A hybrid vehicle includes an engine which generates power by combustion of fuel; a drive motor which generates power, and is selectively operated as a generator to generate electrical energy; a battery which is connected to the drive motor and supplies electrical energy to the drive motor and charges the electrical energy generated in the drive motor; a battery management system which measures a State of charge (SOC) value of the battery; and a controller which is configured to determine a final target torque of the engine in a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) mode based on an SOC section in which the SOC value of the battery measured in the battery management system belongs.

A safety module for a secured drive control of an automated drive system is configured to receive encoder data sent from an encoder unit to a drive unit, based on an encoder protocol via a protocol active unit. The safety module is configured to forward the encoder data from the protocol active unit to a safety logic and a protocol passive unit, check the forwarded encoder data with the aid of the safety logic for correspondence with predetermined safety criteria relating to operation of a motor unit, and transmit the forwarded encoder data via the protocol passive unit to the drive unit, in respective data packets based on the encoder protocol. The safety module can stop operation of the motor unit with the aid of the safety logic, if the encoder data does not correspond to the predetermined safety criteria. A corresponding drive system and automation system are also provided.

A powertrain system is controlled to deliver axle torque in response to an operator accelerator pedal input. Axle torque is determined by metrics including historical control information, current control information, and future control information.

Vehicle designers are largely walking away from internal-combustion engines to battery and electric motors. Until infrastructure is developed to support total electrification, hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) which include both an internal combustion engine and an electric machine are a step toward electrification and higher system fuel efficiency while retaining the expected vehicle range. To obtain even higher system fuel efficiency combustion modes that provide higher efficiency than spark-ignition (SI) operation can be used in HEVs. A problem with such combustion modes is that they cannot be used over as wide an operating range as SI operation and transitions among modes is slow and cumbersome. By having the ICE installed into a HEV be a multi-combustion mode engine and having the EM to coordinate mode switches to be smooth, the high fuel-efficiency of alternative combustion modes can be exploited while providing smooth operation expected by vehicle users.

Engine combustion mode-switching transitions are controlled through a coordination control of an electric machine and a multi-combustion mode engine coupled to each other with a hybrid propulsion system by following predetermined combustion mode-switching strategies and control algorithms.

A through the road (TTR) hybridization strategy is proposed to facilitate introduction of hybrid electric vehicle technology in a significant portion of current and expected trucking fleets. In some cases, the technologies can be retrofitted onto an existing vehicle (e.g., a truck, a tractor unit, a trailer, a tractor-trailer configuration, at a tandem, etc.). In some cases, the technologies can be built into new vehicles. In some cases, one vehicle may be built or retrofitted to operate in tandem with another and provide the hybridization benefits contemplated herein. By supplementing motive forces delivered through a primary drivetrain and fuel-fed engine with supplemental torque delivered at one or more electrically-powered drive axles, improvements in overall fuel efficiency and performance may be delivered, typically without significant redesign of existing components and systems that have been proven in the trucking industry.

Disclosed is a method for optimizing the time gradient of the pressure increase in a fuel injection system of a hybrid motor vehicle. The method determines and uses the engine torque generated by the electric machine of the vehicle to reduce the engine torque generated by the internal combustion engine of the vehicle and allow the high-pressure pump of the internal combustion engine to generate, if applicable, a higher value of the time gradient of the pressure increase in the common supply chamber of its injection system.

A method for calculating running resistance of a vehicle includes: calculating, by a controller, an integrated value obtained by integrating a torque of a driving source of the vehicle before the vehicle reaches a reference speed after the vehicle starts; and calculating, by the controller, the running resistance of the vehicle including rolling resistance based on the integrated value of the torque of the driving source.

A method for operating a working vehicle-working device combination having a part system for adjusting the working vehicle-working device combination includes determining a motor torque of a motor of the working vehicle-working device combination based on a motor parameter, determining a first loss torque based on at least one motor loss parameter of the motor, determining a second loss torque based on at least one load parameter of a load system of the working vehicle-working device combination, determining an output torque of the working vehicle-working device combination based on the motor torque and the first and second loss torques, and performing a control operation on the working vehicle-working device combination or on the part system based on the output torque.

A method of providing automated control of vehicle speed in a driver assist mode may include receiving an operator selection of the driver assist mode and a target speed, monitoring vehicle speed, and generating a propulsive torque request and a braking torque request based on a difference between the target speed and the vehicle speed. The method may further include, responsive to vehicle speed being in a selected range from zero to about three miles per hour, initiating a low speed correction to automatically provide a variable modification to the propulsive torque request or the braking torque request.