Vehicle drive system
AssigneeDenso Corporation
InventorTsuneyuki EGAMI
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In a drive system of a vehicle, the drive power of an engine is divided by a planetary gear set to drive two power transfer shafts. One of the two shafts includes a continuously variable transmission unit and a clutch. The output sides of the two shafts are coupled to a common power output shaft, which is coupled to an AC motor. In a power transfer condition of the clutch, the vehicle is driven with only the output drive power of the engine or both drive powers of the engine and the AC motor. In a power interruption condition of the clutch, the vehicle is driven with only the drive power of the AC motor. The kinetic energy generated at deceleration of the vehicle is converted into electric energy by the AC motor thereby to perform regenerative braking.
Claims8
A vehicle drive system comprising:
- an internal combustion engine;
- a drive power regulator mechanism provided in a drive power transfer path between the engine and a drive axle of a vehicle;
- an electric motor/generator provided to transfer and receive drive power to and from the drive axle, respectively;
- an electric power source provided to supply and receive electric power to and from the motor/generator, respectively;
- and
- a control unit provided to control the engine, the regulator mechanism and the motor/generator based on an operating condition of the vehicle, wherein:
- the regulator mechanism includes a drive power divider unit, a transmission unit and a switching unit, the divider unit dividing and transferring an output drive power of the engine to a first transfer path of drive power and a second transfer path of drive power, the transmission unit varying a transmission ratio between an input side and an output side of the first transfer path, and the switching unit transferring and interrupting drive power in the first transfer path or the second transfer path;
- the output sides of the first transfer path and the second transfer path are coupled to a common output shaft;
- a rotation speed of the input side of the first transfer path and a rotation speed of the output shaft are restricted by the transmission ratio when the switching unit is in a power transfer condition, and released from restriction by the transmission ratio when the switching unit is in a power interruption condition;
- and
- the control unit is configured to control a power transfer/interruption condition of the switching unit based on a required drive power of the engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.