A driving apparatus includes: a first power source; a fluid transmission device; a first output shaft for receiving a power transmitted from the fluid transmission device through a first power transmission path and outputting the power to drive wheels of a vehicle; a rotary electric machine connected to the first output shaft and/or the drive wheels, through a second power transmission path; and a control device. When the vehicle is stopped or running at an extremely low speed, with a rotary-electric-machine driving mode being established, the control device is configured, upon determination that a drive request amount is larger than a threshold amount value, to place a direct clutch of the fluid transmission device into an engaged state and to place the first power transmission path into a power transmittable state so as to cause the power of the first power source to be outputted to the first output shaft.

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 vehicle driving apparatus includes: an engine; first and second rotary electric machines; a fluid transmission device including an input-side rotary element to which the engine and the first rotary electric machine are connected; and a control device configured to control an operation point of the engine by adjusting an electrical path amount in an electrical path between the first and second rotary electric machines. When a certain running mode is established, the control device is configured to correct the electrical path amount to an increased electrical path amount while maintaining an power of the engine requested by an operation of a vehicle driver, and to drive the second rotary electric machine, while controlling an output torque of the first rotary electric machine such that the electrical path amount transferred from the first rotary electric machine to the second rotary electric machine becomes the increased electrical path amount.

Methods and systems are provided for operating a driveline of a hybrid vehicle during conditions when a temperature of a motor/generator is increasing. In one example, a method is provided that adjusts engine speed as a function of motor/generator temperature while maintaining engine power output when driver demand wheel power is constant.

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 control method controls a series hybrid vehicle in which a drive motor and an internal combustion engine are supported in a vehicle body via a plurality of mount members in an integrated state. The control method using a controller generates electric power using an electric power generation motor, and drives the electric power generation motor using motive power of the internal combustion engine. The control method drives a drive wheel with the drive motor using the generated electric power, and causes the drive motor to generate regenerative torque during deceleration. In the control method, the regenerative torque is generated by the drive motor such that an upper limit of the regenerative torque is restricted to a magnitude at which an engine rotational speed where resonance occurs on the vehicle body floor.

A method of thickening cosmetics containing a crosslinked water-swellable polymer, or a microgel obtained by pulverizing a hydrophilic compound having gelation ability. The method comprises adding a linear polyacrylic acid or a salt thereof, or a linear poly(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) or a salt thereof, having a weight-average molecular weight of 500,000 to 8,000,000, which has a thread length of 10 mm or less at room temperature when formed into a 1% by mass solution. The method provides cosmetics having an improved viscoelastic ratio, with a rich and full-bodied feeling upon application.

A series hybrid vehicle control method charges a battery with electric power generated by an electric power generation motor driven by an internal combustion engine, and electric power regenerated by a drive motor. The control method starts generating the electric power by the engine if a requested output exceeds a power generation start threshold value, and stops generating electric power by the engine if the requested output falls below a power generation stop threshold value. A deceleration rate by regeneration of the drive motor is greater in a second advancement shift position than in a first advancement shift position. The power generation start threshold value and/or the power generation stop threshold value where the second advancement shift position has been selected is greater than the power generation start threshold value or the power generation stop threshold value where the first advancement shift position has been selected.

A method of controlling an engine and a transmission of a hybrid vehicle includes steps of: determining whether the vehicle starts, determining an engine RPM and a gear stage of a transmission if the vehicle has started, determining whether the engine RPM has reached an engine speed control point, determining an engine target RPM and an engine target RPM slope of the vehicle when it is determined that the engine RPM has reached the engine speed control point, controlling the engine RPM of the vehicle to follow the engine target RPM and the engine target RPM slope, determining whether the engine RPM has slipped compared to the target engine RPM, and performing PID control to follow the engine target RPM if the engine RPM slips compared to the engine target RPM.

Embodiments of the invention relate to a method for driving an ego vehicle in a defined speed range, wherein the ego vehicle has at least one drive unit, and for the at least one drive unit there is provided a characteristic curve specific to the drive unit for a speed-dependent maximum torque, wherein for the at least one drive unit of the ego vehicle a performance-specific characteristic curve depending on the characteristic performance class of the ego vehicle is established for a speed-dependent performance-specific characteristic torque which is less than the maximum torque, and a supplemental torque is established for the ego vehicle when driving in the defined speed range of the ego vehicle in addition to the performance-specific characteristic torque.