Drive controller for hybrid vehicle

Abstract

A hybrid vehicle includes an engine for generating power through fuel consumption, a generator driven at least by the engine for generating power, a battery charged by the generator, a motor driven by at least the electric power from the generator or the battery to generate power, and a drive wheel that is rotated by the power of at least one of the engine and the motor. The hybrid vehicle also includes a drive controller with a control section configured to regulate the speed of the generator driven by the engine, and configured to charge the battery with the power generated by the generator. The drive controller also comprises a battery current detector that produces a signal indicative of an amount of current supplied from the generator to the battery, the control section receiving said signal. The control section is configured to cause a throttle opening of the engine to decrease while controlling the generator to keep a rotational speed of the generator above about 80% of an upper rotational speed limit. In this manner, the drive controller inhibits the current supplied from the generator to the battery from exceeding a permissible charging current value set for the battery during the charging of the battery.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.