Driveline disengagement and coasting management

A method comprising:

• operating a vehicle including an engine that is disconnected to a driveline;
• monitoring speed of the vehicle and grade of terrain upon which the vehicle is operated through use of a vehicle speed controller, the vehicle speed controller structured to maintain disconnection of the engine from the driveline during a coasting event subject to a cancellation threshold beyond a desired speed in which the engine will be re-connected to the driveline;
• using grade of terrain in the vehicle speed controller to determine the cancellation threshold from a function that depends upon the grade of terrain;
• and
• comparing speed of the vehicle against the cancellation threshold to determine whether to re-connect the engine to the driveline;
• and
• reconnecting the engine to the drive line in response to the comparing determining the cancellation threshold is exceeded.

An apparatus comprising:

• a speed based controller for a vehicle having a motor used to provide motive power to a driveline of the vehicle, the speed based controller structured to:
• issue a command to disconnect the driveline from the engine to begin a coasting event;
• monitor speed of the vehicle and grade of terrain upon which the vehicle is operated through use of a vehicle speed controller;
• utilize the grade of terrain upon which the vehicle is operating to determine a cancel delta which represents a divergence speed from a set speed of the speed based controller within which the engine will remain disconnected from the driveline, but beyond which the engine is reconnected to the driveline;
• and
• engage the engine to the driveline in response to the cancel delta being exceeded.