Patent ID: 7180201

Claim:
A starting apparatus for an engine having a plurality of cylinders and an output shaft, the apparatus comprising: a power supply; an inverter having a switching element; a motor generator that is coupled to the output shaft and connected to the power supply through the inverter; an energization controlling section that energizes the motor generator by controlling the inverter when the engine is started; an ignition section, wherein, the ignition section causes ignition to occur in a specific cylinder that contains air-fuel mixture and is in an expansion stroke in an engine stopping state, thereby rotating the output shaft; a rotational speed detecting section that directly or indirectly detects a rotational speed of the motor generator; and an energization prohibiting section, wherein, after the ignition caused by the ignition section, the energization prohibiting section prohibits the energization controlling section from energizing the motor generator until the rotational speed detected by the rotational speed detecting section reaches or exceeds a predetermined value.