Patent ID: 7249642

Claim:
A control apparatus for controlling a vehicle drive apparatus, the vehicle drive apparatus including: (i) a power transmitting member; (ii) a differential mechanism ( 11 ) which has a first element connected to an engine, a second element connected to a first electric motor, and a third element connected to a second electric motor and the power transmitting member, and which distributes a drive power of the engine to the first electric motor and the power transmitting member; (iii) an automatic transmission constituting ( 20 ) at least a part of a power transmitting path between the power transmitting member and a drive wheel; and (iv) a differential-state switching device (C 0 , B 0 ) operable to selectively place the differential mechanism in a differential state thereof for performing an electric differential and in a non-differential state thereof for locking the electric differential, the control apparatus including a switching device controller ( 60 ) operable to cause the differential-state switching device to place the differential mechanism in the differential state, at least during generation of an electric energy by at least one of the first and second electric motors while the power transmitting path is disconnected.