Patent ID: 7996135

Claim:
A starter for an internal combustion engine, comprising: a starter motor whose output shaft is rotated by current supplied; a torque transmission member with a pinion for transmitting torque from an output shaft of the starter motor to a ring gear of the engine, and which is capable of transmitting and interrupting the torque by moving the pinion so as to mesh with and disengage from the ring gear; an electromagnetic actuator for moving the torque transmission member to a place where the pinion meshes with the ring gear when current is supplied; a disengaging mechanism for applying a driving force to the torque transmission member so that the torque transmission member moves to a place where the pinion is disengaged from the ring gear when the number of revolutions of the ring gear exceeds that of the torque transmission member; and a controller for energizing the electromagnetic actuator to move the torque transmission member so that the pinion meshes with the ring gear after the engine is stopped, wherein the torque transmission member is configured to maintain a state where the pinion and the ring gear mesh with each other during an engine stop mode by movement resistance of the torque transmission member, even when the electromagnetic actuator is non-energized.