Lawn mower rope guide

A manual starter system for a lawn mower having an internal combustion engine, the starter system comprising:

• a handle tube including opposite first and second openings at a mounting location;
• and
• a rope guide for receipt of a starter rope, the rope guide received through the first and second openings of the handle tube,
• wherein the rope guide including a rod member including a plurality of bend locations in a proximal end portion of the rope guide, the bend locations including first, second and third bend locations defining first, second, third and fourth rod segments for the rod member of the rope guide, the bend locations configured to define first and second points of direct contact between the rod member of the rope guide and an outer surface of the handle tube, the first contact point defined on the second rod segment adjacent one of the handle tube openings, the second contact point defined on the third rod segment adjacent the third bend location, a gap being defined between the rod member and the outer tube surface such that the rod member of the rope guide is substantially out of contact with the handle tube between the first and second contact points.

A rope guide for use with a lawn mower starter system including a handle tube with opposite openings for receiving a rod member of the rope guide, the rope guide comprising:

• a threaded area in a proximal end portion of the rope guide for receiving a nut member for securing the rope guide to the handle tube;
• a first bend in the rod member in the proximal end portion defining a transition between a first rod segment including the threaded end and an adjacent second rod segment, the first bend including an acute angle between the first and second rod segments;
• a second bend in the rod member in the proximal end portion defining a transition between the second rod segment and an adjacent third rod segment, the second rod segment curving in substantially continuous manner from the first bend to the second bend;
• and a
• a third bend in the rod member in the proximal end portion defining a transition between the third rod segment and an adjacent fourth rod segment, the third rod segment extending substantially longitudinally with respect to the handle tube,
• the rod member directly contacting an outer surface of the handle tube at a first contact point located on the second rod segment adjacent one of the handle openings and at a second contact point located on the third rod segment adjacent the third bend, the rope guide being substantially out of contact with the tube outer surface between the first and second contact points to define a gap along the second and third rod segments.