Patent ID: 8961367
Filing Date: 2015-02-24
Classification: B60K,B60W,Y02T,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A vehicle drive apparatus, comprising: a motor that generates torque used as driving force for a vehicle; a driving force transmission apparatus that transmits torque output from the motor to a wheel; and a control unit that controls the motor and the driving force transmission apparatus, wherein: the driving force transmission apparatus includes a linkage mechanism that carries out switchover between a connected state where a first rotary member on the motor side and a second rotary member on the wheel side are connected to each other so as to be non-rotatable relative to each other to transmit the torque output from the motor to the wheel, and a disconnected state where the first rotary member and the second rotary member are disconnected from each other; and when switching the driving force transmission apparatus from the connected state to the disconnected state, the control unit reduces the torque that is generated by the motor by reducing a current that is supplied to the motor during a drive state where the torque output from the motor is transmitted from the first rotary member to the second rotary member, and switches the driving force transmission apparatus from the connected state to the disconnected state to switch from a four-wheel-drive mode of the vehicle to a two-wheel-drive mode of the vehicle by controlling the linkage mechanism while the torque that is generated by the motor has been reduced.