Control apparatus for hybrid vehicle

A control apparatus of a hybrid vehicle, the hybrid vehicle having, an engine, a motor, driving wheels, an automatic transmission arranged between the motor and the driving wheels, a first engagement element arranged between the engine and the motor for connecting/disconnecting the engine and the motor, and a second engagement element arranged between the motor and the driving wheels for connecting/disconnecting the motor and the driving wheels, the control apparatus comprising:

• a drive mode change section that changes the following drive modes according to a vehicle travel state:
• a first drive mode in which the first engagement element is disengaged and the second engagement element is engaged then the vehicle travels by only a driving force of the motor,
• a second drive mode in which the first and second engagement elements are respectively engaged then the vehicle travels by both driving forces of the engine and the motor, and
• a third drive mode in which at least the second engagement element is slip-engaged then the vehicle travels by a driving force transmitted through the second engagement element;
• a deceleration detection section that detects a deceleration of the vehicle;
• an engine stall prevention control section that performs a coast-down shift which changes a transmission ratio of the automatic transmission to a lower transmission ratio upon deceleration of the vehicle;
• an engine stall prediction section that predicts whether or not an engine stall occurs, on the basis of the vehicle deceleration detected by the deceleration detection section and a state of the coast-down shift by the engine stall prevention control section, during a travel in the second drive mode;
• and
• an engine stall avoidance control section that disengages at least one of the first and second engagement elements when the occurrence of the engine stall is predicted by the engine stall prediction section.