Alex Severinsky is a Soviet engineer and immigrant to the United States who once developed antitank-warfare instrumentation. In 1994, he patented a system for powering gas-electric hybrid automobiles. Toyota has been using his system since 1997 without permission or payment.

Until now.

Toyota Motor has settled a patent-infringement case that has dragged on for six years. The settlement, announced Monday, came the same day the U.S. International Trade Commission was to launch a hearing on Severinsky’s claims. Had the commission sided with the engineer, it could have barred Toyota from importing the Prius and other hybrids.

No one’s discussing the settlement, but Toyota insists it developed its Synergy Drive hybrid system independently of any work Severinsky had done. Severinsky, of course, sees things a bit differently.

This is his story.

The Beginning

“We [were] met by a high degree of cynicism from the automakers.” — Severinsky, to Auto Field Guide, on the industry reception to his technology in the pre-Prius era.

Severinsky, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Maryland, earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Kharkov College of Radioelectronics, in Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1967. Eight years later, he earned a doctorate in the same field from Moscow’s Institute for Precision Measurements in Radioelectronics and Physics. He emigrated, as a refugee, to the United States in 1978.

Alex J. Severinsky Photo: University of Maryland

Predictably, Severinsky’s interest in hybrid tech grew out of computing.

In the 1980s, Severinsky spent a great deal of time working on uninterruptible power supplies for computer systems. Patents for gasoline-electric vehicle technology had been awarded before, but the seamless management of drive torque — the subtle transition that makes a hybrid feel like a normal car and not an on-off switch — had long been limited by computing power and component costs.

After years of inquiry, and encouraged by the evolution of high-voltage power semiconductors (needed, as the Innovation Hall of Fame notes, to deliver “satisfactory energy efficiency and power for acceleration”), Severinsky founded Power Assisted Internal Combustion Engines in 1992.

On September 6, 1994, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Severinsky a patent for his high-voltage method of powering gas-electric hybrid vehicles. He called it “Hyperdrive.” The filing followed years of work and research, and it represented an early version of the thinking that led to the drivetrain in most modern hybrid electric vehicles.

Inexpensive semiconductors, which became available in the late 1990s, allowed Severinsky to build a working vehicle prototype. In October, 1999, he demonstrated his technology in a Cadillac Coupe de Ville and pursued licensing agreements from automakers.

The Patents

Make no mistake: Toyota is a juggernaut. It has experienced some setbacks lately, but it dominates the market for consumer hybrid vehicles. It also protects its technology aggressively. According to an Australian study, Toyota has sought more than 4000 patents related to hybrid technology in the United States. That’s roughly 43 percent of all hybrid vehicle patents filed. More than 1,000 were claimed on the 2009 Prius alone.

Given the relatively narrow window provided by government regulations and public demand, many prominent manufacturers — Ford, for example — have opted to license Toyota’s technology rather than develop their own. It is simply cheaper and faster than going it alone. (Though Ford did develop the system in the 2010 Fusion Hybrid.)

It must be said that Severinsky’s patents are not for hybrid cars or hybrid systems in their entirety. Hybrid automobiles have been around almost as long as automobiles. Ferdinand Porsche built one in 1898, for example. Severinsky’s patents focus on a problem of implementation: The method by which torque from an electric motor is seamlessly blended with that of a gasoline engine. In a nutshell, his company owns the notion of back-and-forth cooperative management of an internal-combustion engine and an electric motor.

Put another way, he developed the digital integration of countless variables — engine speed, road speed, throttle position and air density, to name a few — that dictate how the electric and gasoline components interact moment to moment. The relevant patents can be found on Google:

U.S. Patent No. 5,343,970
U.S. Patent No. 7,104,347
U.S. Patent No. 7,237,634

Toyota says it developed Synergy Drive independently of any work Severinsky might have done.

The Fight

Severinsky took his claims to court, launching a six-year legal battle that ended Monday. Although the Prius contains technology that infringes upon Severinsky’s 1994 patent, Toyota maintained that its vehicles were the result of its own research and Synergy Drive was invented independently of any work Severinsky might have done.

The courtroom fight is best chronicled by the following timeline from Paice’s website. Yes, we fact-checked it. It reads like a court docket, so you’ll be forgiven for skimming it.

• June 8, 2004: Paice files suit against Toyota in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, claiming infringement of its hybrid vehicle technology patents.
• December 20, 2005: A jury says Toyota’s hybrids infringe two claims of patent 5,343,970. It awards Paice past damages of $4,269,950 based on U.S. sales of the Prius, Highlander and Lexus RX400h hybrids between June 2004 and November 2005. Toyota asks a judge to set aside the finding or grant a new trial.
• August 16, 2006: A federal judge rejects Toyota’s request and orders the company to pay Paice $25 for every Prius II, Highlander Hybrid and Lexus RX400h hybrid it builds for the life of patent 5,343,970.
• August 31, 2006: Toyota appeals the judgement. Paice asks the court to reconsider the $25 royalty, feeling it was too low.
• September 12, 2006: Paice is awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,104,347.
• May 8, 2007: Paice files a second lawsuit, alleging Toyota is willfully infringing patent 5,343,970. with regard to hybrids sold since the 2005 trial. (Specifically, the Camry, Lexus RX450h and Lexus HS 250h hybrids and the third-gen Prius.)
• July 3, 2007: Paice is awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,237,634 and amends its suit to claim Toyota is infringing on this patent.
• October 18, 2007: An appeals court rejects Toyota’s challenge to the 2005 jury verdict.
• April 17, 2009: A federal court determines a formula for computing royalties paid to Paice. It amounts to $98 per hybrid vehicle based on current vehicle prices.
• April 21, 2009: The U.S. Supreme Court denies Toyota’s petition seeking review of the liability finding on patent 5,343,970.
• May 15, 2009: Toyota appeals the ruling regarding ongoing royalties.
• September 3, 2009: Paice files a complaint with the International Trade Commission, alleging infringement of patent 5,343,970 by some Toyota models sold since the final judgment of the first suit in 2006.
• September 25, 2009: In the second lawsuit, the court stays the damages portion of the case with respect to Paice’s three hybrid patents pending the ITC investigation into infringement of patent 5,343,970.
• October 5, 2009: The trade commission votes to investigate whether Toyota infringes upon patent 5,343,970.

The Lexus RX400h was among the hybrids Toyota was ordered to pay royalties on.

The Decision

Paice announced on July 15 that it had reached an agreement with Ford — which licenses Toyota’s hybrid technology — to license Severinsky’s patent 5,343,970. The deal came four days before the trade commission was to investigate Paice’s infrigement claims against Toyota, an inquiry that could have resulted in barring Toyota from importing the Prius and other vehicles.

On Monday, Toyota agreed to settle the dispute. By doing so, it agreed to the dismissal of all pending lawsuits and appeals, effectively bringing the entire saga to a close. The terms were not disclosed, but Toyota and Paice, in separate statements, said:

The parties agree that, although certain Toyota vehicles have been found to be equivalent to a Paice patent, Toyota invented, designed and developed the Prius and Toyota’s hybrid technology independent of any inventions of Dr. Severinsky and Paice as part of Toyota’s long history of innovation.

Silverinsky, who left Paice in August, 2006, to become the CEO of a company exploring synthetic fuel, was more direct in his comments to Business Week.

“Finally people understand the merits of what I invented and give it the proper value,” he said. “Toyota is the leading technology company and finally appreciates the value of the invention.”

This story was written by Sam Smith and originally published by Jalopnik on July 21.

Photos: Toyota

Toyota and Tesla Motors are going back to the future to update the RAV4 EV, essentially resurrecting an excellent electric vehicle the Japanese company killed seven years ago.

The two companies announced today that they will develop the vehicle with a goal of producing it in 2012, bringing cheers from EV advocates thrilled by the return of a vehicle they adore. It’s a brilliant move for everyone involved. Toyota, which has so far been lukewarm about EVs, gets something on the road quickly and cheaply. And Tesla gets its drivetrain in more vehicles.

“Basically, for a net investment of $8 million, Toyota has gotten itself a ready-made EV program,” said Aaron Bragman, an auto industry analyst for IHS Global Insight. “Toyota is behind the ball when it comes to fully electric vehicles. This is them playing some serious catch-up and doing it for relatively little investment.”

Both companies also  get some good PR when they need it. Toyota’s been hit by yet another round of recalls, and Tesla’s stock price fell below its initial offering price earlier this month. The company’s stock rose almost 4 percent today on the announcement.

The Japanese giant took the Silicon Valley upstart under its wing in May when it gave Tesla the New United Motor Manufacturing factory for $42 million and agreed to buy $50 million in stock when Tesla went public. They said from the start that we’d see an electric vehicle born of the marriage, but neither side is breaking new ground here.

Toyota is essentially updating an electric vehicle it built in limited numbers between 1997 and 2003. The vehicle featured a 27.4-kilowatt-hour nickel-metal hydride battery that recharges in 5 hours at 240 volts. Toyota leased RAV4 EVs to utilities, businesses and cities through 2002 and sold 328 of them to private citizens in 2003. Unlike other automakers (cough GM cough Honda), Toyota didn’t crush the cars at the end of its EV program,  and most are still on the road.

“I’m still getting 120 miles of range,” said Paul Scott, a founder of the advocacy group Plug-In America. He bought his in September 2003. “It still runs exactly the same as the day I bought it. There’s no degradation of the battery, no variation in the performance. It just runs.”

Scott, like other EV advocates, couldn’t be more excited to see the RAV4 EV return. The current generation RAV (pictured above) is roomier and more nicely appointed than the model Toyota electrified 13 years ago (pictured below), and using a lithium-ion battery should boost performance.

“Toyota did a great job with the original, and the new RAV4 will be even better,” he said.

Neither Tesla or Toyota offered any specs for the next-gen EV. But a small electric SUV makes a lot of sense because it provides more practicality than a compact.

“It will have a wider appeal than many EVs that will be on the market,” Bragman said. “This is one of  the things GM is thinking of with a crossover utility vehicle version of the Volt. This is what the next level will be.”

As for Tesla’s role in all of this, Toyota says “prototypes will be made combining the Toyota RAV4 model with a Tesla electric powertrain. Tesla plans to produce and deliver a fleet of prototypes to Toyota for evaluation within this year.” In other words, there’s no guarantee Tesla drivetrains will appear in production models. It’s similar to Tesla’s work with Daimler, which used Tesla batteries in the Smart ForTwo Electric drive prototypes but will use its own packs in production models slated for 2012.

“The RAV4 may be a reality in 2 to 3 years, but only if Toyota puts a lot more than their initial $50 million behind it,” said Mike Omotoso, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates. “Tesla is not financially self-sufficient and will need more money to build a RAV4 and/or Model S.”

Toyota’s investment in Tesla gives the Japanese company a peek at some excellent technology and helps put Toyota’s EV program on a fast track quickly and cheaply. But to suggest, as many have, that Tesla is Toyota’s electric savior is ludicrous. Toyota dominates the hybrid market, so it clearly knows how how to build batteries and motors that work.

What’s more, the original RAV4 was, and remains, an impressive vehicle. Toyota could slap the original’s electric drivetrain in the current RAV4 and have a competitive EV. That’s a testament to the original’s technology and Toyota’s EV expertise.

UPDATED 4:10 p.m. Eastern.

Photos: Toyota

See Also:

• Toyota, Tesla Burnish Their Images by Teaming Up
• Toyota-Tesla Prototype Expected This Year
• Tesla IPO Raises $226.1M, Stock Surges 41 Percent
• Nissan Leaf Electric Vehicle Is Surprisingly Affordable
• Chevrolet Volt Sure Drives Sweet

Toyota built the RAV4 EV from 1997 until 2003, and most of them are still going strong. The cars are such solid performers and so highly sought after that they would routinely command prices of $40,000 to $50,000 on those rare occasions someone sells one.

Man, if Toyota was the girl that cried Wolf!, she’d probably have lost her voice by now.

But among the current batch of recalls, I’ve managed to find a silver lining of sorts. With sales down 22 per cent from this time last year, the automaker seems to be making cars that are less popular, therefore, limiting its quality control liabilities.

Unlike the massive recalls from earlier this year, that involved  millions of some of the Japanese automaker’s most popular models being called back to fix wonky floor mats, non-stopping brakes and sticky accelerators, at least the last few problems associated with Toyotas are being found on its less successful models. Progress, indeed.

In May, Toyota Canada put a recall out to “address a temporary steering wheel off-center condition that may develop under a specific driving maneuver” for late 2009 and certain 2010 model year Lexus LS full-size luxury sedans equipped with Variable Gear Ratio Steering.

But, thankfully, that only involved 140 cars.

The recall to update software in its slow-selling Lexus GX 460 luxury SUV’s Vehicle Stability Control system only involved 446 2010 models.

The most recent recall on the Lexus HS 250h compact hybrid sedan (it was also included in the previous recall involving problems with the Prius’s ABS) because it “exhibited fuel spillage that exceeded the requirement in the standard” in U.S. government crash tests—think Ford Pinto, but with a high-voltage electric battery on board—is even less worrisome. The HS been less than a sales success for Toyota.

And finally, this week’s recall to fix V6 and V8 engines from “abnormal engine noise or idling” or stalling in certain 2006, 2007 and 2008 Lexus GS, IS and LS sedans in Canada only affects about 3,700 cars.

So there you go. Rival automakers, take note: By making cars that are not that popular in the first place, Toyota seems to be getting the hang of this recall thing.

[Source: Toyota Canada]

While taking responsibility and promising to do better is all fine and dandy, Mr. Toyoda’s company needs to stop falling on his sward. In fact, apparently, Toyota’s chief broke down and cried at an American dealers meeting about the recall mess.

Obviously, Toyota’s in a pickle. But that’s great news for car buyers. Fat, lazy automakers make boring, take-no-risk cars. But desperate, this-is-our-last-chance-to-fix-things car companies are exactly the kind of manufacturer car fans want.

It was-for-the-umpteenth time on the brink of insolvency when Chrysler produced the Dodge Viper in the 1990s. And although Government Motors isn’t out of the woods yet, its troubles in the Naughties is one of the reasons it's now producing some of its best cars ever.

So hey, Mr. Toyoda, get over it. Grab a hanky. And do what you know your company needs to do: risky cars. Like the three new sporty Toyota the U.K.’s Autocar speculates are on the way.

The first, the FT-86, you may already know as a modern take on the mid-1980s rear-drive Corolla SR-5 coupe. It’s supposedly set to arrive in 2012.

The following year, a new mid-engine two-seater in the spirit of the MR2 will arrive, but this time with 1.5-litre gas four-hybrid power and, clearly, Honda’s new CR-Z hybrid in its sights.

The third new Toyota sportster is a larger coupe that will use the FT-86’s bits and bites. A spiritual successor to the old Supra, the 2+2 will use a hybrid V6 with styling coming from the FT-HS concept (above) from the 2007 Detroit show.

None of these potential sporty Toyota cars will help eradicate the damage done to the Japanese automaker's’s street cred and sales decline caused by the recall crisis.

But do you think this potentially FTD trio can get type of car enthusiasts that have abandoned the brand?

[Source: Autocar]

We’ll see a prototype of the first electric vehicle to be born of the Toyota-Tesla marriage by the end of the year.

Or not.

Kyodo News, citing unnamed sources within Toyota, says the two companies will develop a prototype in the coming months. Engineers from Toyota met their counterparts from Tesla earlier this month to discuss the project. They will check the reliability of the batteries to be used in the vehicle and see if the computer control system will work during the developmental period.

“We want to fit Toyota’s existing model with Tesla’s batteries” in the development, an unidentified Toyota executive said, according to Kyodo.

“Exiting model” makes us think Toyota might be considering something like the FT-EV concept (pictured), which is essentially an electrified Toyota iQ microcar. That’s purely speculation because no one at Toyota or Tesla will say what they may or may not be up to. But the FT-EV makes sense because it would provide Toyota with a relatively quick entry into the budding EV market, and it could compete with the Smart ForTwo Electric Drive and Mitsubishi i-MiEV.

Toyota, responding to the Kyodo News report, told Bloomberg it does not have a timeline for any vehicles that might result from its partnership with Tesla. Under the partnership announced last month, Toyota sold the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. factory in Fremont, California, to Tesla for $42 million and promised to buy $50 million worth of stock when Tesla goes public.

The two companies also agreed to work together on an electric vehicle. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said a Toyota featuring a Tesla drivetrain will hit the road before the Tesla Model S sedan, which Tesla says will arrive in 2012.

Tesla spokesman Ricardo Reyes said he could not comment because the company is in the “quiet period” required by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it prepares to go public.

Photo: Toyota

This week, U.S. government officials passed new auto-safety regulations in direct response to the Toyota’s troubles with its cars accelerating unintentionally. The installation of brake-override systems and event-data recorders, or black boxes, as well as standards for foot-pedal placement, electronic systems, push-button ignition systems and transmission configuration will now be regulated.

In case you didn’t know, the new laws follow Toyota's worldwide recalls of 10.6 million cars for sudden acceleration. And now, U.S. regulators are investigating reports of 89 deaths in the United States linked to the problem. And Toyota already has paid a record fine of $16.4 million USD.

As of now, we’ve heard boo from Transport Canada if they intend to adopt any of these new U.S. safety regs.

And it may seem like a no-brainer, but do you think Canadians deserve the same level of protection as U.S. new car buyers?

Or do you think that the U.S. government is overreacting to Toyota’s troubles?

[Source: Automotive News]