Patent ID: 7717006

Claim:
A shift range switching apparatus for a motor used for switching a shift range of an automatic transmission, the shift range switching apparatus comprising: a switching unit that is operated by the motor for switching the shift range; a control unit that outputs a driving current to the motor for switching the shift range to one of a P range, an R range, an N range, and a D range; and a selector sensor that detects the shift range, which is changed by a switch operation of an occupant, and outputs a signal which corresponds to the shift range, wherein the control unit uses the signal from the selector sensor to control the driving current to be one of a plurality of preset values in accordance with a switching pattern which is determined based on a difference between the shift range before the switching operation and the shift range after the switching operation; a temperature detection unit that detects temperature in the vicinity of the motor; and a voltage detection unit that detects voltage of a battery which supplies electric power to the motor, wherein the control unit corrects the selected one of the plurality of preset values on the basis of at least one of (a) the temperature in the vicinity of the motor, and (b) the voltage of the battery.