Patent ID: 7486490

Claim:
An actuator ( 1 ) for the actuation of a clutch and/or a gear mechanism in a motor vehicle, comprising an electric motor ( 2 ) and an incremental encoder therefor, where the incremental encoder comprises a position measurement signal output ( 5 ) at which a position measurement signal can be output which has a number of different signal states, each of which is assigned to a relative position between a primary part and a secondary part of the electric motor ( 2 ), where, for the commutation of the electric motor ( 2 ), the position measurement signal output is connected to a position measurement signal input ( 7 ) of a control device ( 8 ) for a motor winding ( 3 ) of the electric motor ( 2 ), where the control device ( 8 ) comprises a device for checking plausibility of the position measurement signal and is operatively arranged such that, on the occurrence of an implausible signal state, the power supply to the electric motor ( 2 ) is disconnected and/or the power of the electric motor ( 2 ) is limited, wherein the incremental encoder comprises a temperature-monitoring device which is formed to register the operating temperature of the electric motor ( 2 ) and the incremental encoder is operatively arranged such that, on the occurrence of an operating temperature lying outside of the range of theoretical values, an implausible signal state is applied at the position measurement signal output ( 5 ).