Patent ID: 8606473

Claim:
A vehicle comprising: a transmission having an input member; a motor configured to provide a motor torque to the input member of the transmission; an engine having a crankshaft, wherein the engine is configured to provide an engine torque to the transmission via the crankshaft; a pedal position sensor which generates a pedal position signal; a torque converter operably disposed between the transmission and at least one of the motor and the engine, wherein the torque converter has an effective k-factor, and is configured to at least partially transfer at least one of the motor torque and the engine torque to the transmission in accordance with a plurality of k-factors, and wherein the torque converter includes a torque converter clutch configured to fully engage to cause the crankshaft and the input shaft to rotate at the same speed, and to at least partially engage to change the effective k-factor of the torque converter in response to a clutch command signal; and a control processor in communication with the pedal position sensor and configured to blend the plurality of k-factors based on the pedal position signal to generate a blended k-factor as the effective k-factor, and at least partially engage the torque converter clutch via the clutch command signal to achieve the blended k-factor.