Patent ID: 7828094

Claim:
A driving system, comprising: a drive assembly constructed to include an internal combustion engine and a motor and to output power to a driveshaft with intermittent operation of the internal combustion engine; an atmospheric pressure detector designed to detect an atmospheric pressure; an intake air pressure detector designed to detect an intake air pressure or a pressure of intake air of the internal combustion engine; an abnormality potential estimation module configured to estimate a potential for abnormality of a detection value difference, which is a difference between an observed atmospheric pressure as the atmospheric pressure detected by the atmospheric pressure detector and an observed intake air pressure as the intake air pressure detected by the intake air pressure detector, when an unusual state, in which the detection value difference is greater than a preset reference value, continues for at least a preset first time period in an isobaric condition where the intake air pressure is substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure; an abnormality determination module configured to determine an abnormality of the detection value difference when the unusual state continues for at least a preset second time period, which is longer than the preset first time period; and an unusual state duration identification module configured to determine whether the unusual state continues for at least the preset second time period prior to a restart of the internal combustion engine after an activation stop instruction of the driving system, upon confirmation of a potential abnormality condition where the potential for abnormality of the detection value difference is estimated by the abnormality potential estimation module but the abnormality of the detection value difference is not determined by the abnormality determination module.