US 6,176,807 B1Granted

Drive control system for hybrid vehicles

AssigneeToyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsHidehiro Oba, Kazumi Hoshiya, Hiroatsu Endo, Hisanori Nomoto

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Abstract

A drive control system for a hybrid vehicle in which an internal combustion engine is selectively coupled through a clutch mechanism to a power transmission line coupled to an electric motor. The drive control system comprises: motoring device for coupling the engine to the power transmission line to rotate the engine, with the feed of a fuel to the engine being stopped when the hybrid vehicle is driven to run by the output of the electric motor, by controlling the clutch mechanism in an applied state. Thus, it is possible to start the engine even at a low speed of the hybrid vehicle and to prevent the deterioration in the riding comfort, as might otherwise be caused by the fluctuation in a driving torque.

Claims4

Dependent claims

motoring means for controlling said clutch mechanism in an applied state to couple said internal combustion engine to said power transmission line at one of time when a vehicle speed reached a predetermined reference level and when a speed of said electric motor reached a predetermined reference level after said hybrid vehicle had been started by the output of said electric motor;
speed detecting means for detecting that a speed of said internal combustion engine has reached a predetermined reference level;
ignition means for starting the combustion of a fuel in said internal combustion engine when it is detected by said speed detecting means that the speed of said internal combustion engine has reached said reference level;
and
release means for releasing the coupling between said internal combustion engine and said power transmission line by said clutch mechanism after the combustion of the fuel in said internal combustion engine continuously started.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.