Hitachi, Ltd.

Satoru Kaneka

Hideki Miyazaki

Shiho Izumi

Tatsuyuki Yamamoto

Kenta Katsuhama

Kazuya Motegi

An electric four-wheel drive vehicle includes: an internal combustion engine; a generator for outputting DC electrical power; an inverter for converting DC electrical power, output from the generator, into AC electrical power; and an AC electric motor, which is driven by the inverter, for driving rear wheels. An electric motor controller controls the inverter, the AC electric motor, and the generator, according to torque instructions from a vehicle. Furthermore, in a case that the output of the AC electric motor becomes negative, and excess electrical energy is generated, the electric motor controller controls the current applied to said AC electric motor such that the loss in said AC electric motor exceeds the negative output of said AC electric motor. This enables the AC electric motor to absorb excess electrical energy in the form of thermal loss.

Growing community of inventors

Naka, Japan

Satoru Kaneka