Freewheel drive for the starter of an internal combustion engine

A freewheel drive for a starter of an internal combustion engine, said drive comprising:

• a pair of inner and outer ring members arranged coaxially to one another, the outerring member having a circular inner peripheral surface positioned opposite an outer peripheral surface of the inner ring member, wherein the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring member includes a plurality of cam tracks, the cam tracks defined by arcs having respective arc centers that are each offset from the axis of the drive;
• a plurality of roller bodies disposed between the circular inner peripheral surface of the outer ring member and the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring member;
• spring members disposed between the inner and the outer ring members, each said roller body being biased by an associated spring member into a clamping position which permits relative rotation of the ring members in one direction only;
• a driving pinion connected to one ring member;
• a sleeve connected to the other ring member for reception of a drive shaft, wherein the inner ring member is integrally united with the driving pinion and includes an integrally formed positioning flange, which integrally formed positioning flange extends substantially radially to the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring member to close off one transverse end of an annular space defined between the mutually coaxial ring members and to center the inner ring member within the outer ring member, including spring receptors secured against rotation with respect to the inner ring member for carrying the respective spring members, wherein the spring members are strap springs bent into a U-shape defined by two limbs, of which one limb bears against a respective roller body, and the other limb is held in a spring receptor, and including a flat ring spring guide having an inner peripheral edge substantially corresponding in size to the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring member, the spring guide being thereby secured against rotation with respect to the inner ring member, and wherein the spring guide has a flat face that abuts the positioning flange on the inner ring member and includes a plurality of spring receptors that extend substantially axially from the opposite face of the spring guide from the face that abuts the positioning flange and that are equal in number to the of roller bodies present, said receptors being distributed at substantially equal angles around the periphery of the spring guide.