A wireless communication device for collecting vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) data is disclosed, together with associated methods of handling OBD data in such wireless communication devices. The device comprises a connector for connecting the device to an OBD port of a vehicle to receive OBD data; a processor configured to continually aggregate the OBD data and/or acceleration data from an acceleration sensor into risk profile data during a journey made by the vehicle; a memory for storing the latest risk profile data for the journey; and a wireless transceiver for transmitting the stored risk profile data to an external mobile device during the journey. The processor is further configured to determine an engine state of the vehicle and to detect when the vehicle begins and ends a journey based on said determined engine state and OBD data relating to vehicle speed and/or engine revolutions, and to cause the stored risk profile data to be deleted from the memory upon detection that the vehicle has begun a new journey.

Provided are a driving force control method and device for a hybrid vehicle, each capable of effectively absorbing torque fluctuation of an engine while suppressing deterioration in energy efficiency. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle comprises a PCM configured to: identify a speed reduction ratio in a driving force transmission mechanism; estimate an average torque output by an engine; estimate a torque fluctuation component of the torque output by the engine; set a countertorque for suppressing the estimated torque fluctuation component; and control an electric motor to output the set countertorque, wherein the PCM is operable, under a condition that the average torque output by the engine and an engine speed are constant, to set the countertorque such that, as the speed reduction ratio becomes smaller, the absolute value of the countertorque becomes larger.

A system may include a computer to obtain orientation information of a determined travel route for a vehicle system that includes a first power source and a second power source. The computer may determine one or more energy requirements of a hybrid propulsion system based on the orientation information. The computer may generate a trip plan to control a performance parameter(s) of a hybrid propulsion system and control a stable low temperature combustion. The computer may select at least one of the first power source or the second power source to deliver the one or more energy requirements. A method may include obtaining the orientation information, determining the one or more energy requirements, generating the trip plan, and selecting at least one of the first power source or the second power source. A vehicle system may include a hybrid power source, an electric motor(s), and a computer.

Provided are a driving force control method and device for a hybrid vehicle, each capable of effectively absorbing torque fluctuation of an engine while suppressing deterioration in energy efficiency. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle comprises a PCM configured to: estimate an average torque output by an engine; estimate a torque fluctuation component of the torque output by the engine; set a countertorque for suppressing the estimated torque fluctuation component; and control an electric motor to output the set countertorque, wherein the PCM is operable, under a condition that the average torque output by the engine is constant, to set the countertorque such that, as an engine speed of the engine becomes larger, the absolute value of the countertorque becomes larger.

A vehicle controller is configured to execute a duty cycle control process of alternately repeating an electric power generation execution period and an electric power generation stop period of an electric generator and controlling a duty cycle, which is a ratio of the electric power generation execution period to a single cycle of repeated cycles, when determining that an anomaly has occurred in a driving circuit. The duty cycle control process includes at least one of two processes, a process of setting the duty cycle to be larger when a member in an overheatable region, in which overheating is possibly performed by the heater, has a low temperature than when the member has a high temperature and a process of setting the duty cycle to be larger when an internal combustion engine has a large intake air amount than when the engine has a small intake air amount.

Provided are a driving force control method and device for a hybrid vehicle, each capable of effectively absorbing torque fluctuation of an engine while suppressing deterioration in energy efficiency. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle comprises a PCM configured to: estimate an average torque output by an engine; estimate a torque fluctuation component of the torque output by the engine; set a countertorque for suppressing the estimated torque fluctuation component; and control an electric motor to output the set countertorque, wherein the PCM is operable, under the condition that the average torque output by the internal combustion engine is constant, to set a negative control gain such that, as an engine speed becomes higher, the absolute value of the control gain becomes smaller, and then to set the countertorque based on a product of the estimated torque fluctuation component and the control gain.

A driving force control device for a vehicle is provided, which includes a motor, an engine, and a controller. The controller sets a target torque of the vehicle corresponding to accelerator operation, distributes a target engine torque, based on the target torque, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the target engine torque. The controller estimates a future amount of intake air to a cylinder based on the target engine torque, and estimates an engine torque after a setup time from the present time based on the estimated future amount of intake air. The controller sets a target motor torque after the setup time based on the estimated engine torque after the setup time so that the target torque is achieved, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the target motor torque to synchronize a torque response of the engine with a torque response of the motor.

A driving force control device for a vehicle is provided, which includes a motor, an engine, and a controller. The controller sets a target torque of the vehicle corresponding to accelerator operation, and distributes a target engine torque according to a distribution rule defined beforehand, based on the target torque of the vehicle, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the target engine torque to the engine. The controller estimates a future amount of intake air to a cylinder based on the target engine torque, and estimates a torque of the engine in the future based on the estimated future amount of intake air. The controller sets a target motor torque based on the estimated torque of the engine so that the target torque of the vehicle is achieved in the future, and outputs a control signal corresponding to the target motor torque to the motor.

Systems and methods for operating a vehicle that includes an engine and an electric machine are described. In one example, torque requests are aligned in time to compensate for a delay that may be caused by broadcasting one or more torque commands over a controller area network or another type of communication link. The torque requests may be aligned via delaying an engine torque request and predicting an electric machine torque.

Provided are a driving force control method and device for a hybrid vehicle, each capable of effectively absorbing torque fluctuation of an engine while suppressing deterioration in energy efficiency. The driving force control device for a hybrid vehicle comprises a PCM configured to: estimate an average torque output by an engine; estimate a torque fluctuation component of the torque output by the engine; set a countertorque for suppressing the estimated torque fluctuation component; and control an electric motor to output the set countertorque, wherein the PCM is operable, under a condition that an engine speed is constant, to set the countertorque such that, as the average torque output by an engine becomes larger, the absolute value of the countertorque becomes smaller.