engines is
somewhat different than that employed with smaller engines, and
many design features of starters used with smaller engines are not
available with the larger size of engine.
Recoil starters for larger capacity engines utilizing heavy metal
starter rope pulleys are subjected to vibrations and frequencies
which often damage the pulleys and other starter components.
Furthermore, recoil starter using radially extendable dogs must be
of a more rugged construction, and capable of a more positive
operation than afforded with previous starters. As the forces
required to crank larger engines may be very high due to the size
and compression of the engine, high tension forces within the
starter rope are produced during cranking which often produce a
binding of the starter rope within the rope pulley groove during
cranking which further adds to the force required to start such
engines.
The problem of the starter rope binding within the pulley groove
during engine cranking has been treated in my Patent 3,375,814, and
the structure disclosed therein is suitable for minimizing and
preventing rope bind when cranking small horsepower engines.
However, the tension forces produced within starter ropes when
cranking larger sizes of horsepower engines creates very high
tension forces upon the starter rope, which causes rope binding,
and other problems which are not completely solved by the rope
pulley construction shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,814.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a recoil starter for
larger size internal combustion engines wherein superior resistance
to vibration and wear is produced in an economical starter having
dependable operating characteristics.
A further object of the invention is to provide a recoil starter
having a positive operating clutch mechanism for cooperating with
engines flywheel mounted structure utilizing radially extendable
dogs which are readily extended outwardly in a positive manner for
engagement with a flywheel mounted clutch cup, and are locked in
the declutching position to prevent an inadvertent engagement of
the dog with the cup, and also minimize dog wear during engine
vibration.
A further object of the invention is to provide a recoil starter
for internal combustion engines utilizing a synthetic plastic rope
pulley having a rope receiving groove or recess of unique
configuration which minimizes binding and rope laying problems
during recoiling and rewinding wherein a predetermined orientation
of the rope coils in the rope groove is achieved during recoiling.
The controlled orientation of the coils in the rope groove during
recoiling prevents rope binding during cranking and insures
consistent starter rope tension characteristics during each
cranking operation.
In the practice of the invention a pulley shaft is mounted within a
starter housing adapted to be connected to the engine shroud
concentric to the flywheel axis of rotation. Air passage means are
defined in the starter housing wherein the usual circulating vanes
mounted upon the flywheel may draw air through the starter housing
for engine cooling purposes. A synthetic plastic pulley of a light
weight is rotatably mounted upon the shaft having a recess or
groove defined therein which includes a radial shoulder having an
axial dimension one half that of the rope groove, and rope guide
means are defined in the rope groove to control the manner in which
the rope is coiled within the groove during rotation of the rope
pulley during the recoiling operation. Dogs are pivotally mounted
upon the pulley for selective engagement with a cup member mounted
upon the engine flywheel coaxial with the pulley shaft. The dogs
are located within the cup, and a dog cam mounted upon the shaft
for frictional rotation thereto controls the radial postion of the
dogs. The cam dog is of a generally flat or plate configuration and
includes peripheral edge surfaces which pivot the dogs outward
during rotation of the pulley in a cranking direction, and an edge
surface defined upon the cam dog serves as an abutment for
cooperating with a surface defined on the dogs during recoiling,
and at rest, to maintain the dogs in their inactive or radially
inward position upon the pulley rotating in a recoiling
direction.
A starter construction in accord with the invention may be
manufactured and assembled with conventional techniques, and yet
the requisites necessary with starters used with relatively large
horsepower engines are met.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The aforementioned objects and advantages of the invention will be
appreciated from the following description and accompanying
drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a diametrical, elevational, cross-sectional view of a
recoil starter constructed in accord with the invention,
FIG. 2 is a sectional, bottom view taken along Section II--II of
FIG. 1,
FIG. 3 is a detailed sectioned view of the dogs, cam dog and
flywheel cup similar to that of FIG. 2, but illustrating the dogs
in the cup engaging and engine cranking position,
FIG. 4 is an elevational, sectional, diametrical view of another
embodiment of recoil starter constructed in accord with the
invention,
FIG. 5 is an underside view of the starter of FIG. 4 illustrating
the dogs in the retracted position, the cup being shown in section
for purpose of illustration,
FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the dogs, dog cam and engine clutch
cup illustrating the dogs in the cup engaging position,
FIG. 7 is an elevational, sectional view of a starter in accord
with the invention illustrating the starter rope and rope at the
end of a cranking operation, all of the rope coils having unwound
from the pulley groove, and prior to rotation of the pulley in a
recoiling direction,
FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 7, and illustrates the relationship of
the starter rope and the pulley at the completion of the recoiling
of a single rope coil,
FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 illustrating the relationship of
components at the completion of the recoiling of two coils of
starter rope on the rope pulley,
FIG. 10 is an enlarged, elevational, detail sectional view taken
through the rope pulley periphery and groove along Section X--X of
FIG. 7, and
FIG. 11 is an enlarged, elevational, detail sectional view taken
along XI--XI of FIG. 9.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Two embodiments of recoil starters utilizing the concepts of the
invention are disclosed in the drawings. The embodiment illustrated
in FIGS. 1 through 3, and the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4
through 6, differ primarily in the fact that the starter shown in
FIGS. 1 through 3 is for use with smaller horsepower engines than
the starter illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 5. The basic principals
of operation, and the novel aspects, of the two starter embodiments
are identical, and both embodiments use a rope pulley having the
features described in detail with respect to FIGS. 7 through
11.
With reference to the starter illustrated in FIGS. 1 through 3, the
starter includes a housing 10, which is usually of a cast metal
construction, which is bolted to the engine shroud encompassing the
flywheel. The housing 10 includes bolt receiving holes 12, and a
plurality of passages 14 are defined in the housing to permit air
to flow through the starter housing into the flywheel chamber under
the influence of the flywheel vanes, not shown, formed on the
flywheel in the usual manner.
The housing also includes a rope bushing 16 which is in central
alignment with the groove of the rope pulley, as will be later
described.
Internally, the housing 10 includes a boss 18 having a bore defined
therein for receiving the rope pulley shaft 20 which extends
downwardly from the boss 18. The shaft 20 is coaxially related to
the engine flywheel 22, the flywheel axis defining the axis of
rotation for the flywheel drive cup 24 bolted to the flywheel in
the known manner.
A rope pulley 26 is rotatably mounted upon the lower portion of the
shaft 20 and the pulley includes a central bore in which the sleeve
bearing 28 is located for providing a wear surface between the
pulley and shaft 20. The pulley 26 is maintained upon the shaft by
the shouldered bolt 30, threaded into the end of the shaft, and the
washer 32.
The rope pulley 26 is formed from a synthetic plastic material,
such as a co-poly carbonate which is reinforced with glass fiber.
The material made by General Electric Company known as Lexan is
suitable. Such synthetic material provides a light weight, has high
strength characteristics as required in this type of environment,
and the use of the lightweight synthetic material in the rope
pulley is of important significance in that the relatively large
internal combustion engines with which the starters in accord with
the invention are employed produce severe vibrations. By making the
pulley as light as possible adverse effects produced by the
vibration are minimized, and the fact that the hardness of the
material of the pulley substantially corresponds to the hardness of
the filaments of which the starter rope is formed minimizes wear on
the rope pulley. The advantages of this relationship are discussed
in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,814.
The rope pulley 26 is of circular configuration and includes a rope
receiving groove 34 in which the starter rope 36 is received. The
inner end of the rope is inserted through a rope opening defined in
the groove, and this rope end is knotted to affix the rope to the
pulley. The outer end of the rope 36 extends through the rope
bushing 16 and is attached to the handle 40 exteriorly accessible
with respect to the housing 10.
The rope pulley 26 includes a hub in which a pair of pivot pins 42
are mounted and extend downwardly to serve as pivot supports for
the clutch dogs 44. The dogs 44 are pivotally mounted upon the pins
42 and are maintained thereon by snap rings 46 which are received
within annular recesses defined upon the pins. A torsion spring 48
is disposed about each pin 42 having an end affixed with respect to
the rope pulley, and another end 50, FIG. 2, bears upon the dog to
impose a biasing force on the dog to pivot the dog inwardly toward
the disengaging position.
The configuration of the dogs 44 is best appreciated from FIGS. 2
and 3, and the dogs include an outer clutch cup engaging surface 52
defined at the forward end of the dog with respect to the direction
of dog rotation during engine cranking. The dogs also include a
surface 54 adjacent the clutch engaging surface 52 for engagement
with the dog cam during the initial phase of cranking, and an
abutment surface 56 which is substantially radially disposed with
the associated dog pivot axis is defined upon each dog on the
opposite side of its pivot axis with respect to the cup engaging
surface 52. The dogs 44 are preferably die cast or formed of a
sintered metal.
Actuation of the clutch dogs 44 is achieved by a dog cam plate 58
rotatably mounted upon the shaft 20 by means of the shouldered bolt
30. The dog cam is formed of sheet steel, and is of a generally
flat configuration having a hub portion 60 set downwardly with
respect to the dog cam peripheral portion. The periphery of the dog
cam will be appreciated from FIGS. 2 and 3, and includes a dog
engaging surface 62 adapted to engage the dog surface 54 to
radially outwardly position the dogs to produce engagement of the
dogs with the flywheel clutch cup 24.
The dog cam configuration also includes a circular surface 64 which
provides clearance for the dogs 44 and permits free rotation
between the dogs and the dog cam, to a limited extent.
Additionally, the dog cam 58 includes a dog retaining surface 66
for each dog mounted upon the pulley which cooperates with the dog
abutment surface 56 when the pulley is rewound in a rope recoiling
direction, as illustrated in FIG. 2. When the surfaces 54 and 66
are in engagement, as in FIG. 2, the dogs 44 are not capable of
clockwise rotation with respect to their associated pivot axis,
FIG. 2, and thus are positively retained or locked against
clockwise rotation, which would permit the dog surfaces 52 to
engage the flywheel clutch drive cup 24.
Rotation of the dog cam plate 58 relative to the shaft 20 is
frictionally retarded due to the existence of friction forces
produced by the compression spring 68 interposed between the washer
32 and the cam hub portion 60. The biasing force produced by the
spring 68 serves as a "brake" to resist rotation of the dog cam
plate.
Rotation of the rope pulley 26 in a recoiling direction is produced
by a coil spring 70 disposed about the housing boss 18 having one
end connected to the pulley, and another end connected to the
housing boss. Thus, as the starter rop 36 is tensioned and the rope
pulley is rotated in a cranking direction, the spring 70 is wound
to store a force sufficient to rotate the pulley in a recoiling
direction once the tension in the starter rope is released. In the
disclosed embodiment the coil spring 70 is mounted within a housing
72, and the mode of attachment of the spring and its housing to the
rope pulley is as disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,814.
The drive cup 24 is attached to the flywheel 22 by bolts, and the
drive cup includes an axially extending wall portion 74 which of
sufficient height to receive the dogs 44 and dog cam plate 58 as is
appreciated from FIG. 1. The wall portion has a plurality of lanced
teeth 76 defined therein in a manner as will be appreciated from
FIGS. 2 and 3.
In operation, the starter components are initially oriented as
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The rope pulley 26 is fully recoiled under
the influence of the recoil spring 70, and the starter rope is
fully coiled within the pulley groove 34. Under these conditions
the handle 40 is disposed adjacent the rope bushing 16 as
illustrated in FIG. 1. The dogs 44 are related to the dog cam plate
58 as shown in FIG. 2 wherein the abutment surface 56 is in
engagement with the retaining surface 66 preventing clockwise
rotation of the dogs, and insuring that the dog surfaces 52 will
not be in engagement with the drive cup teeth 76. In this
relationship the engine may be at rest, or running, and if the
engine is running, the fact that the dogs cannot be engaged by the
rotating cup teeth prevents undesirable noise, or wear on the
dogs.
Upon the operator grasping the handle 40 and tensioning the starter
rope, the rope pulley will rotate in a counterclockwise direction,
FIG. 2, which causes the dog ends 52 and the clutch dogs 44 to move
in a counterclockwise direction with respect to the dog cam plate
58. Such relative movement continues until the dog surfaces 54
engage the cam surfaces 62, which causes the dogs to pivot in a
clockwise direction about their respective pivot pins, and radially
locate the dog surfaces 52 for engagement with the cup teeth 76, as
shown in FIG. 3. Upon engagement of the dog leading surfaces 52
with the cup teeth 76 the dogs will cause the drive cup 24 to
rotate and thereby crank the engine for starting the same.
When the engine starts, the drive cup 24 will rotate faster than
the rope pulley 26, causing the inclined surfaces 78 of the cup
teeth to engage the dog outer surfaces 80 and pivot the dogs
inwardly out of an interfering relationship with the cup teeth 76.
In this manner the dogs 44 are quickly cleared from the cup teeth,
and the biasing force imposed on the dogs by the springs 48 further
insure that the dogs will be held from engagement from the cup
teeth.
The initial rotation of the dogs 44 in a counterclockwise direction
due to the force exerted by the inclined surfaces 78 causes the dog
surfaces 54 to be pressed against the dog cam surfaces 62, causing
a counterclockwise rotation of the dog cam, and thereby permitting
the counterclockwise rotation of the dog. Upon the operator
releasing the handle 40, or reducing the tension therein, the
spring 70 recoils the rope pulley, causing the dog pivot pins to
rotate in a clockwise direction, FIG. 2, wherein the dogs relate to
the dog cam as shown in FIG. 2 and are positively prevented from
engaging the cup teeth 76 due to the interengagement between the
dog abutment surfaces 56 and the dog cam retaining surfaces 66.
Thus, during engine operation the dogs 44 will be locked in the
"retracted" position and a positive holding of the dogs is
achieved.
The starter embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 through 6 is of a
heavy duty construction, and is identical, in many respects to the
previously described embodiment and equivalent components are
identified by primed reference numerals. In this embodiment a
spring pin 82 is attached to the housing 10' whereby the outer end
of the recoil spring 84 may be attached to the housing by means of
the pin, and the inner end of the recoil spring, not shown, is
attached to the rope pulley 26'.
As will be appreciated in FIGS. 5 and 6, three dog pivot pins 42'
and clutch dogs 44' are mounted upon the rope pulley, and the dog
cam plate 58' includes three radially extending lobes upon which
the appropriate surfaces are defined for producing a dog and dog
cam operation and relationship identical to that previously
described.
The engine flywheel mounted clutch cup 86 is of a heavy duty cast
construction and includes a plurality of teeth defined therein for
selective engagement with the dog cup engaging surfaces 52'.
Operation of the starter illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6 is
identical to that previously described with respect to the
operation of the starter shown in FIGS. 1 through 3 except that
three dogs 44', rather than two, are simultaneously operated by the
dog cam plate 58'.
Both of the previously described recoil starter embodiments utilize
a rope pulley 26 having a pulley groove 34 defined in the periphery
thereof which is of a unique configuration for controlling the
recoiling of the starter rope and minimizing the likelihood of
starter rope problems during cranking, such as binding of the rope
within the pulley groove. The configuration of the starter pulley
groove, and the relationship between the starter rope 36 and the
pulley groove, is best appreciated from FIGS. 7 through 11. The
pulley groove 34 is defined by a pair of radially extending pulley
sides 90 and 92 which are spaced apart a distance substantially
equal to twice the diameter of the starter rope 36. The base
surface 94 constitutes a recess having an axial width substantially
equal to the rope diameter, and a radial depth approximately equal
to the rope radius. Adjacent the base surface 94, an annular
shoulder surface 96 is defined having a radius greater than the
radius of the base surface by a distance approximately equal to
that of the rope radius. It will be noted that the base surface 94
is formed with a concave surface, while the shoulder surface 96 is
of a substantially cylindrical configuration.
The rope opening 38 defined in the rope pulley intersects the base
surface 94, and just to the right of the opening 38, FIG. 7, a rope
guiding depression 98 is defined in the pulley groove which
intersects the base surface 94 adjacent the pulley side 90 and
obliquely extends across the pulley groove to the pulley side 92.
The shoulder surface 96 is recessed in the region to the left of
opening 38, FIG. 7, and depression 98 extens into shoulder 96. The
depression 98 defines a pulley groove portion 100 of a generally
triangular configuration having a cross section that will be
appreciated from FIG. 10.
The rope bushing 16 has an axis substantially centrally located
with respect to the pulley groove sides 90 and 92, and the
relationship of the rope 36, pulley 26 and pulley opening 38 when
the starter rope is substantially fully extended, and prior to
significant recoiling of the rope on the pulley, is shown in FIG.
7. As illustrated in FIG. 7, that portion of the rope indicated at
102 between the guide bushing 16 and the opening 38 is aligned, and
partially received within the groove base surface 94.
As the pulley 26 rewinds under the influence of the recoil spring
70, the pulley opening 38 will be moving to the right, FIG. 7, and
the first coil of the rope lies within the base surface 94 in that
the base surface defines the innermost portion of the pulley
groove, and also due to the alignment of the opening 38 with base
surface 94. As the first coil is completed the rope will engage the
guiding depression 98 which shifts the rope toward the pulley side
92, FIG. 8, and out of alignment with the base surface 94
containing the first rope coil. Thus, it will be appreciated that
the relationship shown in FIG. 8 occurs at the completion of the
first revolution of pulley rotation during recoiling.
In view of the orientation shown in FIG. 8, at the beginning of the
recoiling of the second coil on the pulley, the second coil of
starter rope will lie upon the shoulder surface 96 as this shoulder
surface now represents the innermost portion of the rope groove
available for receiving the rope, and the first rope coil, shoulder
surface 96 and pulley side 92 now define the rope receiving recess
for the second coil.
At the completion of the winding of the second coil of rope within
the pulley groove the rope passes over the portion of the second
coil previously received within the rope guiding depression 98, and
the third coil lies on top of the first rope coil received within
the pulley base 94. The beginning of the coiling of the third coil
is shown in FIG. 9 wherein the rope has passed over the initial
rope portion received in depression 98.
In that the presence of the rope guiding depression 98 insures that
the second coil will be wound upon the annular shoulder surface 96,
and as the pulley groove configuration insures that the coil will
be directly disposed over the supporting rope coil, binding of the
rope within the pulley groove during engine cranking is preventing
even through the tension occurring within the starter rope may be
very high. Starters of the described type are of sufficient size
such that the diameter of the rope pulley is great enough to permit
three or four coils of starter rope to be wound thereon, and the
rope pulley must be of sufficient diameter to permit sufficient
torque to be applied to the engine flywheel for cranking.
The use of the plate type dog cam insures positive operation of the
clutch dogs both during cranking and when retracted, and such
operation is most important when employed with larger internal
combustion engines which can easily destroy starter components if a
malfunctioning occurs. Likewise, even though the cranking of larges
sizes of engines with recoil starters requires high rope tensions
the unique pulley configuration limiting the groove to two coils in
an axial direction, in conjunction with the use of the base surface
and shoulder surface eliminates many of the problems heretofore
encountered with recoil starters used with larger engines.
It is appreciated that modifications to the inventive concept may
be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the
spirit and scope thereof.
* * * * *