Nissan Motor Company Limited

Shusaka Katakura

Hideaki Watanabe

Nobusuke Toukura

Masayuki Yasuoka

Yoshinori Iwasaki

Shojiro Sato

Katsuhiko Tsuchiya

In a vehicle equipped with a continuously variable transmission, sensors detect a vehicle speed, an accelerator depression degree and an output rotation speed of the transmission. The minimum required drive shaft drive torque is calculated from the vehicle speed and the accelerator depression degree. A target input rotation speed of the transmission for achieving the minimum required drive shaft drive torque with the least engine fuel consumption is calculated according to the vehicle speed. The input rotation speed is controlled to this target input rotation speed. The target engine output torque to generate the minimum required drive shaft drive torque is calculated, and an engine throttle opening is controlled to obtain this torque. As a result, the required vehicle drive force is obtained with the minimum engine fuel consumption.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shusaka Katakura