Systems and methods for starting an engine of a hybrid vehicle are disclosed. The systems and methods disclosed may apply to series or parallel hybrid driveline configurations. In one example, engine cranking torque may be adjusted in response to a variety of operating conditions so that the engine may be started faster or slower.

An electric vehicle includes a vehicle controller. The vehicle controller is capable of switching a traveling mode of the electric vehicle between a first traveling mode and a second traveling mode that applies driving-force maps for enhancing a rough-road capability from a rough-road capability in the first traveling mode. The vehicle controller is capable of switching the traveling mode to the second traveling mode in forward traveling and in backward traveling and is configured to apply, to the backward traveling in the second traveling mode, a first driving-force map of the driving-force maps, the first driving-force map having gentler characteristics than a second driving-force map of the driving-force map applied to the forward traveling in the second traveling mode.

Transition is made from a motor single-drive mode to a motor dual-drive mode while there is a margin in torque output from a motor MG2 with respect to rated torque. With this, the torque of the motor MG1 is changed slowly in the motor dual-drive mode, whereby it is possible to suppress the generation of vibration (shock) due to torsion of a damper and to compensate for a shortage of the torque of the motor MG1 due to slow change processing with an increase in torque from the motor MG2. As a result, it is possible to achieve both of reduction of a shock due to the torque of the motor MG1 and output of required torque to a drive shaft.

A vehicle drive force control method according to the present invention includes calculating an estimated friction circle on the basis of longitudinal and lateral accelerations of a vehicle, limiting a drive force of the vehicle depending on a size of the estimated friction circle, and limiting a change rate of the size of the estimated friction circle during vehicle traveling on the basis of a tire generation force. The method further the change rate as the tire generation force increases.

An electronic control unit is mounted on a vehicle including an internal combustion engine and electric motors, each of which is connected to a driving shaft to be capable of transmitting power. The electronic control unit is configured to compute compensation torque reducing a pulsation component of engine torque of the internal combustion engine and command a value in which required torque of the electric motor is combined with the computed compensation torque to the electric motor as a torque command value of the electric motor. The electronic control unit is configured to correct the torque command value so that the value opposite in sign to an average torque command value is not commanded to the electric motor when the average torque command value is smaller than an amplitude of the torque command value.

A method is described for shutting off an internal combustion engine in a vehicle that comprises an internal combustion engine and an electrical machine, an electrical torque furnished by the electrical machine being adapted in such a way that a change per unit time in a total torque lies within a definable range, the total torque being made up at least of a torque of the internal combustion engine and the electrical torque.

A system and a method are configured to control a traction force of a vehicle, for example, an electrified vehicle. The system includes wheel speed sensors mounted on drive wheels, respectively, of the vehicle to measure a drive wheel speed, a disturbance observer for extracting a primary disturbance by comparing an actual vehicle behavior based on a required torque with a vehicle behavior estimated based on the drive wheel speed using a vehicle behavior model in an acceleration situation of the vehicle, a filter for extracting a secondary disturbance in a preset frequency range from the primary disturbance, a compensator for calculating a compensation torque for cancelling the secondary disturbance, a hysteresis circuit for determining whether to compensate for the required torque based on the compensation torque, and a calculator for calculating a compensated required torque using the required torque and the compensation torque.

A drive force control system for a vehicle having a motor and a battery that allows a driver to sense a satisfactory acceleration even if an output torque of a motor is restricted. The drive force control system comprises a controller that calculates an upper limit acceleration of the vehicle based on an upper limit power to be supplied from the battery to the motor. The controller sets a reference jerk as the required jerk when the upper limit acceleration is equal to or greater than the target acceleration, and sets a corrected jerk that is greater than the reference jerk as the required jerk when the upper limit acceleration is less than the target acceleration.

A launch control technique for a vehicle having a torque generating system comprises displaying, via a user interface, information relating to a set of launch torque curves, each launch torque curve defining how the torque generating system is to generate drive torque during a period, receiving, via the user interface, a driver-selection of one of the set of launch torque curves to obtain a driver-selected launch torque curve, detecting a set of launch conditions comprising one or more vehicle operating conditions indicative of a launch of the vehicle, detecting a launch request in response to an accelerator pedal of the vehicle being depressed to an accelerator pedal position threshold, and finally controlling the launch of the vehicle by performing open-loop control of the drive torque generated by the torque generating system according to the driver-selected launch torque curve and irrespective of wheel slip of the vehicle.

A vehicle control apparatus includes a detection section, a control section. The detection section is configured to detect vehicle information including a vehicle speed of a vehicle driven by an electric motor and drive torque of the electric motor. The control section is configured to moderate a rate of increase in the drive torque at the time of acceleration with respect to a rate of increase set in advance on the basis of a detection result of the detection section on condition that the vehicle speed of the vehicle is less than or equal to a predetermined speed and the drive torque is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold.