Mazda Motor Corporation

Hiraku Nishikawa

Tetsushi Marutani

Hideo Toyota

Tomoo Sawazaki

Yukiya Tanaka

A hybrid vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention is a hybrid vehicle including: an engine arranged at a vehicle body front portion; a propeller shaft configured to transmit an output of the engine to wheels arranged at a vehicle body rear portion; and a drive motor provided so as to drive the propeller shaft and supported with a vehicle body, and the propeller shaft transmits an output of the drive motor to wheels arranged at at least one of the vehicle body front portion and the vehicle body rear portion. The propeller shaft is supported with the vehicle body through the drive motor by a middle portion of the propeller shaft in the vehicle body front-rear direction being supported with the drive motor.

Hybrid vehicle and vehicle

A control device controls a four-wheel drive vehicle including an engine, a torque transmission mechanism which transmits an output torque of the engine to main drive wheels and to auxiliary drive wheels, and a torque distribution adjustment mechanism provided in the torque transmission mechanism and configured to adjust torque distribution with respect to the auxiliary drive wheels. The control device is provided with an abnormal noise reduction unit which controls the torque distribution adjustment mechanism to adjust torque distribution with respect to the auxiliary drive wheels in such a manner as to suppress abnormal noise generation when the engine is operated in an abnormal noise generation range in which the torque transmission mechanism is in an abnormal noise generation state. The abnormal noise reduction unit adjusts the torque distribution with respect to the auxiliary drive wheels in accordance with a magnitude of torque fluctuation of the engine.

Control device for four-wheel drive vehicle

A four-wheel drive vehicle is provided, including an engine with an operating mode that is switchable between all-cylinder and reduced-cylinder operating modes, a torque transmission assembly for transmitting an output torque of an engine to main drive wheels and auxiliary drive wheels, a torque ratio adjusting device included in the torque transmission assembly and configured to adjust a ratio of the output torque distributed to the auxiliary drive wheels, and controller that executes a noise suppression module for increasing the torque ratio provided to the auxiliary drive wheels by the torque ratio adjusting device so as to suppress noise generation at the torque transmission assembly, in the all-cylinder and reduced-cylinder operating modes. The noise suppression device changes the torque ratio provided to the auxiliary drive wheels according to engine operating ranges where the torque transmission assembly is in a noise generating state in the all-cylinder and reduced-cylinder operating modes, respectively.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Hiraku Nishikawa