A control device is provided for operating a road-coupled hybrid vehicle, which is equipped with an electronic control unit, a first drive unit paired with a primary axle, and a second drive unit paired with a secondary axle. The control unit is designed to receive input variables including a specified sum target creep torque and a command to switch over from the single-axle operation to the two-axle operation with a specified all-wheel factor. The control unit sets a specified target torque for an internal combustion engine of the primary axle according to the all-wheel factor and detects the resulting actual coupling torque of the automatic transmission. If the functional module of the control unit ascertains a difference between the actual coupling torque and the sum target creep torque, the functional module specifies a corresponding target torque for an electric drive motor of the secondary axle to compensate for the difference.

Drive mechanism (1) for a motor vehicle (6), comprising a dual clutch transmission (10) that includes a first powertrain (13), which can be connected to a first drive unit (2) via a first clutch (21), and a second powertrain (14), which can be connected to the first drive unit (2) via a second clutch (22), the first powertrain (13) being securely coupled to a second drive unit (3); when shifting gears in the dual clutch trans-mission (10), the second drive unit (3) supplies a predefined drive torque.

A propulsion system, control system, and method are provided for optimizing fuel economy, which use model predictive control systems to generate a plurality of sets of possible command values and determine a cost for each set of possible command values of based on a first predetermined weighting value, a second predetermined weighting value, a plurality of predicted values, and a plurality of requested values. The set of possible command values having the lowest cost is determined and defined as a set of selected command values. Fuel is minimized by minimizing engine power for a requested axle power. Accordingly, a fuel consumption rate requested value is determined based on an air-per-cylinder (APC) requested value.

Transmission torque of a shift progress side engagement device is set based on engine power, shift progressing power, and battery power such that MG1 torque and MG2 torque are limited due to the limitation of the battery power when shifting a stepped transmission is suppressed. The stepped transmission is shifted with the transmission torque which takes into account the input-output balance of the respective powers.

A control system and method for a hybrid vehicle involve controlling a hybrid powertrain comprising an engine and a transmission having one or more electric motors and not comprising a decoupling mechanism therebetween, detecting an operating condition where the transmission is in neutral and the vehicle is moving at a speed less than a low speed threshold, and in response to detecting the operating condition: determining a desired propulsive torque of the powertrain, determining an actual propulsive torque at the driveline, calculating a torque difference between the actual and desired propulsive torques over a period, comparing the calculated torque difference to a first movement threshold, and when the calculated torque difference exceeds the first movement threshold, applying an electric parking brake (EPB) of the vehicle.

A vehicle includes an engine and an electric machine coupled to a gearbox. A controller is programmed to predict, at an onset of a shift, a supplemental torque profile to fill a torque hole expected during the shift and an available electric machine torque during the shift. The controller is further programmed to, in response to the supplemental torque profile exceeding the available electric machine torque during the shift, operate the engine from the onset to achieve a torque reserve in anticipation of increasing the engine torque.

A hybrid vehicle includes an engine, a first rotating electric machine, a second rotating electric machine coupled to drive wheels of the hybrid vehicle, a planetary gear mechanism configured to mechanically couple the engine, the first rotating electric machine, and the second rotating electric machine, an electric power storage device configured to perform charging and discharging with the first rotating electric machine and second rotating electric machine, and an electronic control unit configured to, in a case where cruise control is requested or in a case where deceleration torque is requested by the cruise control, execute motoring control and simulated stepped gear shift control.

During a transmission upshift, a torque capacity of an off-going clutch is maintained at a non-zero state during the transition from the torque phase to the inertia phase and throughout a substantial portion of the inertia phase. This permits the inertia phase to be completed faster without an unacceptable increase in output torque during the torque phase. Monotonically reducing the off-going clutch torque and using feedback from an output torque sensor enable sufficiently precise control of the off-going clutch torque capacity during this interval.

A traction control method and a traction control apparatus for a vehicle are provided. The traction control method includes: estimating driving torque for each wheel and a difference between left and right wheel rotation speeds; determining a situation, in which the difference between the left and right wheel rotation speeds exceeds a first set value, to be a split wheel spin situation; estimating a maximum coefficient of friction between a spinning wheel and a road surface in the split wheel spin situation and estimating a maximum driving torque, at which the road surface is acceptable, by the maximum coefficient of friction; and obtaining a difference between driving torque of the spinning wheel and the maximum driving torque to calculate a road surface limitation excess driving torque and determining entry into traction control when the road surface limitation excess driving torque exceeds a second set value.

A road surface submergence estimation device including a motion sensor that acquires an actual acceleration of a vehicle; a torque acquisition sensor that acquires an actual torque transmitted from a driving source to wheels of the vehicle, the driving source being mounted in the vehicle; and an estimation processor that estimates that a road surface on which the vehicle is traveling is submerged when it is determined that a submergence determination condition is satisfied. The road surface submergence estimation device may also include a wireless communication device configured to either send submergence information to a central server, or receive additional submergence information from a central server.