ENGINE STARTER GEARING

Centrifugally disengageable engine starter gearing for selectively starting an engine having a starting gear. The engine starter gearing includes a power shaft, a sleeve slidably secured to the power shaft, a pinion gear slidably mounted to the power shaft and movable into engagement with the starting gear, a driven clutch member secured to the pinion gear and having splines on a generally circular interior recess therein, a flyweight retainer having splines thereon engaging the splines on the generally circular interior recess, a driving clutch member mounted to the sleeve, mutually engageable clutch teeth on the driving and driven clutch members, a housing fitted over the driving and driven clutch members, an abutment confining the driving and driven clutch members within the housing, a resilient member biasing the driving and driven clutch members into mutual engagement, a radially inwardly extending shoulder on the driving clutch member adjacent the circular recess, and an annular thrust washer having an inner conical surface, the annular thrust washer abutting a loose washer which, in turn, abuts the radially inwardly extending shoulder of the driving clutch member. A plurality of unitary centrifugal flyweight members are annularly arranged in cavities formed in the flyweight retainer. Each centrifugal flyweight member has an inclined surface abutting the conical surface of the thrust washer and is operative to displace the thrust washer in the first axial direction in response to centrifugal force. The cavities in the flyweight retainer extend radially outwardly and cooperate with at least a portion of each of the centrifugal flyweight members to prevent circumferential movement of the plurality of centrifugal flyweight members while permitting radial movement thereof.