A speed control system to control retardation energy of a vehicle and a method of controlling retardation energy of a vehicle are provided. The system includes an energy storage device configured to absorb and store the retardation energy of the vehicle. The energy storage device includes a power absorption limit determined at least partially by a temperature and a state of charge of the energy storage device. The system further includes a non-energy-storing retarder configured to absorb the retardation energy of the vehicle and a controller configured to route the retardation energy to the energy storage device up to the power absorption limit and route a remaining portion of the retardation energy to the non-energy-storing retarder.

An object of the present invention is to provide a control apparatus for an electric vehicle capable of preventing the vehicle from being destabilized because a rear wheel is locked first or drivability from reducing because a front wheel is locked early. A control apparatus includes a regenerative braking force calculation portion configured to calculate a regenerative braking force to be generated on each of a front motor and a rear motor based on a request braking force requested to an electric vehicle, a power limit portion configured to reduce the regenerative braking force based on a power limit on a power source, and a frictional braking force output portion configured to output an instruction for generating a frictional braking force according to a regenerative braking force reduction amount, which is an amount of a reduction in the regenerative braking force by the power limit portion, to a brake apparatus.

The present invention relates to a control device and method of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to which Downhill Brake Control (DBC) is applied, and determines whether to perform a braking control of the HEV, by comparing a current vehicle speed of the HEV with a target vehicle speed of the HEV upon operating a DBC function, calculates a braking demand amount based on a difference between the current vehicle speed and the target vehicle speed when the braking control is determined, and controls a vehicle speed of the HEV by determining whether to perform cooperative control of a regenerative braking and a brake hydraulic braking, based on the braking demand amount and a maximum regenerative braking possible amount.

A method for operating a regenerative braking system of a vehicle includes: applying control to at least one valve of a brake circuit, before and/or during operation of a generator of the braking system, so that brake fluid is displaced out of a brake master cylinder and/or out of the at least one brake circuit into at least one reservoir volume; defining a target force difference variable regarding a booster force exerted by a brake booster in consideration of at least one of a generator braking torque information item, a brake master cylinder pressure variable, and an evaluation variable derived from at least the generator braking torque information item or the brake master cylinder pressure variable; and controlling the brake booster in consideration of the defined target force difference variable.

A method controls regenerative braking of a vehicle equipped with regenerative brakes and with a separate braking apparatus. The method is designed to generate a regenerative braking setpoint as a function of a braking request signal coming from a driver pedal of the vehicle, according to a first setpoint generation mode. The method includes receiving a flag signal coming from an active safety system of the vehicle, detecting value changes of the received flag signal, when the received flag signal changes value to take a value corresponding to activation of regulation by the active safety system, incrementing a counter value, and comparing the counter with a threshold. When the counter reaches the threshold, a control signal is formed to end the generation of the regenerative braking setpoint according to the first calculation mode and to impose generation of the regenerative braking setpoint according to a second calculation mode.

A vehicle that includes: a towing axle connected to a heat engine; a directional axle; and a complementary axle that is neither directional nor motor-driven. When the vehicle is hybridized according to the method of the invention, the wheels of the complementary axle are removed and replaced by in-wheel motors, each connected with an inverter specifically dedicated for supplying electrical power thereto from an electrical power battery. A control housing is also provided, that has built-in acceleration control devices connected to the accelerator pedal, and built-in deceleration control devices connected to the brake pedal, so as to control and monitor all the mechanisms needed for the driver to transparently accelerate and decelerate the vehicle.

An electronic control unit is configured to: i) calculate a restriction target value of input electric current to a battery depending on detection value of a current sensor, in a charge control of charging the battery such that charging electric power to the battery is below a permissible value, ii) calculate voltage value of the battery when the battery is charged based on the restriction target value, in a case where the detection value exceeds the restriction target value, iii) calculate a basic permissible value of the charging electric power to the battery, from the restriction target value and the voltage value, and iv) set a regeneration restriction rate to a higher value, as a difference value between the restriction target value and the detection value increases, or as at least one of vehicle speed and the charging electric power when the detection value exceeds the restriction target value increases.

A four-wheel drive electric vehicle control device is provided for a four-wheel drive electric vehicle that has a motor/generator as a drive source, and an electronically controlled coupling provided on the drive power transmission path leading from the drive source to the front and rear wheels. The four-wheel drive hybrid vehicle has a 4WD control unit that outputs to the electronically controlled coupling a transmission torque command value to bring about the four-wheel drive state, in accordance with the vehicle state. The 4WD control unit has a regenerative control intervention-coordinating controller that, when regenerative control by the motor/generator has intervened during the four-wheel drive state, brings the transmission torque of the electronically controlled coupling to zero before initiating regenerative control.

The present invention relates to a control device and method of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) to which Downhill Brake Control (DBC) is applied, and determines whether to perform a braking control of the HEV, by comparing a current vehicle speed of the HEV with a target vehicle speed of the HEV upon operating a DBC function, calculates a braking demand amount based on a difference between the current vehicle speed and the target vehicle speed when the braking control is determined, and controls a vehicle speed of the HEV by determining whether to perform cooperative control of a regenerative braking and a brake hydraulic braking, based on the braking demand amount and a maximum regenerative braking possible amount.

A brake control device is applied to a vehicle including a regenerative generator. The brake control device includes a pressure adjustment unit that includes an electric pump and a pressure adjustment valve, and that adjusts adjustment liquid pressure of a pressure adjustment fluid path between the electric pump and the pressure adjustment valve; and a controller that controls the electric pump and the pressure adjustment valve. The controller, before starting a replacement operation to replace a regenerative braking force by the regenerative generator with a friction braking force by the adjustment liquid pressure, performs preceding pressurization to increase the adjustment liquid pressure from “0” and maintain the adjustment liquid pressure at predetermined liquid pressure, and after performing the preceding pressurization, increases the adjustment liquid pressure more than the predetermined liquid pressure by increasing a rotation speed of the electric pump, and then execute the replacement operation.