Engine start control apparatus and engine start control method

[0018]FIG. 1 is a schematic view that shows an example of the configuration of a vehicle equipped with an engine start control apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 1 shows an example of a hybrid vehicle that uses both an engine and a motor as driving sources. The vehicle shown in FIG. 1 includes an engine 100, a motor MG1, and a motor MG2. A crankshaft 110, which is a power output shaft of the engine 100, is mechanically connected through a planetary gear mechanism 20 to the motors MG1 and MG2. The crankshaft 110 is further connected through a drive shaft 30 and a differential gear 32 to driving wheels 34a and 34b.

[0019]The engine 100 introduces a mixture of air and fuel into a combustion chamber 150 through an intake valve 140, the air being taken in from an intake system through a throttle valve 120, the fuel being injected from a fuel injection valve 130. The engine 100 converts reciprocation of a piston 160, pushed downward by combustion of the air-fuel mixt