Patent ID: 8014926
Filing Date: 2011-09-06
Classification: B60K,B60W

Abstract:
1. A vehicle control device comprising: a power control mechanism that controls a state of power transmitted from an engine and a state of power generated by the engine; a power transfer mechanism that shifts distribution of power from the engine and that shifts whether to allow differential motion of each drive wheel; a first control unit that has a plurality of control modes and that selects any one of the control modes from among the plurality of control modes to control the power control mechanism in accordance with the selected control mode; a second control unit that has a plurality of operation modes and that selects any one of the operation modes from among the plurality of operation modes in accordance with input shift operation to control the power transfer mechanism in accordance with the selected operation mode; an operation mode shifting device that is used to input the shift operation for shifting the operation modes; and a third control unit that allows a vehicle driving mode, formed of any one of the operation modes and any one of the control modes, to input, that outputs a shift instruction for performing the shift operation for shifting any one of the operation modes into another one of the operation modes corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode, and that determines whether the shift operation for shifting the power transfer mechanism into the operation mode corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode has been input through the operation mode shifting device, wherein the first control unit selects any one of the control modes corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode, and, when the third control unit determines that the shift operation for shifting into the operation mode corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode has been input through the operation mode shifting device and when the second control unit has completed shifting the power transfer mechanism into the operation mode corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode, the first control unit shifts any one of the control modes into the control mode corresponding to the input vehicle driving mode, and wherein until the third control unit determines that the shift operation for shifting the operation modes has been input, the first control unit maintains the control mode at a time of input of the vehicle driving mode.