Opinion ID: 210274
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Accused Devices

Text: At issue in this appeal are hybrid electric vehicles sold by Toyota. Toyota's first commercial hybrid electric vehicle, the Prius I, was sold in Japan beginning in 1997 and in the United States beginning in 2000. In 2003, Toyota began marketing a newer-model, the Prius II. The drive train (or transaxle unit) of the Prius II  which is also present in another form in the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX 400h [3]  is similar to the drive trains described in all three patents in suit in the sense that it, too, combines torque from an ICE with torque from an electric motor (MG2 or the traction motor). However, instead of combining these torques using the '970 patent's lockable bevel gears or the '672 and '088 patents' clutch, Toyota's drive train is designed around a planetary gear unit (or power-splitting device), having a central sun gear that meshes with several planetary gears (supported by a planetary carrier), which in turn mesh with a peripheral ring gear: J.A. 4629. As may be appreciated from the following depiction of Toyota's drive train, the output shaft from the ICE is connected to the planetary carrier (and thus to the planetary gears), whereas the output shaft from MG2 is connected to the ring gear. The Toyota design also employs an additional motor/generator (MG1) having an output shaft connected to the sun gear. J.A. 12788. As with the microprocessor in the '970 drive train, a microprocessor associated with Toyota's drive train is able to control the amount of torque provided by both the ICE and MG2. J.A. 1577. Unlike the transfer of torque through the CTTU described in the '970 patent, however, the transfer of torque through Toyota's planetary gear unit cannot be varied; 72% of the torque provided by the ICE to the planetary carrier is always transferred to the ring gear. [4] J.A. 1497. That fraction of the ICE torque is then combined with 100% of the torque provided by MG2. J.A. 1505. As such, Toyota's microprocessor is only able to vary the amount of torque output to the drive shaft by varying the ICE and/or MG2 torque inputs; holding those inputs constant results in a constant torque output. J.A. 1577.