Seems like Nissan deployed a Power Split Device to a Formula E car. Could Toyota repurpose the PSD for future EVs if they wanted to move away from a single speed?
If Nissan has the patent, Toyota's patents would have to be sufficiently different in order to come to fruition. Look how the 2 companies Tesla & Nicola went to blows over tractor trailer cab design. Even Ford in Toyota cross licensed there hybrid Tech to make sure one wouldn't sue the other over design infringement. My all-time favorite David & Goliath was years ago - when Mr Alex Severinsky, patent holder on some of toyo's power controllers beat Toyota in court so that now Toyota has to pay who knows how much on each hybrid car. The Hybrid Inventor Who Sued Toyota - And Won | WIRED .
Interesting: U.S. Patent No. 5,343,970 U.S. Patent No. 7,104,347 U.S. Patent No. 7,237,634 Links copied from the WIRED article were dead. Updated them by searching up the patents again. No time to read them just now....
