Patent ID: 7278334

Claim:
An electric power steering apparatus, comprising: an electric motor for producing a steering assist force; a steering shaft; a speed reduction mechanism for decelerating the rotation of an output shaft in the electric motor, the speed reduction mechanism including an input pulley driven by the electric motor, an output pulley connected to the steering shaft, and a belt for connecting the input pulley and the output pulley; a first housing accommodating the input pulley, the first housing being cylindrical and having a first section; a second housing accommodating the output pulley and the steering shaft, the second housing being cylindrical and having a second section opposed to the first section; and a spacer for changing a distance between centers of the input pulley and the output pulley and for adjusting a spacing between the first and second sections, the spacer having a plate shape and being interposed between the first and second sections, wherein: the belt includes a helical toothed belt; and the input pulley and the output pulley respectively include helical toothed pulleys meshed with the helical toothed belt.