Patent ID: 7412858

Claim:
An electric steering locking apparatus comprising: an electric drive source having a wall; a cam plate that is arranged oppositely to the wall of the electric drive source and rotates in an unlocking direction and a locking direction by driving operation of the electric drive source; a locking member that moves between a locking position where a steering shaft is prevented from rotating and an unlocking position where the steering shaft is permitted to rotate by rotation of the cam plate; and a steering lock preventing unit that holds the locking member in the unlocking position, wherein the steering lock preventing unit comprises a moving member that is movable on a moving locus on one of a side surface of the cam plate and a side surface of the wall of the electric drive source and that is moved by rotation of the cam plate, and a resisting unit that is provided on the other member and that increases a resistance to the movement of the moving member when the moving member moves from an unlocking position to a locking position on the moving locus of the moving member; wherein the resisting unit has the resistance so that the moving member can cross over the resisting unit by a driving force of the electric drive source and cannot cross over the resisting unit by vibration during running of a vehicle.