Patent ID: 8219271

Claim:
A method for controlling a drivetrain of a hybrid vehicle, the drivetrain having at least one internal combustion engine, a torque converter and an operation link to at least one drivable axle, an electrical energy store, and an electrical machine usable as a generator for charging the electrical energy store during a recuperation operation, the method comprising the acts of: providing the electrical machine on a pump wheel of the torque converter and the operation link on a turbine wheel of the torque converter; determining whether operating conditions of the hybrid vehicle are appropriate for the recuperation operation; determining whether additional electric energy may be stored in the electrical energy store; introducing a torque from the at least one drive axle, via the operational link and through the turbine wheel, into a liquid of the torque converter inif the recuperation operation is determined to be appropriate; and opening a converter bypass clutch and keeping the converter bypass clutch open for dissipating the introduced torque in the liquid of the torque converter as heat if a determination is made that additional electrical energy should not be stored while the operating conditions of the hybrid vehicle otherwise are appropriate for the recuperation operation.