R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t
Hybrid Technology in the
Lexus RX400h
by Shinichi Abe, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Gerald Killmann, Toyota Motor Europe
Offering a combination of high driving and environmental performance, the Toyota
Hybrid System THSII (SUV) has been installed as a further evolution of the hybrid
technology in the Lexus RX400h.
Hybrid technolo- The mass production of hybrid
gy has evolved systems started in 1997 with the
significantly and Toyota Prius. Since then, hybrid
several hybrid technology has evolved signifi-
vehicles have cantly and several hybrid vehicles
been launched have been launched onto the
onto the market market. While electric vehicles
(EVs) never succeeded in pene-
trating the market, Toyota has
sold more than 500,000 hybrid
vehicles in eight years after the
start of hybrid vehicle mass pro-
duction with a rapidly growing
annual production capacity.
Hybrid System Design
The hybrid system used in the
Lexus RX400h is shown in Fig-
ure 1. It consists of the following
components:
44
• an engine that generates all the
energy,
• a front power unit that inte-
grates two electric machines
and two planetary gear sets,
• a rear power unit for electric
four-wheel drive,
• a high-performance NiMH bat-
tery and
• a power control unit to coordi-
nate all the electric energy flow
between the electric machines
and the battery
The performance of a vehicle is
directly related to the engine out-
put and vehicle weight. For the
THSII (SUV) hybrid system in the
Lexus RX400h, a 3.3-litre V6 en-
gine was designed based on the
engine of the RX330 for the US
market. The engine uses the spark-
ignition cycle, delivering 155 kW
at 5600 rpm and 288 Nm at 4400
rpm. The exhaust and intake sys-
tems were redesigned for a further
reduction in exhaust emissions
and for the installation of the hy-
brid components. The variable
valve timing system (VVT) was
changed to decompress the engine
cylinders during starting and stop-
ping to minimize engine vibration,
using in total 60 degrees of crank
angle for VVT variation. As all ac-
cessories such as the air condi-
tioner and power steering are
electrically driven and thus inde-
pendent of engine operation, there
is no need for a serpentine belt,
thus reducing maintenance and
cost of ownership.
Front Power Unit
The front power unit integrates
the power output of the engine
with the output from the front
motor. It is interconnected with
the generator, which also func-
tions as an engine starter, through
the power-split planetary gear set
without a clutch or a torque con-
verter, Figure 2. The engine is
linked to the planetary carrier of
the power-split device, while the
generator is connected to the sun
gear. The electric motor is linked
with the ring gear of the power-
split device through a second
planetary gear set, which func-
tions as a reduction gear for the
front motor speed. This design al-
lows a permanent mechanical
connection of the engine’s crank-
shaft to the wheels in all condi-
AutoTechnology 1/ 2006

tions, including electric driving
with the engine stopped and
warming up the engine after a
cold start in winter during vehicle
standstill.
The function of the front mo-
tor is both to drive the vehicle
electrically and deliver boost
torque and to regenerate electric
energy during braking. A large-
torque, high-power motor is re-
quired to deliver the required
power performance.
In order to keep the motor size
compact, the following two tech-
niques have been adopted. Firstly,
a system operating voltage higher
than the rated voltage of the bat-
tery is applied by boosting the
electric power voltage from the
battery voltage of 288 V to up to
650 V to drive the motor and
generator. Secondly, a high-speed
high-output permanent magnet
motor with low torque is used.
While the motor speed is being
reduced, torque to the drive shaft
is increased proportionally by the
motor speed reduction planetary
gear set.
The front motor of the THSII
(SUV) in the Lexus RX400h has
an output power that is 2.5 times
higher and a power density that is
three times higher than the elec-
tric motor of the Toyota Prius,
while maintaining almost the
same size. The motor has been de-
signed to satisfy the high me-
chanical stress requirements in
high-speed rotation and to reduce
iron losses, which is important for
the fuel consumption in the nor-
mal and low-load range. The per-
manent magnets are positioned in
a V formation, thus reducing iron
losses during low-load applica-
tions. A rib is adapted to the cen-
tre of the rotor to improve the
strength.
The motor control system uses
three types of wave modes: Sine
Wave Pulse Width Modulation
(PWM), Over-Modulation PWM
and Rectangular Wave Modes to
control the inverters and drive the
motor.
Rear Power Unit
THS-II (SUV) uses a motor-pow-
ered rear wheel drive unit, like
that in the Toyota Estima Hybrid,
which began mass-production in
Japan in 2001, but with dramati-
AutoTechnology 1/ 2006
R e s e a r c h
cally increased output thanks to
the high operating voltage of up
to 650 V.
The output power of the rear-
wheel drive unit is limited due to
restricted installation space in the
body. The rear motor has an out-
put power of 50 kW or 130 Nm,
and power can be delivered to the
front and rear-wheel drive units at
an equal ratio in a wide range of
part-load operation as is usual in
slippery conditions.
Four-wheel drive (4WD) mode
is automatically selected for strong
acceleration, sharp left/right turns,
regenerative braking or when slip-
pery conditions are detected. In
4WD operation, it is advantageous
from the viewpoints of overall
power consumption and battery
charging/discharging efficiency to
reduce the output torque of the
front motor and supply the torque
saved to the rear motor.
Power Control Unit
THS-II (SUV) uses a boost convert-
er circuit to boost the voltage to a
maximum of 650 V in order to in-
crease the output power of the
front motor, generator and rear
motor, and at the same time to al-
low easy installation due to the re-
duction in size and weight. The
power control unit (PCU) incorpo-
rates converters and inverters for
all the main electric machines.
The generator inverter and
front motor inverter are combined
on the upper surface of the water-
cooled PCU, along with the front
and rear inverter power module
and for the rear motor (wheel)
drive. The boost power module,
inductor, filter capacitor and
a n d D e v e l o p m e n t
DC/DC converter are located on Four-wheel drive
the lower surface of the cooling 4WD mode is au-
channel. In this space-efficient de- tomatically se-
sign, the smoothing capacitor is lected for strong
mounted on the upper part of the acceleration,
front inverter power module, Fig- sharp left/right
ure 3, while the motor-controlling turns, regenera-
MG-ECU is located inside the PCU tive braking or
on the upper part of the smooth- when slippery
ing capacitor. conditions are
detected
High-Voltage Battery
In order to secure an acceleration
performance sufficient for the
weight of an SUV, a nickel-metal
hydride battery composed of 240
cells is used. The battery has a
maximum performance of 45 kW.
The size of each cell has been min-
imized to allow for installation in Figure 1:
an SUV below the rear passenger Location of the
seats, as shown in Figure 4. hybrid system
components
in the Lexus
Acceleration RX400h.
Performance
In the THSII system, the combina-
tion of the engine and battery can
produce a maximum output pow-
er of 200 kW, which is compara-
tive to the output capacity of a
petrol engine with a displacement
of about 4 litres.
The output response of an
electric motor is faster than the re-
sponse time of a petrol engine
with a conventional automatic
transmission. Therefore, response
of the THSII (SUV) system is supe-
rior, while the continuously step-
less reduction of the engine speed
during acceleration allows very
smooth and fast acceleration with-
out any shift shocks or loss of ac-
celeration time during shifting.
45
R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t

usual cruising speeds on the high-

way.

Exhaust Emission
The THS-II (SUV) system complies
with the strictest emission regula-
tions that are currently being pro-
posed in the various countries,
such as Super Ultra-Low Emission
Vehicles (SULEV) in California,
Euro 4 in Europe and J-SULEV in
Japan. The basic system of the hy-
Figure 2: Cross-section of the front brid vehicle is common to all these
power unit. destinations.
The exhaust system for SULEV
requirements consists of a high-
performance starting catalyst with
ultra-thin walls and a high cell
density that is mounted close to
the exhaust manifold. A front A/F
sensor and a rear O2 sensor are
provided upstream and down-
stream of the starting catalyst re-
spectively. After a cold start,
HC/NOx emissions are reduced by
taking advantage of the motor as-
sist while the engine runs, mainly
to warm up the catalyst shortly af-
ter starting. Meanwhile, on the hy-
brid vehicle in which the engine is
Figure 3:
frequently started and stopped, the
PCU internal
key point is how to minimize the
structure.
exhaust emissions that are emitted
when the engine is restarted.
Following a cold start, when
the catalyst has not yet reached its
light-off temperature and cannot
properly reduce exhaust emis-
sions, the system utilizes the mo-
tor assist function to drive the ve-
hicle, while the engine operates
independently under the condi-
tions that are optimal for reducing
exhaust emissions.

Figure 4:
Battery pack.
Fuel Consumption
The hybrid system makes it possi-
ble to achieve superior acceleration
performance similar to a 4-litre
petrol engine, while at the same
time fuel consumption can be re-
duced far below that of SUVs with
comparable 3 - 3.3-litre engines.
In order to achieve optimum
fuel economy in highway driving
conditions for every region of the
three main markets Japan, USA
and Europe, the gear ratio of the
front power unit is selected to
match the highest efficiency at the
O2 Storage Management
Reducing NOx emissions in a hy-
brid vehicle requires a focus on
engine stopping and restarting
timing. During these conditions,
the O2 storage capacity of the cat-
alyst is in a saturated state. Fuel
cut-off immediately before the en-
gine is stopped is delayed to its
limit in order to restrain the lean
condition in the catalyst, thus pre-
venting the saturation of the O2
storage. Furthermore, the air/fuel
mixture is enriched for a short
time following a restart in order to
maintain the O2 storage at the
proper level, thus considerably re-
ducing the amount of NOx emis-

46 AutoTechnology 1/ 2006
 R e s e a r c h a n d D e v e l o p m e n t

sions. Engine stopping and start- ventional petrol engine vehicles Type Synchronous AC motor
ing is precisely controlled by the of the same weight has been
generator through the geometry achieved while meeting the ex-
Max. Output 123 kW
of the power-split device, inde- haust emission requirements of J-
Motor Max. Torque 333 Nm
pendently of the vehicle driving SULEV (Japan), SULEV (North
condition. America) and EURO 4 (Europe). Max. Speed 12400 rpm
Toyota and Lexus will contin- Motor reduction gear ratio 2.478
Conclusion ue to introduce further hybrid
models in the next few years, for Table 1: Front motor specifications
The THSII (SUV) is a new hybrid example the Lexus GS hybrid.
powertrain containing two elec-
tric motors and has been devel-
oped with the aim of application
to heavy vehicles like the Lexus
RX400h SUV.
The introduction of a speed
reduction gear and the use of a
higher operating voltage have in-
creased the output density of the
electrical system, thus yielding a
power performance equal to or
higher than that of conventional
vehicles. A new 4WD design is in-
corporated, in which the front and
rear wheels are independently
driven by two electric motors.
A fuel efficiency that is signif-
icantly better than that of con- Figure 5: The RX400h delivers low fuel consumption and fast acceleration.

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