Patent ID: 8038571

Claim:
A control device for a vehicular drive apparatus, the vehicular drive apparatus having a continuously variable shifting portion including a differential mechanism for distributing an output of an engine to a first electric motor and a transmitting member and a second electric motor configured to transmit power to a drive wheel and to receive power from the drive wheel to be operative as an electrically controlled continuously variable transmission, and a shifting portion disposed in a power transmitting path between the engine and the drive wheel, and the control device comprising: a differential state switch device disposed in the differential mechanism and operative to selectively switch the continuously variable shifting portion in a continuously variable shifting state enabling the continuously variable shifting portion to perform an electrically controlled continuously variable shifting operation and a non-continuously variable shifting state disenabling the electrically controlled continuously variable shifting operation of the continuously variable shifting portion; shifting control means operative to set a total speed ratio, defined with the continuously variable shifting portion and the shifting portion, to a lower vehicle speed side gear ratio than that defined for a given running condition of a vehicle when a need arises for a greater vehicle drive force or drive force source brake than those for the given running condition of the vehicle; and switching control means operative to switch the continuously variable shifting portion from the continuously variable shifting state to the non-continuously variable shifting state if a required vehicle drive force or drive force source brake is unavailable when the shifting control means sets the total speed ratio to the lower vehicle speed side gear ratio than that defined for the given running condition of the vehicle.