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:
Jun. 23, 2009
Filed:
Apr. 07, 2006
Akinori Homan, Toyota, JP;
Satoshi Munakata, Nishikamo-gun, JP;
Yoshiyuki Aoyama, Nishio, JP;
Kazutaka Noguchi, Ichinomiya, JP;
Akinori Homan, Toyota, JP;
Satoshi Munakata, Nishikamo-gun, JP;
Yoshiyuki Aoyama, Nishio, JP;
Kazutaka Noguchi, Ichinomiya, JP;
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota-shi, JP;
Abstract
A vehicle includes a wheel speed sensor sensing a vehicle speed V, a 2WD/4WD switch operative to input an instruction to switch between a two-wheel driving state and a four-wheel driving state, a transfer and an actuator switching the two-wheel driving state and the four-wheel driving state, and an ECU driving the actuator. The ECU instructs the actuator to switch from the four-wheel driving state to the two-wheel driving state regardless of the switching instruction from the 2WD/4WD switch if the vehicle tows a trailer and runs in the four-wheel driving state when the vehicle speed exceeds a predetermined value. Consequently, it is possible to provide a four-wheel drive vehicle capable of running while towing an object and also avoiding an increase in the size of the peripheral parts of driving wheels.