Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Nobuyoshi Takagi

Yasutomo Kawabata

Shigeru Matsuhashi

Eiji Yamada

Akihiko Kanamori

A power outputting apparatus is provided with an engine, a clutch motor connected to a crank shaft thereof, and an assist motor connected to the crank shaft or a drive shaft by a switch apparatus. At a time of moving a vehicle backward, an operation characteristic of the engine is set to a characteristic on a low torque side in place of a characteristic at a time of moving forward (a characteristic giving priority to an efficiency). In addition, a torque Tm larger than an engine torque Te and in a reverse direction is output from the assist motor. As a result, a high torque is output to the drive shaft while an electric power is regenerated by the clutch motor, whereby the vehicle can be backward moved.

Power transmission apparatus and four wheel drive equipped with the same

In a power output apparatus of the present invention, a control unit sets a WOT (wide open throttle) line L , where the maximum torque of an engine attains, as a boundary between an over drive area and an under drive area in the case where a rotor shaft of an assist motor is set in a state of over drive linkage. The control unit determines a target working point of an outer rotor shaft of a clutch motor, which functions as a drive shaft, based on an externally required output, and selects the WOT line L as a performance line of the engine in the case where the target working point of the outer rotor shaft is present in the under drive area. The control unit then sets a switching instruction flag, in order to change the state of linkage of the rotor shaft of the assist motor from the state of over drive linkage to a state of under drive linkage. This arrangement of the invention reduces the maximum load capacity of the assist motor and decreases the maximum electric current of an inverter circuit for driving the assist motor.

Power output apparatus and method of controlling the same

An equipment and method for detecting electrical leakage in an electric vehicle. For detecting occurrence of leakage in an alternating-current motor for driving the vehicle, a source-side transistor of an inverter is turned ON and a sink-side transistor is turned OFF. When leakage occurs in the motor, there arises an electrical path to an electric leakage detector through the grounded portion from the transistor on the source-side, the motor winding, and the leakage portion. Due to a current flowing in the electrical path, the electrical leakage detector determines that the leakage is present, and the result is notified to the ECU (electronic control unit). On the contrary, the source-side and sink-side may preferably be turned OFF and ON respectively. It is unnecessary to turn ON all the source-side or all the sink-side transistors. The leakage in the motor can be detected without misinterpreting noise on the battery-side as viewed from the inverter.

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Toyota, Japan

Nobuyoshi Takagi