Patent ID: 7845706

Claim:
An electric actuator for actuating a pivotal door of a motor vehicle, comprising: a case mounted to one of the motor vehicle and the pivotal door, the case having therein a gear receiving space; an electric motor mounted to the case; a speed reduction mechanism installed in the gear receiving space of the case and driven by the electric motor; an output gear rotatably received in the gear receiving space of the case and driven by the speed reduction mechanism; an output arm placed above the case and connected to the output gear through an output shaft that passes through an upper wall portion of the case; and a connecting rod having one end pivotally connected to the output arm and an other end pivotally connected to the other of the motor vehicle and the pivotal door, wherein the connecting rod is arranged beside the case in a manner to avoid overlapping thereof with the case in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction in which the connecting rod is moved by the output arm, wherein the speed reduction mechanism includes: a pinion driven by the electric motor; and an intermediate gear having a larger diameter gear part meshed with the pinion and a smaller diameter gear part meshed with the output gear, wherein the pinion, the intermediate gear, and the output gear are arranged in tandem on an imaginary straight line that is generally in parallel with the direction in which the connecting rod is moved by the output arm, wherein the electric motor is arranged on an extension part of the imaginary straight line, and wherein the electric motor has an output shaft whose axis is inclined relative to the imaginary straight line, so that the electric motor has a reduced dimension in a direction that is perpendicular to the imaginary straight line.