Patent ID: 6901899

Claim:
A recoil starter, comprising: a casing having a reel shaft formed therein and adapted to be mounted to an engine; a rope reel rotatably supported on said reel shaft and provided on an outer periphery thereof with a drum portion around which a recoil rope is wound; a recoil spring for rotationally urging said rope reel in a direction in which said recoil rope is rewound; a cam engageable, via a clutch mechanism, with a drive pulley coupled to the engine, for transmitting a rotation thereof to said drive pulley; a cushioning and force accumulating means interposed between said rope reel and said cam, a rotational force of said rope reel accumulated in said cushioning and force accumulating means being transmitted via said cam to said drive pulley, to thereby start the engine; and a ratchet mechanism is provided between said rope reel and said cam such that, when said rope reel is rotated in an engine starting direction, said ratchet mechanism uncouples said rope reel and said cam from each other, and when said rope reel is rotated in the direction opposite to the engine starting direction by the rotational force accumulated in said recoil spring, said ratchet mechanism couples said rope reel and said cam to each other so that said cam is rotated together with said rope reel in said opposite direction.