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US 4,411,171 AGranted
Vehicle drive
AssigneeVolkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
InventorErnest Fiala
Life of this patent
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AssigneeVolkswagenwerk Aktiengesellschaft
InventorErnest Fiala
Estimating the term…
A vehicle having an internal combustion engine and flywheel includes a first clutch arranged between the flywheel and the vehicle drive shaft and a second clutch arranged between the flywheel and engine for selectively disconnecting the engine from the vehicle drive. A motor-generator is connected to the flywheel by a planetary gear train which includes a planetary gear carrier rigidly connected with the output drive shaft. during a first driving stage, the clutch between the flywheel and vehicle drive shaft is disconnected, such that the flywheel is coupled to the drive shaft through the planetary gear train. In a second driving stage, the clutch between the flywheel and vehicle output shaft is engaged to effect a direct connection between the flywheel and output shaft. In both driving stages, the vehicle can be driven by the engine, or by the motor-generator, or by the engine and motor-generator combined.
In a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, a flywheel associated with said engine, a drive shaft, a first clutch means arranged between said flywheel and said drive shaft for coupling said flywheel to said drive shaft, and a second clutch means arranged between said flywheel and said engine for coupling said engine to said flywheel, the improvement comprising a motor-generator means, a planetary gear train connected between said flywheel and said motor-generator means, wherein said gear train includes a planetary gear carrier for mounting a planetary gear, and means for rigidly connecting said planetary gear carrier with said drive shaft.
A method of operating a vehicle having an internal combustion engine, a flywheel associated with said engine, a drive shaft, a first clutch means arranged between said flywheel and said drive shaft for coupling said flywheel to said drive shaft, and a second clutch means arranged between said flywheel and said engine for coupling said engine to said flywheel, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.