Patent ID: 6959237

Claim:
An electric drive system for vehicles, comprising: a first drive motor and a second drive motor each subdivided into at least a first partial motor and a second partial motor; a generator driven by a combustion engine, the generator subdivided into at least a first partial generator and a second partial generator; a first power electronics unit associated with the first drive motor and subdivided into at least a first partial power electronics unit associated with the first partial motor of the first drive motor and a second partial power electronics unit associated with the second partial motor of the first drive motor; a second power electronics unit associated with the second drive motor and subdivided into at least a first partial power electronics unit associated with the first partial motor of the second drive motor and a second partial power electronics unit associated with the second partial motor of the second drive motor; a third power electronics unit associated with the generator and subdivided into at least a first partial power electronics unit associated with the first partial generator and a second partial power electronics unit associated with the second partial generator; a first drive circuit comprising the first partial power electronics units of the first, second, and third power electronics units; a second drive circuit comprising the second partial power electronics units of the first, second, and third power electronics units; a first master system control unit associated with at least the first drive circuit; a second master system control unit associated with at least the second drive circuit, the first and second master system control units being connected to one another via an information exchange channel; a first operating element connected to the first master system control unit and a second operating element connected to the second master system control unit; and a detector adapted to detect a failure in at least one of the first drive circuit and the second drive circuit.