A method for operating an electromotive drive train for a vehicle is disclose. The electromotive drive train has an electric machine for driving at least one wheel of the vehicle, a traction battery of the vehicle, which can be charged by the electric machine via recuperation, and a clutch device arranged between the electric machine and the at least one wheel. The method has the following steps: ascertaining a maximum permitted recuperation power of the electric machine to be fed into the traction battery by the electric machine during a braking procedure of the vehicle; and setting a slip state of the clutch device such that the recuperation power generated by the electric machine during the slip operation of the clutch device does not exceed the maximum permitted recuperation power.

Methods, systems, and apparatuses are provided for a vehicle tethered by a hitch to a trailer. The method includes generating sensor data from one or more sensors that are responsive to forces applied to the hitch by a vehicle mechanically coupled to the hitch; receiving sensor data to compute a direction for the guidance of the trailer; monitoring a set of parameters reflecting forces in a lateral and traverse direction derived from data generated by the sensors wherein the set of parameters include at least one parameter of a magnitude of force, and at least one parameter of the direction of force acting upon the hitch; and calculating at least a rate-of-change of the magnitude of force and direction over time to determine a trajectory for the trailer that enables the trailer to follow the lead vehicle without a tractive effort of the lead vehicle.

A motor vehicle has at least two drive motors, at least one of which is an electric motor, a high-voltage accumulator, and an automatic transmission which has at least one fixed gear ratio and at least one power-split gear ratio for transmission ratio adjustment starting from the at least one fixed gear ratio. The motor vehicle includes an electronic control unit having a speed control module which can be activated during a change of transmission ratio. The speed control module is designed in such a way that a setpoint speed is calculated in advance, by which setpoint speed both the speed gradient and also the speed curvature can be limited, the target speed of the at least one drive motor being continuously compared with a maximum allowed speed gradient and with a maximum allowed speed curvature.

Method and apparatus for wheel speed estimation include an electrical powertrain having an electric motor providing a motor speed, a wheel, and a mechanical coupling between the motor and the wheel, and an electronic control unit calculating an estimated wheel speed based on the motor speed and mechanical dynamic models of the electrical powertrain.

Examples of hybrid powertrain systems are provided herein. The system includes: an engine; a motor/generator (“MG”); a clutch coupled to the engine and the MG; a transmission coupled to the MG; an energy storage system connected to the MG; and a controller coupled to the engine, the MG, the clutch, the transmission and the energy storage system. The controller is configured to initiate an engine stop, allow engine torque and MG torque to reduce to zero or near zero, shift the transmission to a neutral gear, cause the MG to operate in a generator mode, thereby loading the engine to recover kinetic energy from the engine, disengage the clutch to decouple the MG from the engine, increase the speed of the MG to a target speed, and shift the transmission into gear in response to the MG reaching the target speed.

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.

A method detects unintended acceleration of a motor vehicle during a closed-loop speed control mode by determining external forces on the vehicle via a controller, and then calculating a desired acceleration using a measured vehicle speed and the external forces. The method includes determining an actual acceleration of the vehicle, including filtering a speed signal as a first actual acceleration value and/or measuring a second actual acceleration value using an inertial measurement unit (IMU). During the speed control mode, the method includes calculating an acceleration delta value as a difference between the desired acceleration and the actual acceleration, and then using the acceleration delta value to detect the unintended acceleration during the speed control mode. A powertrain system for the motor vehicle, e.g., an electric vehicle, includes the controller and one or more torque generating devices coupled to road wheels of the vehicle.

A fire fighting vehicle includes a chassis, a front axle, a rear axle, a powertrain, an accessory drive, and a controller. The powertrain includes an engine, a battery system, and an electromechanical transmission coupled to the battery system, the engine, and at least one of the front axle or the rear axle. The accessory drive is positioned to receive a mechanical input from the engine and the electromechanical transmission. The controller is configured to selectively operate the powertrain in a plurality of operational modes including a standby mode and a hybrid mode. According to the standby mode, the controller is configured to operate the electromechanical transmission using stored energy stored in the battery system to drive the accessory drive with the engine off. According to the hybrid mode, the controller is configured to operate both the engine and the electromechanical transmission.

A method of controlling a pickup manoeuvre of a hybrid vehicle is actuated with an engine off, an electric motor active and a first clutch being open. In a first phase of the manoeuvre, vehicle advancement is obtained by progressively closing the second clutch so that the input shaft is set in rotation with an increasing speed, while the motor rotates at an increasing speed higher than a speed of the input shaft with the second clutch in a slip condition. Upon a request for starting the engine, the first clutch is progressively closed so that the engine starts to be driven by the motor, while the second clutch is kept in the slip condition, which is maintained until the engine and motor rotate substantially at a same speed, higher than the speed of the input shaft, and once this condition is reached, closing of the second clutch is started.

A control apparatus is configured to control a vehicle. The vehicle includes an engine, a generator configured to generate electric power by using motive power outputted from the engine, and a drive motor coupled to a drive wheel. The engine, the generator, and the drive motor are coupled to each other via a planetary gear mechanism. The control apparatus includes a processor configured to diagnose a state of at least one of the engine, the generator, or the drive motor on the basis of a relationship between a rotational speed of the engine, a rotational speed of the generator, and a rotational speed of the drive motor.