Patent ID: 7413042

Claim:
A hybrid vehicle with a drive controller, the hybrid vehicle having an engine for generating power through fuel combustion, a generator driven by the engine for generating power, a battery charged by the generator, a motor driven by at least the electric power from the generator or the battery to generate power, and a drive wheel that is rotated by the power of at least one of the engine and the motor, the drive controller comprising: a control section configured to regulate the speed of the generator driven by the engine, and configured to charge the battery with the power generated by the generator; and a battery current detector producing a signal indicative of an amount of current supplied from the generator to the battery, the control section receiving the signal, the control section configured to cause a throttle opening of the engine to decrease while controlling the generator to keep a rotational speed of the generator above about 80% of an upper rotational speed limit, so as to inhibit the current supplied from the generator to the battery from exceeding a permissible charging current value set for the battery during the charging of the battery.