Starter for internal combustion engines

A starter for an internal combustion engine, comprising:

• a stator body for mounting on a stationary portion of an internal combustion engine provided with a shaft, said stator body defining an enclosure for a rotor;
• a rotor within said stator body for mounting on the shaft of said engine and means for connecting and disconnecting said rotor to said shaft;
• means for manually rotating said rotor in relation to said stator;
• at lease two securing means on said stator in the form of a pair of pins positioned on diametrically opposite sides of said rotor;
• first and second pairs of pins on the rotor positioned so that one pair is near one securing means and the other pair is near the other securing means, one pair of pins being in one quadrant of the rotor and the other pair of pins being in a diametrically opposite quadrant thereof;
• each one of said first and second pairs of pins having one radially outer pin and a radially inner pin;
• an additional pin in each said opposite quadrant and near the periphery of said rotor;
• a flattened strip of elastomeric material in the form of a closed loop;
• said closed loop being fitted around said two securing means and defining two branches doubled together, which are passed across the rotor between each pair of pins of said opposite quadrant;
• said two branches doubled together forming an undulated shape which maintains stresses in the elastomeric material even in the rest position;
• whereby when the rotor is rotated to wind the elastomeric strip about the pins, the two radially outer pins of said pairs of pins and said two additional pins form a rectangular path for the stretched strip and the two radially inner pins of said pairs of pins form a "Z" shaped path for said stretched material.