The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 16, 2002
Filed:
Dec. 13, 2000
Kazuhiko Kitano, Wako, JP;
Toru Nakasako, Wako, JP;
Akihiro Yamamoto, Wako, JP;
Naoki Uchiyama, Wako, JP;
Mitsuaki Hirakawa, Wako, JP;
Satoshi Taguchi, Wako, JP;
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A four-wheel drive vehicle is provided in which the main driven wheels are driven by an engine via a torque converter and the auxiliary driven wheels are driven by an electric motor. The response of the vehicle to the operation of the accelerator is improved by suppressing in advance the slip of the main driven wheels due to an excess output of the engine. The main driven wheels are driven by an engine via a torque converter and auxiliary driven wheels are driven by an electric motor. The vehicle is started by the output of the electric motor in the region in which the speed ratio of the torque converter is small (that is to say, the region in which the efficiency is low) such as when the vehicle is starting, and when it enters the region in which the speed ratio of the torque converter exceeds 0.8 and the efficiency exceeds 85% the drive of the electric motor is stopped or suspended and the vehicle is made to travel by means of the output of the engine.