Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Aisin Aw Co., Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho

Aisin Corporation

Takeshi Kitahata

Tooru Matsubara

Atsushi Tabata

Kenta Kumazaki

Tatsuya Imamura

Yasuhiro Hiasa

Hiromichi Kimura

Kazuyuki Shiiba

Koichi Okuda

Masato Yoshikawa

Nobufusa Kobayashi

Shunya Kato

Keita Imai

Yuji Iwase

Hiroyuki Shibata

Kazuomi Okasaka

Hiroyuki Shioiri

Tomohito Ono

Yosuke Nakazawa

Hiroyuki Nishizawa

Masayuki Baba

Takao Watanabe

Takashi Fujita

Yukihiko Ideshio

Hideaki Komada

Yosuke Suzuki

Shun Sato

Michitaka Tsuchida

Shigeki Takami

Hitoshi Taguchi

Masafumi Yamamoto

Akira Kawaguchi

Ken Iwatsuki

Jun Goto

Kenji Uchida

Motoyasu Mochizuki

Hiroshi Uchino

Eiji Ichioka

Takahiro Kimura

Tatsuo Obata

Takeshi Kuwahara

Munehiro Katsumata

Kenji Miyasaka

Daisuke Suyama

Shinichi Sasade

Masahiro Tanae

Eiji Tsuchiya

Toru Saito

Yoshihiro Iijima

Hiroki Kuwamoto

Makoto Iwanaka

Koji Sugiyama

Hiromasa Tatsushiro

Atsuto Ogino

Mitsuru Maeda

Hiroyuki Nishikawa

Takahisa Kageyama

Kota Ishikawa

Yutaka Uchida

Hisashi Ishihara

Miyoshi Kawaguchi

Hiroaki Nakashima

Takeo Kanai

Hiroshi Shibata

Kazuhiro Iketomi

Yoshinobu Nakamura

Kouichi Okuda

Kodo Nakawatari

Kazuaki Ishiura

Yoshinori Sugimoto

Hisanori Shibata

Tadahiro Sakamoto

Takahiro Kawaguchi

Keisuke Oomuro

A cause for a malfunction in a vehicle is identified using a preset malfunction cause identifying model indicating a relation between the cause for the malfunction identified based on a detection value of an experimental vehicle sensor such as an oil pressure sensor, which is a detection value allowing the cause for the malfunction to be identified more easily than a detection value of an in-vehicle sensor group that is the same as an in-vehicle sensor group equipped in the vehicle, and the detection value of the in-vehicle sensor group, and the detection value of the in-vehicle sensor group when the malfunction has occurred in the vehicle. Therefore, in the case where the vehicle is not equipped with the experimental vehicle sensor, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the identification of the cause for the malfunction in the vehicle.

Vehicle malfunction cause identifying device

A control device of a hybrid vehicle includes a pressing torque applying portion configured to control the first rotating machine to output a pressing torque acting in a predetermined backlash elimination direction in backlash elimination in which one of tooth surfaces of meshing gears is pressed against the other at a meshing portion during motor running, so that the pressing torque is applied on the electric transmission mechanism. When an electrical angle of the first rotating machine is within a predetermined electrical angle range in which a cogging torque of the first rotating machine generated in accordance with rotation of the first rotating machine is equal to or greater than a predetermined torque required for the backlash elimination in the predetermined backlash elimination direction, the pressing torque applying portion makes the pressing torque smaller as compared to when the electrical angle is outside the predetermined electrical angle range.

Control device of hybrid vehicle

A vehicle failure-factor specifying apparatus includes (a) a peculiarity-presence determining portion configured to determine, based on a pre-failure driving state in a stage prior to occurrence of a certain failure in a vehicle, whether a peculiarity was present or absent in the pre-failure driving state, and (b) a failure-causing-driving state specifying portion configured, when the peculiarity was present in the pre-failure driving state, to determine whether the peculiarity present in the pre-failure driving state of the vehicle is substantially identical with a peculiarity in the pre-failure driving state of other vehicles. The peculiarity-presence determining portion determines whether the peculiarity was present or absent in the pre-failure driving state of the vehicle, depending on whether a frequency distribution of the pre-failure driving state of the vehicle is deviated from a frequency distribution of a non-failure driving state of a plurality of vehicles including the other vehicles in a non-failure case.

Vehicle failure-factor specifying apparatus

A hybrid vehicle with an engine and a rotary machine each coupled to a drive wheel in a power transmittable manner, comprises: an electronic control device that makes the rotary machine output a starting-time compensation torque to compensate a drop in a drive torque caused in a starting process of the engine in addition to a running torque when the engine is started while the vehicle is in a running state in which the drive torque is generated by the rotary machine and the engine is in a stopped state. The electronic control device starts the engine such that a starting-time inertia torque that is generated according to starting of the engine and causes the drop in the drive torque is made smaller when a torque margin of the rotary machine which is applied to the starting-time compensation torque is relatively small than when the torque margin is relatively large.

Hybrid vehicle

A control apparatus for a vehicle includes: a characteristic storage portion configured to store therein torque-characteristic information representing an output torque characteristic as a characteristic of an output torque of an engine of the vehicle, which has appeared in a certain control operation, such that the stored torque-characteristic information is divided into a plurality of groups corresponding to respective refueling points that provide the fuel; and a factor determination portion configured, when the output torque characteristic represented by the torque-characteristic information belonging to one of the plurality of groups and the output torque characteristic represented by the torque-characteristic information belonging to another one of the plurality of groups are different from each other and a characteristic difference therebetween is not smaller than a threshold value, to determine that the characteristic difference is caused by a difference in a property of the fuel.

Control apparatus for vehicle

A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle that includes an engine serving as a drive force source, an electric motor serving as a drive force source, drive wheels, a storage battery for supplying and receiving an electric power to and from the electric motor, a transmission mechanism for transmitting a drive force supplied from each of the drive force sources toward the drive wheels. During running of the hybrid vehicle by a drive force of the electric motor with the engine being stopped, the control apparatus is configured to determine whether the engine is to be started. When determining that the engine is to be started during the running of the hybrid vehicle, the control apparatus is configured to cause a gear ratio of the transmission mechanism to be changed and to cause the engine to be started after the gear ratio of the transmission mechanism has been changed.

Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle

A control apparatus () for a vehicular drive system () having a step-variable transmission portion () which is shifted to a selected one of speed positions having respective speed ratio values, with engaging and releasing actions of coupling devices (B, C), and a drive power source portion () operatively connected to an input shaft () of the step-variable transmission portion, the control apparatus being configured to implement a speed synchronizing control upon a shift-down action of the step-variable transmission portion in a coasting run of a vehicle (), wherein an input shaft speed of the step-variable transmission portion is raised with an input shaft torque transmitted from the drive power source portion to the input shaft, from a pre-shift-down synchronizing speed to a post-shift-down synchronizing speed. The control apparatus includes a torque control portion () configured to change the input shaft torque transmitted from the drive power source portion () to the input shaft () during the speed synchronizing control, on the basis of a temperature of a lubricant in the step-variable transmission portion such that the input shaft torque is larger when the lubricant temperature is comparatively low than when the temperature is comparatively high.

Control apparatus for vehicular drive system

A control apparatus for a vehicle includes a control portion configured to control an input torque to an automatic transmission such that a value representing a rotating state of an input rotary member of the automatic transmission coincides with a target value; a racing determining portion configured to determine whether a rotating speed of an engine is predicted to exceed a predetermined rotating speed when control is provided such that the value representing the rotating state of the input rotary member of the automatic transmission coincides with the target value during a power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission; and an output limiting portion configured to limit the output torque of the engine to a predetermined torque or less if the rotating speed of the engine is predicted to exceed the predetermined rotating speed during the power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission.

A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle, having an engine, an electric motor, and an automatic transmission which is placed in a selected speed position with engagement of selected at least one of coupling devices, includes: an input torque control portion controlling the electric motor for controlling an input torque transmitted to the automatic transmission during a shifting action of the automatic transmission, based on output torque of the engine and torque transmitted through the coupling devices, such that a value representing a rotating state of an automatic transmission input rotary member coincides with a target value. The input torque control portion controls the input torque to be not smaller than a predetermined lower limit, when a running state of the hybrid vehicle is switched from a power-on state to a power-off state during a shift-down action of the automatic transmission in the power-on state.

A control apparatus for a vehicle having an electric motor, and a step-variable transmission selectively placed in a speed position with engagement of a coupling device, wherein the vehicle runs rearward with a reverse drive torque of the electric motor generated in a forward-drive low-speed position of the transmission, is provided. The control apparatus includes: a first shift control portion temporarily increasing an input torque of the transmission to raise its input speed toward a synchronizing speed in the low-speed position, and commands an engaging-side coupling device to be brought into its engaged state after the input speed has been raised to a predetermined value; and a second shift control portion increasing an engaging force of the engaging-side coupling device to bring the engaging-side coupling device into the engaged state.

Vehicle control apparatus

A control apparatus for a vehicle provided with a motor/generator functioning as a drive power source, and a mechanically operated transmission mechanism which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the motor/generator and drive wheels, the control apparatus including a motor/generator control portion configured to implement a regenerative torque control of the motor/generator so as to generate a regenerative torque according to a braking operation by an operator of the vehicle in a decelerating run of the vehicle, and a transmission shifting control portion configured to initiate a shift-down action of the mechanically operated transmission mechanism after a rate of change of the regenerative torque has been held within a predetermined range for at least a predetermined length of time, where a determination to implement the shift-down action is made in the process of the regenerative torque control of the motor/generator according to the braking operation.

A vehicle control apparatus includes: a transmission shifting control portion configured to implement a shifting action of a step-variable transmission, by controlling a releasing action of a releasing coupling device and an engaging action of an engaging coupling device; a torque control portion configured, during the shifting action of the step-variable transmission, to implement a feedback control to control an input torque inputted to the step-variable transmission, such that a value representing a state of a rotary motion of an input rotary member of the step-variable transmission coincides with a target value dependent on a degree of progress of the shifting action; and a backup control portion configured, when it is determined that the drive wheels are slipped, to inhibit the feedback control, and to compensate a transmitted torque to be transmitted through an initiative coupling device, such that the shifting action is facilitated by compensation of the transmitted torque.

A control apparatus () for a vehicle provided with a motor/generator (MG; MG) functioning as a drive power source, and a step-variable transmission () which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the drive power source and drive wheels () and which is placed in a selected one of a plurality of speed positions with engagement of a selected one or ones of a plurality of coupling devices (CB). The control apparatus includes: a torque control portion () configured to control an output torque (Ti) of the drive power source (MG) during a shifting action of the step-variable transmission () from one of the speed positions to another of the speed positions, on the basis of a required vehicle drive torque (Tidem) corresponding to an operation amount (&#x3b8;acc) of an accelerator pedal, such that a value representing a state of a rotary motion of an input rotary member () of the step-variable transmission coincides with a target value; and a torque limiting portion () configured to limit the required vehicle drive torque to a predetermined lower limit value (Tif) in the process of a shift-up action of the step-variable transmission which is performed by placement of the accelerator pedal in an operated position.

A control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle provided with an engine, a differential mechanism having a first rotary element to which the engine is operatively connected, a second rotary element to which a first motor/generator is operatively connected, and a third rotary element to which an intermediate power transmitting member is connected, a second motor/generator operatively connected to the intermediate power transmitting member, and an automatic transmission which constitutes a part of a power transmitting path between the intermediate power transmitting member and drive wheels and in which a shifting action is performed by selective engagement of a plurality of coupling devices, the control apparatus comprising: a hybrid control portion for controlling an output torque of the first motor/generator and an output torque of the second motor/generator during the shifting action of the automatic transmission on the basis of an output torque of the engine and a transmitted torque of the coupling devices, such that an angular acceleration value of the second motor/generator and an angular acceleration value of the engine coincide with respective target values; a limited state determining portion for determining whether the output torque of the first motor/generator is in a limited state of being limited lower than a predetermined load capable of ensuring a shift-progressing torque necessary for progress of a power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission; and an output limiting portion for limiting the output torque of the engine to a predetermined torque or less if the output torque of the first motor/generator is in the limited state during the power-on shift-down action of the automatic transmission.

A vehicle control apparatus includes: a transmission shifting control portion configured to implement a shifting action of a step-variable transmission by controlling a releasing coupling device and an engaging coupling device; a hybrid control portion configured to control an output torque of a first motor/generator and an output torque of a second motor/generator, based on an output torque of an engine and a transmitted torque to be transmitted through an initiative coupling device, such that a rotational acceleration value of the second motor/generator and a rotational acceleration value of the engine are changed along respective target trajectories during the shifting action; and a target-trajectory setting portion configured to set the target trajectories, based on a maximum charging amount of an electric power that is chargeable to an electric power storage device and a maximum discharging amount of the electric power that is dischargeable from the electric power storage device.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Takeshi Kitahata