A through the road (TTR) hybridization strategy is proposed to facilitate introduction of hybrid electric vehicle technology in a significant portion of current and expected trucking fleets. In some cases, the technologies can be retrofitted onto an existing vehicle (e.g., a trailer, a tractor-trailer configuration, etc.). In some cases, the technologies can be built into new vehicles. In some cases, one vehicle may be built or retrofitted to operate in tandem with another and provide the hybridization benefits contemplated herein. By supplementing motive forces delivered through a primary drivetrain and fuel-fed engine with supplemental torque delivered at one or more electrically-powered drive axles, improvements in overall fuel efficiency and performance may be delivered, typically without significant redesign of existing components and systems that have been proven in the trucking industry.

When a brake is turned on during travel of a hybrid vehicle, a required braking force required for a drive shaft is set based on a brake depression amount, a base rotation speed of an engine is set based on the required braking force, a shift stage is set based on the base rotation speed and a vehicle speed, a target rotation speed of the engine is set based on the shift stage and the vehicle speed, and the engine, the first motor, and the second motor are controlled such that the engine operates at the target rotation speed and the required braking force acts on the drive shaft.

A control apparatus and method for a hybrid vehicle that searches for and determines a scheduled travel route and a downhill section included in the scheduled travel route on the basis of positional information of the vehicle and road information. The control apparatus determines a section from a downhill control start point to an end point of a target downhill section as a controlled target section. The downhill control start point is located a predetermined first distance before a start point of the target downhill section. When the vehicle travels on the controlled target section, the control apparatus executes downhill control. Even in a situation in which a target downhill section is newly determined during execution of the downhill control, the control apparatus continues the downhill control until the vehicle reaches an end point of the controlled target section for which the downhill control is started.

A through the road (TTR) hybridization strategy is proposed to facilitate introduction of hybrid electric vehicle technology in a significant portion of current and expected trucking fleets. In some cases, the technologies can be retrofitted onto an existing vehicle (e.g., a trailer, a tractor-trailer configuration, etc.). In some cases, the technologies can be built into new vehicles. In some cases, one vehicle may be built or retrofitted to operate in tandem with another and provide the hybridization benefits contemplated herein. By supplementing motive forces delivered through a primary drivetrain and fuel-fed engine with supplemental torque delivered at one or more electrically-powered drive axles, improvements in overall fuel efficiency and performance may be delivered, typically without significant redesign of existing components and systems that have been proven in the trucking industry.

A hybrid vehicle using an engine driving a generator to supply power to electric drive motors through a system power bus, and a method for controlling power regeneration in a hybrid vehicle are disclosed. Ground drive controllers associated with the drive motors are configured to determine a slope of a surface on which the vehicle is driving and set a maximum downhill speed of the vehicle based thereon. A generator controller, in response to the drive motors generating power through regenerative braking, regulates power on the bus by directing the generated power to recharge the battery when the battery has capacity, reducing an output of the generator to the bus when the battery is fully charged, and driving a driveshaft to drive the engine with the generator to consume excess power on the bus when the generator output is reduced to zero.

A coasting control method of an eco-friendly vehicle includes steps of acquiring deceleration event information and road gradient information in front of a vehicle during driving, by a controller in the vehicle, determining target vehicle speed in a deceleration event in consideration of road gradient based on the deceleration event information and the road gradient information, by the controller, determining expected vehicle speed while the vehicle is decelerated in a coasting state, based on current vehicle speed, by the controller, determining a start location for starting coasting based on target vehicle speed in consideration of current vehicle speed of the vehicle and the road gradient and expected vehicle speed at a target location as a deceleration event location, by the controller, and operating an information provider for coasting guidance and coasting induction to a driver at a start location, by the controller.

When it is judged that a downward slope segment exists in a scheduled traveling route, the control device of a hybrid vehicle sets a target remaining capacity SOC* in a pre-use segment in a downward slope segment and the downward slope segment to a low-side remaining capacity Sd which is Sd smaller than a standard remaining capacity Sn. Furthermore, when it is presumed that a rise amount of a remaining capacity by an extended regeneration control is large in the pre-use segment and the downward slope segment, the target remaining capacity SOC* is set to a low-side remaining capacity Sd which is a sum of Sd and S1 smaller than the standard remaining capacity Sn.

An anti-jerk control system and method of an eco-friendly vehicle are provided to prevent a driver from sensing a difference in vehicle starting at an initial stage when the vehicle is parked on a downhill road. The anti-jerk control method uses a motor as a driving source and includes calculating an actual speed of the motor, calculating a model speed of the motor, and acquiring a gradient of a road, on which the vehicle is located, using a gradient detector. Additionally, the method includes determining a speed offset value that corresponds to the acquired gradient, compensating the model speed by the speed offset value, and calculating a motor vibration component using a difference between the compensated model speed and the actual speed of the motor. Then, anti-jerk compensation torque is calculated using the calculated motor vibration component.

A power control system may include at least one of batteries, a motor, and a data logic analyzer that can interpret certain variable conditions of a transport, such as a tractor trailer, moving along a road or highway. The data can be used to determine when to apply supplemental power to the wheels of a trailer to reduce fuel usage. One example device may include at least one of a power source affixed to a trailer to capture energy from movement of an axle of the trailer, and a motor powered by the power source to operate and provide movement assistance to the axle.

A power control system may include at least one of batteries, a motor, and a data logic analyzer that can interpret certain variable conditions of a transport, such as a tractor trailer, moving along a road or highway. The data can be used to determine when to apply supplemental power to the wheels of a trailer to reduce fuel usage. One example device may include at least one of: a power creation module that generates electrical power, a battery which store the electrical power, a motor affixed to a trailer axle of a trailer which provides a turning force to the trailer axle when enabled to operate from the stored electrical power of the battery, and a motor controller configured to initiate the motor to operate according to a predefined sensor condition.