Patent 7721691 was granted and assigned to Toyota on May, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A worm gear is connected to an actuator and a worm wheel is connected to a control shaft. The worm wheel has teeth formed only on a predetermined angular range thereof. The above-referenced angular range includes a required rotational range of the control shaft. The worm wheel is formed to be brought out of mesh with the worm gear outside the predetermined angular range.