Picture of 2010 Prius Transaxle (Compared with others)

[usbseawolf2000]

Here is the 2010 Prius hybrid transaxle. You are looking at motor/generator #1 (MG1), Power Split Device (PSD), motor/generator #2 (MG2), and finally the reduction gear. Simple!




Up next is the GM's 2-Mode hybrid transaxle. The first picture is just the motors and planetary gearsets. The second picture if the entire transaxle.




Below is the bare-bone Dual Clutch Transmission:



Audi 7-speed Dual Clutch transmission:



Now, going into "traditional" 8-speed transmission:

[brick]

Nice. It really is an ingenious little device.

[usbseawolf2000]

I posted the comparison because of the myth about Toyota hybrid being more complex. These pictures show the opposite.

[Patrick Wong]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

I posted the comparison because of the myth about Toyota hybrid being more complex. These pictures show the opposite.

Well, mechanically HSD is relatively simple - but electronically it is amazingly complex.

[donee]

Hi Patrick,

Electronically, its not complex at all. The only special electronics is the embeded heat sensor in each transitor die. 4 quandrant drives are as old as the hills. I have 4 in my kitchen that I bought off Ebay, but I am probably a true geek. The controllers are just computers that are tied together with networks. Allot of homes have networked computers.

The thermal engineering is somewhat complex, but the resulting product is simple.

The true complexity in the Prius is system multifunctionalism and the control software that makes it all work.

[ronhowell]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

I posted the comparison because of the myth about Toyota hybrid being more complex. These pictures show the opposite.

I totally agree and thank you for these comparisons ... they really do illustrate the relative mechanical complexity of the systems.

The compactness of the Prius Motor/Generator setup also illustrates the tremendous savings that automotive technology can potentially achieve if only we can develop more efficient sources of electrical power storage. Creating pure rotational motion in any driving device using a rotating magnetic field is far more efficient than that cranking monster sucking, squeezing, banging and blowing called the Internal Combustion Engine. While it is true it has undergone over 100 years of continuous refinement to a pretty high level, it is still an air breathing monster .... breathing OUR air! It would never have achieved the supremacy it has without that cheap, portable, highly abundant energy source we call gasoline. But we're starting to run out of the latter.

So it is time to move ahead, ultimately to that holy grail of motive power, all electric propulsion. Here's hoping for some future breakthoughs toward that goal.

[hampdenwireless]

Originally Posted by usbseawolf2000

I posted the comparison because of the myth about Toyota hybrid being more complex. These pictures show the opposite.

I am sorry but the GM dual mode and the Audi look frighteningly complex. I cannot imagine them ever being 'rebuilt' and therefore are going to be amazingly expensive to replace.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by Patrick Wong

Well, mechanically HSD is relatively simple - but electronically it is amazingly complex.

I think Bill Gates put the Prius as a software car. The complexity is in the software powered by simple hardware. It becomes more evident as the 2010 Prius has 4 different driving modes with the press of a button.

[usbseawolf2000]

Originally Posted by hampdenwireless

I am sorry but the GM dual mode and the Audi look frighteningly complex. I cannot imagine them ever being 'rebuilt' and therefore are going to be amazingly expensive to replace.

Ya, imagine the number of moving parts for those other transmission. HSD has less than 10 moving parts (including two electric motors).

[Patrick Wong]

Perhaps I should have said that Prius is incredibly complex when you consider the number of systems that must communicate and remain closely linked for the car to function properly. This means highly dense electronics hardware as well as complex firmware embedded within.

See the following post for a current example of the mess that can happen when this communication is disrupted due to accident damage.
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-te...gas-gauge.html