Abstract: A target output torque and target power generation output of a motor are computed based on a vehicle running state, and a target input rotation speed of a generator is computed based on the target power generation output. The final target output torque of the motor is computed by performing delay processing on the target output torque using a filter of second or higher order. The same delay processing by an identical filter is performed on the target input rotation speed, and the final target input rotation speed supplied to the generator is computed. In this way, the response of the driving power output (=power consumption of the motor) and the generated power of the generator are made to coincide even if the vehicle running state changes sharply, and the battery capacity can be minimized.

Abstract: A controller (10, 11, 12) computes a virtual generated power, this being the power generated by a generator (2) when an engine (1) and the generator (2) are controlled so that the power generated by the generator (2) coincides with the power consumption of a motor (4) which is uniquely determined according to a vehicle running state, computes an output limiting value of the motor (4) based on the virtual generated power, and limits the power or torque of the motor (4) by the output limiting value.

Abstract: The output of an engine is recovered by a generator. A motor is driven by the electric power generated by the generator. When there is a sudden acceleration, etc., the generation power output by the generator is delayed, and when the electric power supplied to the motor is insufficient, the insufficient part is supplied from a battery. The maximum power output of the battery decreases according to battery temperature. However, as the response of the generation power output of the generator is increased if battery temperature is low, the above-mentioned insufficient part is always suppressed below the maximum power output of the battery. In this way, the inability of the battery to supply electric power required for acceleration is prevented, and thus the problem of poor acceleration is eliminated.

Abstract: A pole position detector correctly detects a pole position of a permanent magnet motor. Each magnetic sensor (27) provides an electric signal in response to leakage flux from a magnet rotor (17). A computation unit (2) detects a change in the output of the magnetic sensor as a base pole position &thgr;, corrects the base pole position by &Dgr;&thgr; according to the base pole position, the magnitude of each stat or current (IU, IV, IW), and a current phase, and calculates correct rotation angles &thgr;re and &thgr;re′ accordingly. With low-cost magnetic sensors (27), the pole position detector corrects the outputs of the magnetic sensors affected by stat or current and provides a correct pole position or a correct rotor rotation angle.

Abstract: In a hybrid vehicle wherein the rotation torques of a motor and engine are input to a continuously variable transmission, a drive force is controlled by a microprocessor programmed to set a target drive power (tPO) based on a depression amount of an accelerator pedal (APO) and a vehicle speed (VSP), set a battery power (PB) based on a battery charge amount (SOC), set a target engine power (tPE) based on the target drive power (tPO) and the battery power (PB). The microprocessor is also programmed to set a limited target engine power (tPELMT) to zero when the target engine power (tPE) is less than a predetermined value, and set the limited target engine power (tPELMT) equal to the target engine power (tPE) when the target engine power (tPE) is larger than the predetermined value.

Abstract: Torque control of an electrical motor 4 connected to a drive shaft 6 and control of the rotation speed of a generator 2 supplying electrical power to the electrical motor 4 are performed in response to the running conditions of a vehicle. The actual generator output of the generator 2 is estimated at a given time and the drive output of the electrical motor 4 is limited in response to the estimated generator output. The drive output of the electrical motor 4 is limited in response to increases in consumed energy and reductions in the generated output of the generator 2 resulting from increases in the kinetic energy of rotating components of the engine 1 or the generator 2 during acceleration. Thus the difference of the generated output of the generator 2 and the consumed electrical power of the electrical motor 4 can be reduced during acceleration and it is possible to reduce the capacity of the battery supplying auxiliary electrical power.

Abstract: There is provided a cytoplasmic male sterility DNA factor, a method of discrimination which enables confirmation of the cytoplasmic male sterility in a short time.

Abstract: An engine start control apparatus includes a motor/generator and a controller for controlling the motor/generator. The controller starts an engine cranking operation to start the engine by operating the motor/generator in a cranking mode for driving an engine in response to an engine start command signal, monitors an operating condition of the engine cranking operation to produce a mode change signal before an engine speed exceeds a target speed, and switches the motor/generator from the cranking mode to an overshoot control mode to control the power generation of the motor/generator in accordance with a predetermined target parameter such as a target power generation torque and a desired engine speed.

Abstract: A rotor (17, 31, 55, 71, 91, 101, 121, 131, 141, 201, 401) of a motor (13, 51) is provided with a rotation shaft (21, 59, 410) and a plurality of magnets (15, 53, 75, 105, 210A, 210B, 411) on a circular periphery. Plates (25, 25A, 25B, 25C, 33, 63, 77, 107, 220, 300, 430) made of magnetic materials are provided so that each of which is magnetized by leakage flux of a corresponding magnet (15, 53, 75, 105, 210A, 210B, 401). The plates (25, 25A, 25B, 25C, 33, 63, 77, 107, 220, 300, 430) are disposed along a circular path such that a maximum flux density is formed at both peripheral ends. A magnetic sensor (27) outputs a signal in response to the variation of a flux density on the circular path.

Abstract: An automatic engine stop and restart system includes an engine, a starting motor, a transmission, a vehicle operating condition sensor and a controller. The controller monitors the vehicle operating condition to produce an automatic engine restart request signal during an automatic engine stop operation, calculates a target engine speed for the automatic engine restart operation, and drives the motor in accordance with the target speed to perform the automatic engine restart operation in response to the engine restart request signal. During the automatic engine restart operation, the transmission is held in a drive state or in a non-drive state invariably.

Abstract: An automatic engine-stop control apparatus for a vehicle includes a vehicle speed sensor and a brake pedal depression sensor which are coupled to a control unit. The control unit is programmed to decide that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor is smaller than or equal to a predetermined stop expected speed when the brake pedal depression sensor detects that the brake pedal is depressed, and to decide that the vehicle is stopped when a predetermined time period elapses from a moment that the vehicle speed becomes smaller than or equal to the predetermined stop expected speed and when the depression of the brake pedal is continued.

Abstract: A basic fuel injection amount is calculated according to an engine running state, and a fuel injection amount based on the basic fuel injection amount is injected by a fuel injector in synchronism with the engine rotation. An increase of an intake air amount is also estimated from when synchronous injection starts to when the engine intake stroke is complete. The fuel injector is controlled so that a fuel amount corresponding to this increase is asynchronously injected relative to the engine rotation. In this way, the fuel injection amount immediately increases when there is an increase of intake air amount during synchronous injection, and engine acceleration performance is improved.

Abstract: In a hybrid vehicle wherein the rotation torque of a motor and engine are input to a continuously variable transmission, a target speed ratio is determined from a target engine rotation speed set based on a target drive torque of said vehicle and a vehicle speed. A target combined torque of the motor and engine is set based on the target drive torque and a real speed ratio of the transmission. A target motor torque is determined based on the target combined torque and the input rotation speed of the continuously variable transmission. A value obtained by subtracting the target motor torque from the target combined torque is set equal to a target engine torque. The drive force of the hybrid vehicle is optimized by controlling the engine, motor and continuously variable transmission by the target engine torque, target motor torque and target speed ratio thus obtained.

Abstract: In a direct-injection gasoline engine which is so constituted as to execute a twice-injection mode for injecting the fuel in the intake stroke and in the compression stroke, respectively, at the time of change-over between the stratified mode and the homogeneous mode, the fuel injection amount is set to be constant in either the intake stroke or the compression stroke in the twice-injection mode, and an amount obtained by subtracting the above constant amount from the required injection amount is injected in the other stroke. Setting the fuel amount to be constant at one injection timing makes it easy to comply with the operation for controlling the fuel injection in the twice-injection mode.

Abstract: In ignition timing control apparatus and method for an internal combustion engine which carries out a switching of a combustion mode between a stratified charge combustion and a homogeneous charge combustion according to an engine driving condition, an ignition timing value in the mode of the stratified charge combustion during a transfer of a switching of the combustion mode between the stratified charge combustion and the homogeneous charge combustion is generated using both of at least one first ignition timing map used when the combustion mode of the engine is in a steady state of the stratified charge combustion and a second ignition timing map carried out at a rich limit of an air-fuel mixture ratio and which is used at a switching point between the stratified charge combustion and the homogeneous charge combustion, for example, through an interpolation based on a variation rate in a status variable of an air-fuel mixture supplied into each cylinder.

Abstract: A fuel injection control system for a cylinder direct injection spark-ignition internal combustion engine judges a homogeneous charge combustion condition which requires homogeneous charge combustion and a stratified charge combustion condition which requires stratified charge combustion, in accordance with an engine operating condition. Fuel is supplied on an intake stroke so as to form a rich equivalent ratio in the homogeneous charge combustion, and fuel is supplied on a compression stroke so as to form a lean equivalent ratio in the stratified charge combustion, with the rich equivalent ratio being richer in fuel than the lean equivalent ratio. The system then gradually changes over an equivalent ratio within a range between the rich and lean equivalent ratios when engine operation is changed over between the homogeneous charge combustion condition and the stratified charge combustion condition.

Abstract: The invention provides torque correction during both homogeneous combustion and stratified combustion. Torque correction is made in response to a torque correction demand (produced when, for example, a gear shift is effected, the air conditioner is turned on, or fuel cut recovery is effected) by correcting the spark timing (or the spark timing and air-fuel ratio) during homogeneous combustion and by correcting the air-fuel ratio during stratified combustion.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a vehicle engine control system responsive to a change between a first request for homogeneous charge combustion and a second request for stratified charge combustion. A spark-ignition cylinder-injection internal combustion engine has cylinders, each performing an intake phase, a compression phase, a power phase, and an exhaust phase. The cylinders each, when rendered operable in a first mode, experience first fuel injection at a first fuel injection timing during intake phase thereof and first spark ignition at a first ignition timing to initiate homogeneous charge combustion. The cylinders each, when rendered operable in a second mode, experiences second fuel injection at a second fuel injection timing during compression phase and second spark ignition at a second ignition timing to initiate stratified charge combustion.

Abstract: The present invention aims at preventing such a situation that anyone of the divided injection amounts becomes less than a minimum compensation amount for a fuel injection valve, in case of conducting a two-step injection (weakly stratified combustion) in which a part of fuel is injected during intake stroke and the remaining fuel is injected during compression stroke. To this end, at the time of instructing to conduct the two-step injection, a whole injection amount TI is divided into: an injection amount TIH for homogeneous combustion to be injected during intake stroke, and an injection amount TIS for stratified combustion to be injected during compression stroke, based on a division ratio corresponding to a target air-fuel ratio. Further, each of the injection amounts TIH and TIS after division is compared with a minimum compensation amount MIN for the fuel injection valve.

Abstract: In the control method and apparatus of a direct injection gasoline engine, as for the uniform charge combustion mode performing only the intake stroke injection and the stratified charge combustion mode performing only the compression stroke injection, the injection timing is determined by referring to the injection timing map set for each mode. On the other hand, in the double injection mode performing the intake stroke injection and the compression stroke injection, the injection timing map for the intake stroke injection and the injection timing map for the compression stroke injection are both equipped, and the injection timing in the intake stroke injection is determined by the fuel quantity being injected by the intake stroke, and the injection timing in the compression stroke injection is determined by the fuel quantity being injected by the compression stroke.