A system and method for operating a hybrid vehicle having an engine and an eMachine coupled by a clutch using a hybrid controller is presented. The method determines an idle fuel rate of the engine, determines a hybrid efficiency index for the hybrid vehicle, determines an expected energy storage rate increase for an operating condition where the engine is decoupled from a vehicle transmission using said clutch, multiplies the expected energy storage rate increase by the hybrid efficiency index to determine an expected fuel rate reduction of the engine in the operating condition; and decouples the engine from the vehicle transmission using the clutch if the expected fuel rate reduction is greater than the idle fuel rate.

A hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) comprises an engine and at least one electric machine. The vehicle is operable in an electric vehicle (EV) mode in which the electric machine develops torque to drive the vehicle whilst the engine is switched off. In an embodiment, the vehicle is operable when in EV mode automatically to cause engine turnover without starting the engine when a prescribed one or more conditions are met.

An electronic control unit permits a shift operation to a neutral position, by which a manual transmission 14 is switched to neutral, during coasting control. Accordingly, shifting to the neutral position can be performed only by the shift operation. Thus, power transmission can be blocked after termination of the coasting control. In addition, the electronic control unit prohibits the shift operation to a particular gear after the transmission is switched to neutral. Thus, overreving or underreving at the termination of the coasting control can be suppressed.

A drive device for a motor vehicle, having an internal combustion engine that outputs to a gearbox or transmission. A plurality of gear ratios steps provides shiftable driving gears from a starting gear to a highest driving gear. The gearbox has at least one gear ratio step that provides an overrun gear, which cannot be engaged in the traction mode, but only in an overrun mode, in which the vehicle drags the internal combustion engine.

The disclosure relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine includes a cylinder and a piston, which runs in the cylinder, together delimiting a working chamber. The working chamber is supplied with fresh air from an intake section via an inlet valve and is connected to an exhaust manifold via exhaust valves. The internal combustion engine includes a variable valve actuation system for the actuation of the inlet valves, controlling the opening time and/or the closing time and/or the lift. A strategy for shutting down the internal combustion engine includes controlling the inlet valves of individual or all working chambers in such a way that the transfer of fresh air from the intake section to the exhaust manifold is reduced or avoided and that the drag torque of the intake combustion engine is reduced.

A controller and a method for a hybrid drive, which includes an internal combustion engine and an electrical machine are provided. The internal combustion engine includes adjustment devices that deactivate the intake and exhaust valve opening actuation. The controller is designed in such a way that, in the case of at least one specified condition (such as regeneration during unfired overrun or in the case of electric travel, in particular in the case of operation with high activation frequency of the internal combustion engine, e.g., in charge sustaining or HEV operation), the intake and exhaust valves are kept at least approximately (preferably completely) closed at least approximately simultaneously while the internal combustion engine is unfired. The internal combustion engine must be connected to the electrical machine. If there is a disconnect clutch, the disconnect clutch is brought into the closed state or remains closed.

A method for supporting energy-efficient deceleration of a vehicle includes determining a reference deceleration depending on a current speed or a speed profile of the vehicle, determining a starting time point and a starting speed of a deceleration of the vehicle, and determining a real energy consumption and a real distance between the starting time point and a current time point and/or ending time point of the deceleration. The method also includes calculating a reference time and a reference distance for a deceleration with the determined reference deceleration between the determined starting speed and the current speed and/or the speed at the ending time point of the vehicle, calculating an energy consumption for a differential distance from the determined real distance and the calculated reference distance, and calculating a real total energy consumption as the sum of the determined real energy consumption of the deceleration and the calculated energy consumption for the differential distance. Further, the method includes calculating a reference energy consumption for the reference deceleration from the starting speed to the current and/or ending speed depending on a predefined deceleration type of the reference deceleration and/or depending on the determined real energy consumption of the deceleration, and then providing an energy-saving potential on the basis of a difference between the real total energy consumption and the calculated reference energy consumption.

A cruise control method to control a driven vehicle includes: determining projected speeds of the driven vehicle at each of the predetermined-upcoming locations; determining a plurality of following times at each of the predetermined-upcoming locations of the driven vehicle and the projected speeds of the followed vehicle; determining whether at least one of the plurality of following times is less than the predetermined-minimum time threshold; and in response to determining that at least one plurality of following times is less than the predetermined-minimum time threshold, commanding, by the controller, the propulsion system of the driven vehicle to decrease the commanded axle torque by a torque adjustment in order to prevent each of the plurality of following times at each of the predetermined-upcoming locations from being less than the predetermined-minimum time threshold.

A method for controlling a motor vehicle, comprising: retrieving road gradient data relating to an expected travelling route of the motor vehicle; based on at least the retrieved road gradient data and on a motor vehicle mass, simulating a required value of a braking power related variable, which required value is needed to prevent a vehicle speed from increasing above a preset desired vehicle speed in an upcoming downhill slope; determining an available value of the braking power related variable of at least one auxiliary brake of the motor vehicle; and based on the determined available value and the simulated required value of the braking power related variable, controlling the vehicle speed and/or at least one brake actuator of the motor vehicle such that the vehicle speed does not increase above the preset desired vehicle speed in the upcoming downhill slope.

Fuel injection of a hybrid electric vehicle including an engine and a transmission may be controlled by a method including, determining to release coasting of the hybrid electric vehicle based on a brake pedal operation, determining whether a fuel injection suspending condition is satisfied based on vehicle running state data, suspending fuel injection when the vehicle running state data satisfies the fuel injection suspending condition, performing an engagement control of the transmission while the fuel injection is suspended, determining whether a fuel injection suspension release condition is satisfied, determining whether the engine and the transmission are directly coupled when the fuel injection suspension release condition is satisfied, and initiating fuel injection of the engine when the engine and the transmission are directly coupled.