Patent ID: 7520349

Claim:
A control apparatus of a vehicle equipped with an engine generating drive power, an electric motor generating drive power, a charging mechanism supplying electric power to the electric motor, and a catalyst purifying gases emitted from the engine, comprising: a switch to be operated by a driver for running the vehicle only by the electric motor supplied with electric power from the charging mechanism; first control means for running the vehicle only by the electric motor supplied with electric power from the charging mechanism under conditions that the switch is turned on; determination means for determining whether the catalyst requires to be warmed up or not; second control means for running the vehicle by the electric motor supplied with electric power from the charging mechanism and operating the engine to warm up the catalyst with exhaust gases emitted from the engine, when it is determined that the catalyst requires to be warmed up; and prohibition means for prohibiting control by the first control means when a remaining amount of electric power of the charging mechanism is smaller than an amount which is determined by adding: (i) a lower limit value with which the charging mechanism can supply electric power to the electric motor to (ii) a decrease amount by which the electric power of the charging mechanism will be decreased at an end of the warming up by the second control means.