Disclosed is a method for control of a vehicle with a drive system comprising a planetary gear and a first and second electrical machine, connected with their rotors to the components of the planetary gear, a braking of the vehicle towards stop occurs by way of a distribution of the desired braking torque between the first and the second electrical machines, and wherein such electrical machines are controlled to transmit a total torque to an output shaft of the planetary gear, which corresponds to the desired braking torque at least to one predetermined low speed limit, before the vehicle stops.

A utility vehicle and a method of operating a utility vehicle having a rear axle driven by a drive engine, a rear axle differential on the rear axle, and a front axle that is configured to be switched on to perform four-wheel drive are provided. The method includes activating a differential lock for locking the rear axle differential on the basis of at least one of a rear axle slippage variable, which characterizes a drive slippage occurring at the rear axle, an engine power of the drive engine, a status of at least one brake device associated with the rear axle, and a status regarding the four-wheel drive.

A drive system for a vehicle includes two electrical machines arranged between a combustion engine and an input shaft to a gearbox. The first electrical machine rotor is connected with a planetary gear component, and the input shaft of the gearbox is connected with another planetary gear component. The second electrical machine rotor is connected via a transmission with the output shaft of the combustion engine, which is connected with another planetary gear component. planetary gear's components may be locked together to rotate at the same rotational speed, and released wherein the components rotate at different rotational speeds. Further, the output shaft of the combustion engine may either be locked in position with or released from the additional planetary gear component.

A drive system for a vehicle comprises an electrical machine, arranged between a combustion engine and an input shaft to a gearbox. The rotor of the electrical machine is connected with a component of a planetary gear, and the input shaft of the gearbox is connected with another component of such planetary gear. A first locking means may be moved between a locked position, in which the planetary gear's three components rotate at the same rotational speed, and a release position, in which the components are allowed to rotate at different rotational speeds. A second locking means is moveable between a locked position in which the output shaft of the combustion engine is locked together with a component in the planetary gear, and a release position, in which the combustion engine's output shaft is decoupled from such a component.

A method is described for controlling the automatic starting of a motor vehicle comprising an electronically controllable locking differential, uphill in a split mu situation. The method comprises the following steps: determining the positive gradient of the underlying surface; defining an initial locking torque on the basis of the determined positive gradient and on the basis of a component of the torque which the vehicle requires to travel uphill with only the first driven wheel powered; calculating the slip ratio SR.sub.xx for the first driven wheel xx according to SR.sub.xx=(V.sub.xxV.sub.Ref)/V.sub.Crit if the reference velocity V.sub.Ref is between 0 and a critical velocity V.sub.Crit, and according to SR.sub.xx=(V.sub.xxV.sub.Ref)/V.sub.Ref if the reference velocity V.sub.Ref is higher than the critical velocity V.sub.Crit; and defining the locking torque of the electronically controllable locking differential on the basis of the slip ratio of the first driven wheel.

A control system for a drive unit configured to control driving force and braking force integrally is provided. The control system comprises: a sensor that detects vehicle conditions and an operation amount of an accelerator pedal etc.; a brake device that is contacted to an input element of a differential unit or a rotary member attached to the drive motor connected to the differential unit; and a controller. The controller is configured to calculate: a target travelling condition based on the vehicle condition and the operation amount detected by the sensor; target drive torques or target braking torques to be applied to the right wheel and left wheel based on the target travelling condition; output torques of a drive motor and a differential motor based on the target driving torques; and a braking force to be established by the brake device and an output torque of the differential motor based on the target braking torques.

Control device for a 4WD vehicle is provided. The 4WD vehicle includes a driving force source, main driving wheels, auxiliary driving wheels, a driving force transmission shaft, a first disconnection mechanism, and a second disconnection mechanism. The first disconnection mechanism and the second disconnection mechanism are engaged during 4WD traveling. One of the first disconnection mechanism and the second disconnection mechanism is a clutch. The control device includes an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is configured to execute engagement control for controlling the engagement force of the clutch so that the driving force transmission shaft is maintained in a state prior to the initiation of a continuous increase in the rotation speed of the driving force transmission shaft.

A slip control system for an off-road vehicle includes a control system configured to output a signal indicative of a first action if a magnitude of slippage of the off-road vehicle relative to a soil surface is greater than a first threshold value and less than or equal to a second threshold value. Furthermore, the control system is configured to output a signal indicative of a second action, different than the first action, if the magnitude of slippage is greater than the second threshold value.

A drive system for a vehicle comprises two electrical machines arranged between a combustion engine and an input shaft to a gearbox. The first machine's rotor and the input shaft of the gearbox are each connected to a separate component of a planetary gear. The second electrical machine's rotor is connected with the output shaft of the combustion engine, which is connected with another component of the planetary gear. A first locking means may be moved between a locked position, in which the planetary gear's three components rotate at the same rotational speed, and a release position, allowing for different rotational speeds. A second locking means is moveable between a locked position, in which the output shaft of the combustion engine is locked together with the second machine's rotor and a release position, in which the combustion engine's output shaft is disconnected from the second machine's rotor.

Method and apparatus are disclosed for settings adjustments of off-road vehicles. An example vehicle includes a locking differential, a suspension, a communication module to collect a map of an off-road trail, and a GPS receiver to determine a vehicle location. The example vehicle also includes an obstacle identifier to detect, via a processor, an upcoming obstacle based upon the vehicle location on the map, and a mode adjuster to set the locking differential in a first setting and the suspension in a second setting based upon the upcoming obstacle.