Eaton Corp. was awarded several U.S. patents for the company’s Hybrid Electric Power System. The system will be commercially available through several major OEMs in 2007.

The patents are focused on controls and systems related to Eaton’s hybrid technology for commercial vehicles. Of particular interest to many commercial vehicle fleets is the systems’ patented ePTO (power take-off) feature. In applications where a truck operates from an off-highway job site, such as utility and telecom applications, the Eaton ePTO feature provides the ability to run a vehicle’s power take-off while the engine is off – resulting in a fuel savings of up to 60 percent, the company said. This feature also reduces emissions and noise by cutting engine idle times up to 87 percent.

Eaton’s Hybrid Electric Power System uses a Fuller automated transmission with a parallel hybrid system. It incorporates an electric motor/generator located between the output of an automated clutch and input of the transmission. Using Eaton’s patented hybrid solutions, the system recovers energy normally lost during braking and stores the energy in batteries, the company said. When electric torque is blended with engine torque, the stored energy is used to improve fuel economy and vehicle performance for a given speed, or operate with electric power only. The system provides energy for use during engine-off worksite operations.

For more information, visit www.eaton.com.