Vehicle-driving device and vehicle-driving method
AssigneeNissan Motor Co., Ltd.
InventorsYoshinobu Kawamoto, Masahiro Iriyama
Life of this patent
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Abstract
When an accelerator pedal is released while a vehicle is running, a lockup clutch is unlocked. Simultaneously, ignition timing is retarded and a fuel-cut operation to stop fuel supply to an internal combustion engine is performed. However, when it is predicted that a fuel recovery is to be performed after unlocking the lockup clutch, execution of the fuel-cut operation is prohibited. A shock due to the fuel recovery after the fuel-cut operation performed when the accelerator pedal is released is thereby prevented.
Claims8
A vehicle-driving device comprising:
- an internal combustion engine;
- a torque converter with a lockup clutch and an automatic transmission disposed in a motive force transfer path from the internal combustion engine to a drive wheel of a vehicle;
- and
- a programmable controller programmed to:
- perform a fuel-cut operation to stop fuel supply to the internal combustion engine and cause the lockup clutch to perform an unlock operation, when an accelerator pedal of the vehicle is released while the vehicle is running;
- predict if a fuel recovery operation to resume fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation;
- and
- prohibit the fuel-cut operation from being performed when the fuel recovery operation is predicted to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation.
A vehicle-driving device that transmits a rotation of an internal combustion engine that is responsive to a depression amount of an accelerator pedal to a drive wheel of a vehicle via a torque converter and an automatic transmission, comprising:
- a lockup clutch that performs a lockup and an unlock operations of the torque converter;
- an accelerator pedal depression sensor that detects a release of the accelerator pedal;
- an engine rotation speed sensor that detects an engine rotation speed of the internal combustion engine;
- and
- a programmable controller programmed to:
- cause the lockup clutch to perform the unlock operation when the release of the accelerator pedal is detected while the vehicle is running;
- perform a fuel-cut operation to stop fuel supply to the internal combustion engine when the engine rotation speed is equal to or greater than a predetermined recovery rotation speed in a state where the accelerator pedal is released;
- perform a fuel recovery operation to resume fuel supply to the internal combustion engine when the engine rotation speed falls below the predetermined recovery rotation speed during the fuel-cut operation;
- predict if the fuel recovery operation is to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation;
- suppress the fuel-cut operation from being performed when the fuel recovery operation is predicted to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation.
A vehicle-driving device comprising:
- an internal combustion engine;
- a torque converter with a lockup clutch and an automatic transmission disposed in a motive force transfer path from the internal combustion engine to a drive wheel of a vehicle;
- means for performing a fuel-cut operation to stop fuel supply to the internal combustion engine and cause the lockup clutch to perform an unlock operation, when an accelerator pedal of the vehicle is released while the vehicle is running;
- means for predicting if a fuel recovery operation to resume fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation;
- and
- means for prohibiting the fuel-cut operation from being performed when the fuel recovery operation is predicted to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation.
A driving method for a vehicle, the vehicle comprising an internal combustion engine, and a torque converter with a lockup clutch and an automatic transmission that are disposed in a motive force transfer path from the internal combustion engine to a drive wheel of a vehicle, the method comprising:
- performing a fuel-cut operation to stop fuel supply to the internal combustion engine and causing the lockup clutch to perform an unlock operation, when an accelerator pedal of the vehicle is released while the vehicle is running;
- predicting if a fuel recovery operation to resume fuel supply to the internal combustion engine is to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation;
- and
- prohibiting the fuel-cut operation from being performed when the fuel recovery operation is predicted to be performed as a result of the fuel-cut operation and the unlock operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.