Electric power steering

An electric power steering apparatus, comprising:

• a steering force assisting device that applies assist force to a steering system, the steering force assisting device having an electric motor that generates the assist force;
• a number of independent motor driving circuits that drive the electric motor, the number of the independent motor driving circuits being two or more;
• and
• a control unit operably coupled with and configured to control the independent motor driving circuits, wherein
• the electric motor includes a rotor having a magnet and a stator having teeth,
• the electric motor includes a number of lines of coils, the number of lines of the coils being equal to the number of the independent motor driving circuits, each of the lines of the coils being respectively connected to a different one of the independent motor driving circuits, each of the coils being wound around each of the teeth of the stator,
• each of the lines of the coils having a same polarity and each of the lines of the coils providing different motor characteristics on the stator when energized, and
• a motor characteristic provided by a first one of the lines of the coils is a high speed/low torque characteristic and a motor characteristic provided by a second one of the lines of the coils is a low speed/high torque characteristic.