Patent ID: 7296489

Claim:
A starting apparatus for starting an engine comprising: a drive motor; and a reduction gear including: a sun gear disposed to rotate by receiving an input from the drive motor; an internal gear arranged concentrically with the sun gear and surrounding an outer periphery of the sun gear; a planetary gear meshing with the sun gear and the internal gear; a carrier rotatably supporting the planetary gear and outputting the input of the sun gear by reducing a speed thereof; a rotation restricting member to restrict free rotation of the internal gear; and a shock absorbing member interposed between the internal gear and the rotation restricting member to alleviate a shock applied to the internal gear; wherein the internal gear includes a locking projection projecting from a side face of the internal gear in an axial direction of the reduction gear, and the rotation restricting member is formed with a guide groove for receiving the locking projection therein and guiding the locking projection in a circumferential direction, and wherein the locking projection has a first circumferential surface and a second circumferential surface facing oppositely in the circumferential direction, and the shock absorbing member is held in the guide groove so as to elastically contact the first and second circumferential surfaces of the locking projection in the circumferential direction so that the locking projection is fitted in the shock absorbing member and held in a condition of being pressed by the shock absorbing member on both the first and second circumferential surfaces.