Starter

A starter comprising:

• a motor that generates torque;
• an output shaft disposed coaxially with a rotating shaft of the motor;
• a male spline formed on an outer surface of the output shaft;
• a clutch that transmits the torque generated by the motor to the output shaft;
• a pinion tube that has a cylindrical hole where a female spline is formed in an inner surface thereof and an anti-motor side in an axial direction of the output shaft is inserted into an inner circumference of the cylindrical hole so that the male spline and the female spline are meshed;
• a pinion disposed on an end of the pinion tube in the anti-motor side in the axial direction and which rotates together with the pinion tube;
• and
• an electromagnetic solenoid that drives a shift lever by an attraction force of an electromagnet and pushes out the pinion tube together with the pinion in the anti-motor side direction relative to the output shaft via the shift lever;
• wherein,
• the pinion is engaged with a ring gear of an engine by pushing out the pinion tube in the anti-motor side direction relative to the output shaft when triggered by the electromagnetic solenoid;
• the pinion tube is supported by the output shaft in the inner circumference of the cylindrical hole;
• an inner circumference side pressure-receiving range that receives a contacting pressure from the output shaft is formed on the inner surface of the pinion tube;
• the pinion tube is supported by a bearing located at a constant axial position relative to the output shaft in the axial direction from a perimeter side thereof;
• a perimeter side pressure-receiving range that receives the contacting pressure from the bearing is formed on an outer surface of the pinion tube;
• the bearing is located at a constant axial position relative to the output shaft in the axial direction so as to overlap with the output shaft in the axial direction;
• an end of the output shaft in the anti-motor side in the axial direction is in aside of a motor of the perimeter side pressure-receiving range in the axial direction beyond an end in the anti-motor side in the axial direction, and is in the anti-motor side of the perimeter side pressure-receiving range in the axial direction beyond an end in the motor side in the axial direction;
• there exists an overlapping range that overlaps in the axial direction between the inner circumference side pressure-receiving range and the perimeter side pressure-receiving range;
• and
• a length of the overlapping range in the axial direction substantially matches the length of the overlap between the output shaft and the bearing in the axial direction even if the pinion tube moves in the axial direction.