Abstract: A control method is provided for controlling an internal combustion engine for a vehicle configured to engage a lockup clutch during a fuel cut, and to decrease a lockup hydraulic pressure at a fuel cut recovery to bring the lockup clutch to a slip engagement. The control method includes estimating a torque of the internal combustion engine generated by the fuel cut recovery when a fuel cut recovery condition is satisfied. The control method further includes decreasing a decrease amount of the lockup hydraulic pressure as the torque is greater.

Abstract: In a structure of a disconnect plug of an electric vehicle, a plug bracket is raised from an inside of a battery unit to an inside of a bulge formed on a floor panel under rear seats for preventing a submarine motion of a passenger. In addition, a disconnect plug is detachably attached to a front face of a plug bracket, and an opening for accessing to the disconnect plug is formed on a front wall of the bulge. Further, a cover for covering the opening capable of being opened and closed is provided on a trim beneath a front face of a seat cushion of the rear seats.

Abstract: A hybrid vehicle control method for a hybrid vehicle is provided for a drive system including an internal combustion engine, a generator that is driven by the internal combustion engine, and a battery that is charged with electric power generated by the generator. A target power generated by the generator is set and the target engine output is calculated for the internal combustion engine according to the target generated power. The air density in the environment in which the vehicle travels is detected. The target engine output is corrected based on the detected air density with respect to the decrease in air density, and the generated power of the generator is made to follow the target generated power. The execution of air density correction is permitted or stopped depending on an operating state of the drive system.

Abstract: A travel control method for a vehicle is provided, which includes autonomous steering control for autonomously controlling the steering of the vehicle. The travel control method includes: setting a plurality of cancellation thresholds corresponding to respective travel scenes, the cancellation thresholds being used for canceling the autonomous steering control and transitioning to the driver's manual operation; detecting a travel scene of the vehicle during execution of the autonomous steering control; extracting a cancellation threshold corresponding to the detected travel scene from among the plurality of set cancellation thresholds; and determining, based on the extracted cancellation threshold, whether or not to cancel the autonomous steering control and transition to the driver's manual operation.

Abstract: A method controls a motor vehicle including a plurality of sensors for acquiring raw data relative to the environment of the vehicle and a computational unit for receiving the raw data acquired by the sensors. The method includes: the computational unit receives the raw data and processes the raw data to deduce therefrom pieces of information relative to the environment of the vehicle and coefficients of probability of error in the deduction of each piece of information, and settings for controlling the vehicle are generated depending on the pieces of information and the probability coefficients. For at least one of the sensors, a quality coefficient relative to the quality of the raw data sent by this sensor is determined, the reliability of the control settings is estimated, and a decision is made to correct or not correct the control settings depending on the estimated reliability of the control settings.

Abstract: A control method is provided for controlling a lateral position of a motor vehicle. The control method includes calculating a sighting distance of a detector means embedded in the vehicle, calculating a first component of a steering angle setpoint of a steered wheels of the vehicle, and calculating a second component of the steering angle setpoint. The first component is an open loop component of a control system, while the second component is a closed loop component of the control system. The first component is weighted by a gain that is a decreasing function of the sighting distance.

Abstract: A battery manufacturing method includes forming a unit cell having a positive electrode that is obtained by a positive electrode active material layer containing an electrolytic solution being disposed on a positive electrode current collector, a negative electrode that is obtained by a negative electrode active material layer containing an electrolytic solution being disposed on a negative electrode current collector, and a separator interposed between the positive and negative electrodes. Heat sealing a seal part that is disposed at an outer peripheral portion of the unit cell. Cooling the outer peripheral portion of the unit cell by using a cooling medium after carrying out the heat sealing of the seal part. The method is performed such that the positive electrode and the negative electrode are formed without an application film being subjected to a drying process performed through heating.

Abstract: A chargeable power of the battery is calculated based on a voltage and charge upper-limit voltage of a battery; the chargeable power and outputtable power of the charger are compared and a lower power is calculated as a first charge power; a timing that the battery temperature reaches a predetermined limit is calculated as a first timing; based on the temperature, surrounding temperature, and charge current when charging with the first charge power, a second charge power limited according to the battery temperature is calculated; by referencing a map, a charge time that comes after the first timing is calculated as a second charge time based on the state of the battery when the first timing is reached and the second charge power; and time obtained by adding the second charge time to the first charge time until the first timing is reached is calculated as the total charge time.

Abstract: Provided is an electric vehicle control method. The electric vehicle control method includes: a disturbance torque estimation process of calculating a disturbance torque estimation value including an influence of a road surface gradient; a speed parameter acquisition process of acquiring a speed parameter relating to a vehicle speed; a stop process of calculating a stopping basis torque target value so as to converge a torque command value to the disturbance torque estimation value in accordance with a decrease of a speed parameter; and a vibration damping process of calculating a stopping correction torque target value by performing filterring on the stopping basis torque target value.

Abstract: An EGR estimation method for an internal combustion engine 1 estimates an EGR rate in an intake and exhaust system 10, 20 of an internal combustion engine, the intake and exhaust system 10, 20 of an internal combustion engine including an intake system 10, an exhaust system 20, and an EGR device 40, the EGR device 40 includes an EGR passage 41 and an EGR valve 43. The EGR estimation method includes determining a gas replacement state by exhaust gas and fresh air in an upstream EGR passage, which is a portion of the EGR passage between the EGR valve and the exhaust passage, when fuel cut of the internal combustion engine is started and the EGR valve is fully closed; and estimating the EGR rate based on a result of the determination.

Abstract: A control method and a control device are provided for autonomously controlling a host vehicle when turning across an oncoming lane at an intersection with a signal light being green. A determination is made as to whether or not the host vehicle can make a right or left turn while a signal light is still green at a time of the right or left turn, either while the host vehicle in the left lane is waiting in a row of vehicles to make the right turn or while the host vehicle traveling in the right lane is waiting in a row of vehicles to make the left turn at an intersection during travel under autonomous driving. The host vehicle then creeps forward to a start position for starting at a next time the signal light is green upon determining the right or left turn cannot be made.

Abstract: The parking assistance method using a parking assistance device includes: when parking of a subject vehicle is performed in a manual mode, detecting a parking execution state of the subject vehicle and determining, based on the parking execution state, whether or not the parking toward a target parking space is necessary again; and when a determination is made that the parking toward the target parking space is necessary again, outputting, to a user interface, guidance information for switching a parking mode of the subject vehicle from the manual mode to an automated mode.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a battery has a stacking step in which a plurality of unit cells are stacked, the unit cells being such that a positive electrode obtained by a positive electrode active material layer containing an electrolytic solution disposed on a positive electrode current collector, and a negative electrode obtained by a negative electrode active material layer containing an electrolytic solution disposed on a negative electrode current collector with a separator interposed therebetween. In the stacking step, each time one of the unit cells is stacked, the stack of the unit cells are pressed from the stacking direction.

Abstract: An assistance device for driving in a traffic lane for a motor vehicle includes a module for determining at least one input variable chosen from among variables related to the vehicle and variables related to the traffic lane, a module for producing a correction instruction according to the input variable, and an assistance module capable of implementing a driving assistance action according to the correction instruction. The input variable includes a lateral position of the vehicle in the traffic lane and a lateral deflection speed of the vehicle.

Abstract: A vehicle bumper is provided integrally to include metal beam-extension portions on both right-and-left end sides of a metal bumper-beam portion. In this vehicle bumper, the bumper-beam portion and the beam-extension portion include a vertical wall portion, an upper wall portion and a lower wall portion, and a resin reinforcing rib is joined to inner surfaces of a void formed of each of the wall portions. In addition, in this vehicle bumper, an extension dimension of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion of the beam-extension portion is larger than an extension dimension of the upper wall portion and the lower wall portion in the bumper-beam portion, the resin reinforcing rib in the beam-extension portion is joined to the vertical wall portion, the upper wall portion, and the lower wall portion of the beam-extension portion; and the stiffness of the bumper-beam portion is higher than the stiffness of the beam-extension portion.

Abstract: A diagnosis device determines diagnoses one of primary and secondary board temperature sensors as abnormal, in response to a condition that a state in which a primary temperature sensor value and a secondary temperature sensor value deviate from each other by a predetermined value or more continues for a predetermined duration or more; performs torque limitation to limit a torque inputted from an engine to an automatic transmission, during driving in a predetermined travel section based on a predetermined condition, after the one of the primary and secondary board temperature sensors is diagnosed as abnormal; and performs transmission shift restriction to restrict shifting of the automatic transmission along with the torque limitation, in response to a condition that the one of the primary and secondary board temperature sensors continues to be diagnosed as still abnormal after the driving in the predetermined travel section is completed.

Abstract: A slidable center console for a vehicle includes a console actuator for changing a slide position of the center console, a selector switch provided on the center console for changing an operation mode of the vehicle, and a console adjustment switch for adjusting the slide position of the center console by using the console actuator.

Abstract: Provided is a software updating device for executing processing for updating software causing an equipment mounted on a vehicle to operate. The software updating device includes a controller that acquires the software, and controls the equipment by applying the software to the equipment. The controller includes a first storage unit that stores acquired first software and a second storage unit that stores acquired second software. In a state where no driving force is output by a power train of the vehicle, the controller executes processing for updating the software by changing software to be applied to the equipment from the first software to the second software.