Patent ID: 8601888

Claim:
A starter comprising: a motor operative to generate a rotational force; an output shaft operative to rotate upon receipt of the rotational force of the motor; a pinion gear slidably disposed on the output shaft to be axially movable; an electromagnetic switch having a switch coil forming a first electromagnet to generate a first attraction force when turned on for closing a main contact disposed in a motor energizing circuit of the motor; a solenoid having an excitation coil forming a second electromagnet to generate a second attraction force when turned on for moving the pinion gear toward a ring gear of an engine; and a unitary structure supporting the electromagnetic switch and the solenoid in series on a coaxial relationship; wherein: the electromagnetic switch and the solenoid include a switch case, which is a yoke forming a part of a first magnetic circuit of the switch coil at an outer circumferential periphery thereof, and a solenoid case, forming a part of a second magnetic circuit of the excitation coil at an outer circumferential periphery thereof, the switch case and the solenoid case being unitarily formed to be contiguous with each other in a axial direction.