Nissan Motor Company Limited

Ping Chen

Kouichi Shimizu

Keiji Kadota

Hiroyuki Ohya

Tatsuya Kamata

Keigo Nishio

Yasuaki Iwata

A driving force control apparatus is provided for a vehicle capable of preventing a shock from being generated by disengaging a clutch disposed between a subordinate drive source and subordinate drive wheels during vehicle travel. When a transition determination is made in which the clutch will be released, e.g., from a four-wheel drive state to a two-wheel drive state, a clutch release section disengage the clutch, upon the drive torque of the drive source substantially reaching a target drive torque in which a difference between an output torque of the clutch and an input torque of the clutch is smaller than a prescribed value in response to the transition determination.

Vehicle driving force control apparatus

A vehicle driving force control apparatus controls a control torque command of an electric motor based on a power supplying condition of an electric power source. The power source supplies electric power to the electric motor that drives at least one wheel of the vehicle. An electric power supplying status detecting section determines an electric power supplying capacity of the electric power source based on the power supplying condition of the power source, while an electric motor torque control section controls the control torque command of the electric motor based on the power supplying condition determined by the electric power supplying status detecting section. Preferably, an internal combustion engine that drives at least one other wheel also drives a generator that acts as the power source of the electric motor. The vehicle driving force control apparatus is especially useful in a four-wheel drive vehicle.

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Fujisawa, Japan

Ping Chen