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:
Jan. 08, 2008
Filed:
Nov. 24, 2005
Masaki Suzuki, Aichi-ken, JP;
Masaki Suzuki, Aichi-ken, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota-shi, JP;
Abstract
When a vehicle power demand is less than a threshold value, which is set to or around a lower limit of a relatively efficient drive range of an engine and when an engine drive demand is set ON because of requirement for heating by an air conditioning system, the drive control of the invention sets the threshold value to an engine power demand and sets a higher level than a standard level to a maximum SOC (state of charge) of a battery. This drive control starts load operation of the engine with charge of the battery. The load operation of the engine desirably improves the fuel consumption of the vehicle, compared with independent operation of the engine.