Starter for vehicles equipped with automatic engine stop/re-starting device

A starter for vehicles comprising:

• a motor that generates torque by energization;
• an output shaft that receives the torque of the motor and rotates;
• a pinion movable body movably provided in an axial direction on a perimeter of the output shaft that has a pinion gear for transmitting the torque of the motor to a ring gear of an engine;
• a solenoid for pushing out a pinion that pushes out the pinion movable body in the axial direction by using an attractive force of an electromagnet formed by energizing a solenoid coil;
• and
• a switch for energizing the motor that turns on and off an energization current of the motor by using an attractive force of an electromagnet formed by energizing a switch coil;
• wherein, the starter controls operations of the solenoid and the switch separately and independently,
• the solenoid and the switch are arranged in the axial direction in series;
• a fixed iron core common to both the solenoid and the switch is arranged between the solenoid coil and the switch coil;
• a solenoid yoke that covers a perimeter of the solenoid and a switch yoke that covers a perimeter of the switch are formed integrally as a whole yoke;
• the whole yoke has a bottomed cylindrical shape with a circular bottom surface at its end portion on an end side in an axial direction and an opening in an opposite end side;
• the circular bottom surface where a plunger penetrates is formed integrally with the whole yoke;
• the circular bottom surface is formed so that a thickness in the axial direction is thicker than a thickness of the whole yoke in a radial direction;
• an outer diameter of the whole yoke from one end to an opposite end in the axial direction has the same size;
• the end in the axial direction that forms the switch yoke has a thinner edge than that of the solenoid yoke;
• a resin cover is fixed by crimping to an opening of the whole yoke where the thinner edge is provided;
• a magnetic path forming member is arranged that forms a part of a magnetic path on a perimeter side in a radial direction of the switch coil in an inner circumference of the opening of the whole yoke where the thinner edge is provided;
• and
• an end surface of one end side in an axial direction of the magnetic path forming member contacts with a perimeter surface of the fixed iron core, and is positioned in the axial direction.